How to evaluate religious accommodations in the workplace

It has been a little over two years since the U.S. Supreme Court fundamentally changed the landscape of religious accommodations through its decision in Groff v. DeJoy. Prior to Groff, employers only needed to show more than a de minimis (minimal) cost to lawfully deny a religious accommodation. After Groff, employers need to prove that the religious accommodation poses an undue hardship—a much higher standard. Specifically, employers must now establish that the burden of granting a religious accommodation would result in a substantial increase in costs. Examining the ways courts have applied Groff’s higher standard can provide insight on how to evaluate religious accommodations.

New, higher standard

Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 prohibits employers from discriminating against applicants and employees based on their religion. As a result, similar to the American with Disabilities Act (ADA), employers are generally required to provide religious accommodations and engage in interactive dialogue with their employees regarding those accommodations.

Since Groff, several lower courts have applied the new, higher standard. Based on these cases, when conducting an undue hardship analysis, you should consider factors such as the following: