by The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) has incorporated information on the impact of a recent U.S. Supreme Court decision on its technical assistance guidance regarding COVID-19 and the workplace. Early in the COVID-19 pandemic, the EEOC provided written advice on how various federal employment laws applied to testing, discrimination, and other pandemic-related issues. On November 29, 2023, the agency added the following statement to its technical assistance question and answers publication, “COVID-19 and the ADA, Rehabilitation Act, and Other EEO Laws”:
Notice Concerning the Undue Hardship Standard in Title VII Religious Accommodation Cases. This document was issued prior to the Supreme Court’s decision in Groff v. DeJoy, 143 S. Ct. 2279 (2023). The Groff opinion clarified that “showing ‘more than a de minimis cost’…does not suffice to establish undue hardship under Title VII.” Instead, the Supreme Court held that “undue hardship is shown when a burden is substantial in the overall context of an employer’s business,” “tak[ing] into account all relevant factors in the case at hand, including the particular accommodations at issue and their practical impact in light of the nature, size and operating cost of an employer.” Groff supersedes any contrary information on this webpage. [Emphasis added.]
The agency also directed employers and employees to https://www.eeoc.gov/religious-discrimination for more information on religious discrimination.
The November 29, 2023 update regarding the impact of the Groff case is the first guidance update in more than six months. Through May 15, 2023, the agency regularly updated the guidance document to reflect advances in COVID-19 health advisories and changes to legal obligations based on regulations, state laws, and court decisions. For example, the May 15, 2023 update included an explanation of how the publication remained relevant even with the end of the pandemic.
The current technical assistance guidance can be found at https://www.eeoc.gov/wysk/what-you-should-know-about-covid-19-and-ada-rehabilitation-act-and-other-eeo-laws.
