Groff v. DeJoy on Religious Accommodations in Employment Under Title VII

Federal law protects employees from religious discrimination. Specifically, Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 requires employers to “reasonably accommodate” employees’ religious practices unless doing so would impose “undue hardship” on the employer’s business. But what counts as an “undue hardship”? A nearly 50-year old precedent suggested that employers were excused from accommodations that entailed more than trivial costs. Groff v. DeJoy, however, announces a more protective standard, requiring accommodations so long as they do not cause the employer “substantial increased costs.” The decision is significant both for its greater protection of employees’ religious practices, and as a further indication of the recent Court’s tendency to expand protections—both statutory and constitutional—for religious expression.