Supreme Court of the United States · Official docket →
Jason Small v. Memphis Light, Gas & Water
Paid petition · United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit, No. 19-5710 · judgment March 12, 2020
Before the decision, about 2.1× the 4.1% base rate. The model weighted this up for a circuit split argued in the petition, a dissent in the court below (flagged in the petition), and a Sixth Circuit decision below.
Question presented
In Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, Congress generally prohibited private employers from discriminating against an individual “because of such individual’s * * * religion.” 42 U.S.C. §§ 2000e–2(a)(1) and (2). I n 1972, Congress amended the statute to specify that “‘religion’ includes all aspects of religious observance and practice, as well as belief, unless an employer demonstrates that he is unable to reasonably accommodate to an employee’s or prospective employee’s religious observance or practice without undue hardship on the conduct of the employer’s business.” Id. § 2000e(j). The question presented is: Whether Trans World Airlines, Inc. v. Hardison, 432 U.S. 63, 84 (1977), which stated that employers suffer an “undue hardship” in accommodating an employee’s religious exercise whenever doing so would require them “to bear more than a de minimis cost,” misinterprets § 2000e(j) and should be overruled.
Counsel of record
For petitioner
Steffen Nathanael Johnson
Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati
For respondent
Rodrick Darnell Holmes
Boyle Brasher LLC
Case
Conference history
Distributed for 13 conferences
Amicus briefs
4 cert-stage
Argument & decision
Decided April 5, 2021.
Proceedings
- Apr 05 2021Petition DENIED. Justice Gorsuch, with whom Justice Alito joins, dissenting from the denial of certiorari. (Detached Opinion)
- Mar 29 2021DISTRIBUTED for Conference of 4/1/2021.
- Mar 22 2021DISTRIBUTED for Conference of 3/26/2021.
- Mar 15 2021DISTRIBUTED for Conference of 3/19/2021.
- Mar 01 2021DISTRIBUTED for Conference of 3/5/2021.
- Feb 22 2021DISTRIBUTED for Conference of 2/26/2021.
- Feb 12 2021DISTRIBUTED for Conference of 2/19/2021.
- Jan 19 2021DISTRIBUTED for Conference of 1/22/2021.
- Jan 19 2021Rescheduled.
- Jan 12 2021Rescheduled.
- Jan 11 2021DISTRIBUTED for Conference of 1/15/2021.
- Jan 05 2021Rescheduled.
- Jan 04 2021DISTRIBUTED for Conference of 1/8/2021.
- Dec 09 2020Rescheduled.
- Dec 07 2020DISTRIBUTED for Conference of 12/11/2020.
- Dec 01 2020Rescheduled.
- Nov 30 2020DISTRIBUTED for Conference of 12/4/2020.
- Nov 18 2020Rescheduled.
- Nov 04 2020DISTRIBUTED for Conference of 11/20/2020.
- Nov 03 2020Reply of petitioner Jason Small filed. (Distributed)
- Oct 16 2020Brief of respondent Memphis Light, Gas & Water in opposition filed.
- Sep 03 2020Motion to extend the time to file a response is granted in part; the time is extended to and including October 16, 2020.
- Sep 01 2020Motion to extend the time to file a response from September 18, 2020 to October 19, 2020, submitted to The Clerk.
- Sep 01 2020Response to motion from petitioner Jason Small filed.
- Aug 19 2020Response Requested. (Due September 18, 2020)
- Aug 05 2020DISTRIBUTED for Conference of 9/29/2020.
- Jul 20 2020Brief amici curiae of Religious Liberty Scholars et al. filed.
- Jul 20 2020Brief amici curiae of National Jewish Commission on Law and Public Affairs, et al. filed.
- Jul 17 2020Brief amici curiae of Muslim Advocates and The Sikh Coalition filed.
- Jul 17 2020Brief amici curiae of Christian Legal Society, National Association of Evangelicals, Association of Christian Schools International, Institutional Religious Freedom Alliance, Queens Federation of Churches filed.
- Jul 10 2020Blanket Consent filed by Petitioner, Jason Small.
- Jun 15 2020Petition for a writ of certiorari filed. (Response due July 20, 2020)