Employment Litigation · Primary-source case analysis

Groff: Religious-Accommodation Hardship Requires Substantial Increased Costs

By Aneeta Mishra and Timothy Chan

Published September 12, 2026

Groff v. DeJoy arose from a postal employee’s request not to work on Sundays for religious reasons and clarified the employer’s undue-hardship defense under Title VII.

The lower court used the de minimis formulation

The Third Circuit treated more than a de minimis cost as sufficient undue hardship and affirmed summary judgment for the Postal Service after examining scheduling burdens and effects on coworkers.

Hardison cannot be reduced to one phrase

The Supreme Court explained that the familiar de minimis shorthand understated the statutory term. An employer must show that the proposed accommodation would impose substantial increased costs in relation to the conduct of its particular business.

The inquiry is practical and context specific

Relevant considerations include the nature, size, and operating costs of the business and the accommodation’s actual effect. Effects on coworkers matter only to the extent they affect business operations; coworker hostility to a religious practice cannot establish undue hardship.

Reasonable alternatives still must be considered

Title VII requires reasonable accommodation, not only assessment of the employee’s preferred proposal. The Court vacated and remanded because the prior legal standard may have caused the lower court to overlook alternatives such as voluntary shift swapping or incentive pay.

Key takeaways

• Replace the de minimis shorthand with the substantial-costs standard.
• Measure costs and operational effects in relation to the particular business.
• Separate genuine business consequences from coworker animus or dislike.
• Document consideration of other reasonable accommodations before denying the request.