A former Lancaster County postal worker says the “response by the Postal Service was brutal” after he refused to work on Sundays.
As reported earlier this year by The Lancaster Patriot, Lancaster County native Gerald E. Groff resigned from his post office job in 2019 and filed a federal lawsuit claiming the Postal Service illegally discriminated against him by failing to provide an appropriate accommodation for his religious observance.
In an opinion piece published Thursday on FoxNews.com, Groff explained his personal faith and his frustration with the Postal Service.
“My roots in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania run deep,” Groff said in the piece. “Growing up here it was rare to see businesses open on Sundays. It was the Lord’s Day. We spent the morning in church, the afternoon with family, and honored God by resting from our regular labor—something God commanded we do in the fourth of the Ten Commandments.”
Groff said his faith commitments led him to find a job that would not require him to work on Sundays.
“The United States Postal Service seemed a perfect fit,” he said. “Not only could I drive the rural routes of my boyhood, it famously did not deliver on Sundays. I could have a good career and respect the Lord’s Day.”
What started as an “ideal job” changed when the Postal Service contracted with Amazon to provide Sunday delivery, Groff said.
“At first, we managed to find a workable solution: I would work every holiday that did not fall on the Lord’s Day and take extra route work on weekdays and Saturdays to make up for not working Sundays,” Groff said.
However, Groff said that eventually the Postal Service “would not accommodate me.”
“Now, the U.S. Supreme Court will decide whether religious employees like me who work extra shifts, holidays, and cover for his colleagues deserve a religious accommodation in the workplace. Only God knows the final outcome; I still trust Him even if my decision to honor the Lord’s Day cost me my career.”
Groff will finally have his case heard by the U.S. Supreme Court on April 18, Fox News reports.
