ACLJ Files Formal Discrimination Complaint in Administrative Court on Behalf of Post Office Employee Ordered To Forgo Church and Work on Sundays

The ACLJ is proud to have engaged in many legal battles on behalf of employees’ right to be religiously accommodated to have Sundays off as a reflection of their religious beliefs. From a forklift operator at a pet food manufacturer to the TSA, we have engaged in many legal battles on behalf of people forced to work on Sundays in violation of their closely held religious beliefs. We have now filed a formal discrimination complaint with the U.S. Postal Service’s (USPS) Equal Employment Opportunity office on behalf of a postal worker who likewise was forced to work Sundays.

In a pivotal religious liberty case that strikes at the heart of legal protections for people of faith, a dedicated USPS employee is being forced to choose between his deeply held religious convictions and his career of faithful public service. A rural post office worker has found himself at the center of a disturbing case of religious discrimination that demonstrates the ongoing assault on religious freedom in government institutions.

Our client’s religious convictions, firmly rooted in biblical teaching, prohibit him from working on Sundays, which he observes as the Christian Sabbath. This is not merely a preference but a fundamental tenet of his faith that shapes every aspect of his life. So deep is this conviction that our client and his family cease all operations on their family farm each Sunday to honor the Lord’s Day, dedicating it entirely to worship and rest as they consider commanded by Scripture. The mere thought of violating this sacred obligation causes him physical distress.

Despite his exemplary service record with the USPS dating back to 1999, the Postal Service has repeatedly failed to provide appropriate religious accommodations as required by Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. The situation reached a crisis point in January 2023 when the USPS began requiring Sunday work for Amazon deliveries, placing our client in an impossible position between his faith and his livelihood.

The post office where he is stationed is severely understaffed, which has exacerbated this religious liberty crisis. While union contracts stipulate that seven rural carrier associates should be employed, the office has operated with just three positions filled – a staffing shortage that appears unique to this facility and suggests administrative negligence. This artificial shortage has been used as a pretext to deny our client’s religious rights, even though proper staffing would eliminate any need for him to work on Sundays.

In a brief moment of hope, Mr. Smith received temporary accommodation in May 2024 following his formal written request and legal representation. However, in what can only be described as a direct assault on religious liberty, the USPS inexplicably rescinded this accommodation in September 2024 – remarkably, after hiring additional staff. This timing reveals the hollow nature of their “undue hardship” claims, as they had more employees when they denied the accommodation than when they granted it.

Adding insult to injury, management appeared to retaliate against our client’s exercise of his religious rights by imposing punitive additional hours on other days, requiring approximately four extra hours of work daily – a burden not placed on any other employees. They did offer “compromises” – allowing him to attend church before working or offering alternating Sundays off, but those compromises did not actually address his religious convictions and fell woefully short of the meaningful religious accommodation required by law.

This case takes on even greater significance in light of the U.S. Supreme Court’s recent landmark decision in Groff v. DeJoy (a case the ACLJ filed a critical amicus brief in), which reinforced employers’ obligations to provide religious accommodations unless doing so would impose an undue hardship. The Court’s ruling makes clear that employers must do more than merely claim hardship – they must actively explore options like voluntary shift swapping and demonstrate genuine efforts to accommodate religious beliefs.

The USPS’s actions represent a troubling pattern of discrimination against people of faith in government institutions. Their inconsistent policies, retaliatory practices, and dismissive attitude toward religious accommodation reveal a deeper problem: the gradual erosion of religious liberty protections in the public sector. This case is not merely about one man’s right to observe his Sabbath – it represents a critical battleground in the ongoing fight to preserve the fundamental right to religious freedom that our Founding Fathers enshrined in the Constitution.

We spent several months trying to find a solution of some kind, and eventually, we found and proposed one. Other employees are willing to work our client’s Sunday shifts. For people without religious convictions about Sunday, working some extra hours is exactly the kind of extra time that would benefit them. In other words, our client does not want to work this shift, and other people do. An accommodation, letting other people work the hours they have volunteered for, wouldn’t impose any additional burden on the USPS. Instead, it is a win-win that makes everyone happy.

But the USPS has still refused to agree to any of these alternatives and stubbornly refused to allow our client an accommodation. That is why we have filed a complaint in administrative court to rectify this violation of our client’s constitutional rights.

As this case moves through the legal process, it stands as a stark reminder that religious liberty must be vigilantly defended against government overreach and bureaucratic indifference. The outcome will have far-reaching implications for all Americans who seek to live and work according to their deeply held religious convictions without fear of discrimination or retaliation.