U.S. Supreme Court to hear religious bias claim against Postal Service

(Reuters) - The U.S. Supreme Court on Friday agreed to hear an appeal by an evangelical Christian former mail carrier in Pennsylvania who accused the U.S. Postal Service of religious bias after being reprimanded for refusing to deliver packages on Sundays.

The justices took up Gerald Groff's case after lower courts dismissed his claim that the Postal Service violated federal anti-discrimination law by refusing to exempt him from working on Sundays, when he observes the Sabbath, finding that his demands placed too much hardship on his co-workers and employer.

The case gives the court, which has a 6-3 conservative majority, another opportunity to back a plaintiff who has made a claim of anti-religion discrimination.

(Reporting by Andrew Chung; Editing by Will Dunham)

By Andrew Chung