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ANOTHER day, another “persecuted” Christian …. this time an evangelical Christian missionary—Gerald Groff, above—who claims he was bullied into resigning from the US Postal Service in 2019 because he refused to work on the Sabbath.
That refusal imposed a significant cost on operations at the small rural Pennsylvanian depot at which he worked. Furthermore his absences “created a tense atmosphere” and bred “resentment toward management”, according to the USPS.
ABC News reports today (Thursday) that two lower federal courts had earlier sided with the USPS, and tossed Groff’s case.
“An employer is not required to accommodate at all costs,” wrote a panel of judges from the US Third Circuit Court of Appeals.
Exempting Groff from working on Sundays caused more than a de minimis cost on USPS because it actually imposed on his coworkers, disrupted the workplace and workflow, and diminished employee morale.
But the US Supreme Court, lately more inclined to put “religious liberty” above every other right or interest, thanks to Trump appointed justices, has agreed to hear Groff’s case on April 18.
He is being represented by the First Liberty Institute (FLI), the go-to outfit for Christians who think their godly delusions deserve special workplace accommodations.
Critics warn that if the USSC sides with Groff it could impact negatively on non-observant Americans.
Image via YouTube
Rachel Laser, above, President and CEO of Americans United for Separation of Church and State, said:
This case opens the floodgates to every employee in the workforce being forced to carry the burden of someone else’s religious practices.
Laser argued that a Supreme Court ruling in favor of Groff could empower pharmacists to not fill birth control prescriptions, city clerks to object to issuing same-sex marriage licenses and employers to treat men and women differently—invoking religious belief or practice as justification.
This would lead to special favor for some of us and asking the rest of us to carry the harm of what someone else is imposing on us.
The Catholic News Agency reports that, in a Tuesday interview with First Liberty Institute, Groff explained that he has a deeply held religious conviction that the sabbath is:
Not just about going to church, it’s about obeying the Lord and putting the entire day aside to honor and glorify him.
Image via YouTube
FLI Senior Counsel Jeremy Dys, above, told CNA.
What’s really at stake here is whether future employees are going to be required to abandon their religious beliefs at their employer’s behest. This is a case that is about whether or not we’re going to restore religious liberty to the workplace. No employee should be put to the test of choosing between their faith and their livelihood.
Groff stepped in front of a camera to tell the word via YouTube how he was “intimidated” into resigning by his “aggressive” boss.
Reach for the violins and tissues.
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