Gerald Groff liked his work as a postal employee in Pennsylvania's Amish Country. For years, he delivered mail and all manner of packages: a car bumper, a mini refrigerator, a 70-pound box of horseshoes for a blacksmith. But when an Amazon.com contract with the Postal Service required carriers to start delivering packages on Sundays, Groff balked. A Christian, he told his employers that he couldn't deliver packages on the Lord's Day.
Now Groff's dispute with the Post Office has reached the U.S. Supreme Court, which will consider his case Tuesday. Lower courts have sided with the Post Office, which says Groff's demand for Sundays off meant extra work for other employees and caused tension. Groff, for his part, argues employers can too easily reject employees' requests for religious accommodations, and if he wins, that could change.
