William S. Cook

William Cook (Partner-Detroit, MI) and Matthew High (Associate-Detroit, MI) collaborated on “Eye on Compliance: A Shift in Religious Accommodation Law,” which appeared in the July 27, 2023, posting of Law360’s Employment Authority section on Expert Analysis. Before the Supreme Court’s ruling in Groff v. DeJoy, many courts interpreted "an undue hardship" to mean any effort or cost that is "more than … de minimis." This was a lenient and employer-friendly standard that allowed employers to routinely deny religious accommodations — even minor ones. Now, “…employers must wrestle with the fallout from Groff, which will require employers to prove the burden of granting an accommodation will result in substantial increased costs in relation to the conduct of its particular business. This is a notable change in the law that employers would be prudent to observe.”