Workplace Religious Accommodation Post-Groff: Heightened Undue Hardship Standard for Employers

Description

In its recent Groff v. DeJoy decision, the U.S. Supreme Court heightened the standard for employers to demonstrate that a religious accommodation request was denied because it posed an undue hardship on the company. For over 40 years, the courts used the "de minimis cost" standard first articulated in TWA v. Hardison as the governing standard to determine "undue hardship." However, in Groff, the Court found that the "de minimis cost" standard did not provide the type of protection intended by Title VII, so it created the "substantial increased costs" standard.

The new standard requires an employer to show that "the burden of granting an accommodation would result in substantial increased costs in relation to the conduct of its particular business." The new standard requires the courts to conduct a fact-specific inquiry by looking at "all relevant factors in the case at hand, including the particular accommodations at issue and their practical impact in light of the nature, size and operating cost of an employer."

The Groff decision and the associated publicity surrounding it limits employers' use of the "undue hardship" defense, and has already increased religious accommodation requests from employees. Employers and their counsel should prepare with policies, training, and a process to address these accommodation requests to avoid discrimination and retaliation claims.

Listen as our expert panel discusses the new undue hardship standard, employer considerations when deciding whether to grant religious accommodation requests and best practices to mitigate risk and limit liability.