Supreme Court wrestles with religion, strikes, and discrimination at work

The United States Supreme Court is set to hear a series of cases that will require it to contend with difficult employment issues involving religion, strikes, and discrimination.
Religion
The Supreme Court will soon have the opportunity to re-examine when a workplace religious accommodation must be granted. The current standard—established in the 1977 TWA v. Hardison case—requires only a minimal inconvenience to support the rejection of a religious accommodation. The Hardison standard has been challenged and narrowed repeatedly over the years, and Goff v. DeJoy will provide the Court an occasion to continue that trend.
Goff claims his religion forbids work on Sunday. His employer (the Postal Service) asserts this accommodation would impose burdens on others and could violate labor agreements. The appellate court agreed, but few believe the Court, which has been expansively protective of religious claims, will reach a similar ruling.
Strikes
To what degree does federal labor law insulate a union from paying for damages caused to an employer during a strike? Behind this question lies the broader doctrine of federal labor preemption under which federal law preempts state court lawsuits over conduct the federal law protects.