On March 30, 2023, Kaplan Hecker & Fink filed an amicus brief in the U.S. Supreme Court on behalf of Americans United for Separation of Church and State and Lambda Legal Defense and Education Fund, Inc. in support of the respondent in Groff v. DeJoy (No. 22-174), a case addressing when and how Title VII requires employers to accommodate employees’ religious observances.
The brief focuses on the second question presented in the case: whether an employer can consider the burdens that an accommodation would impose on co-workers in determining whether there is an “undue hardship on the conduct of the employer’s business.” It argues that the text of Title VII is deliberately broad, allowing an employer to consider how the proposed accommodation would affect any aspect of the act, manner, or process of how the organization’s activity is carried out, including whether and how that accommodation would affect co-workers. However, there is one set of co-worker burdens that an employer cannot consider: namely, those motivated by co-workers’ religious animus or hostility concerning the proposed religious accommodation.
The purpose of Title VII is the eradication of discrimination in the workplace. Consistent with that purpose, it does not grant co-workers with anti-religious animus a “heckler’s veto” over religious accommodations. Accordingly, a fact-intensive inquiry is required to determine 1) whether the employer can reasonably conclude that a co-worker would react negatively to the requested accommodation and 2) whether any negative reaction would be based on religious animus. By adopting this framework, the Court will safeguard the careful balance Title VII strikes to protect employees from discrimination at work.
The filing, which can be read in full here, reflects our continued commitment to protecting the rights of employees in the workplace.