If we don’t fight for our constitutional rights, we won’t have them for long. On an almost daily basis, the government seems to go out of its way to deny Americans their God-given liberties.
One man was forced to quit his government job, after they denied his requests for Sundays off. The organization refused to honor his First Amendment rights and even harassed him. But this American was not going to let this form of discrimination stand. And now, the Supreme Court will have a say about it.
The Supreme Court on Thursday made it easier for employees to obtain religious accommodations at their workplace.
The court used the case of a former postal worker to make clear that employers cannot avoid meeting religious requests simply by arguing that it would cost them more than a de minimis ‒ or trivial ‒ amount. Employers instead should accommodate religious employees’ requests unless doing so would result in “substantial increased costs” to the business, according to an opinion from Justice Samuel Alito.
The court’s decision was unanimous. Gerald Groff, a Christian and former U.S. Postal Service worker who sued after his request for Sundays off was denied, will have his case sent back to lower courts.
The ruling has the potential to give religious employees more say over their schedules and dress codes.
[Source: USA Today]
This is pretty unbelievable. Gerald Groff took a job with the U.S. Post Office, particularly because postal workers normally aren’t expected to work on Sundays. The man is a Christian and wanted that day off to worship.
But apparently, the USPS no longer respects the First Amendment rights of their employees. They are demanding them to work on Sundays, when the post office used to be closed. Groff was accommodating though. He was willing to work extra shifts on Saturday, to have Sunday off.
Soon enough, though, the post office was scheduling him for shifts on Sunday. He was even threatened with disciplinary actions for asking for Sunday off. Imagine that. In the United States of America, a citizen is being threatened by the post office for wanting Sunday off to worship God.
Why on earth is this allowed to happen? Groff was not demanding time off so he could goof off with his buddies. From all appearances, he was a reliable employee willing to work extra shifts. Yet the post office is punishing him, just for needing one day off.
The good news is, that this case has been taken to the Supreme Court. The highest court in the land decided that employers cannot deny workers their religious rights. Other federal organizations accommodate religious employees. Many even grant extended time off for Jews, who celebrate various holidays throughout the year.
But the post office can’t give this guy one day off to go to church? I smell a rat. And hopefully, the SCOTUS will shut this down.
Author: Bo Dogan