Sunday, September 14, 2025

Sherbert and Burden on Free Exercise

 From Oyez:

 

Facts of the case

Adeil Sherbert, a member of the Seventh-day Adventist Church, was fired from her job after she refused to work on Saturday, the Sabbath Day of her faith. The Employment Security Commission ruled that she could not receive unemployment benefits because her refusal to work on Saturday constituted a failure without good cause to accept available work. Under South Carolina law, employers were not allowed to require employees to work on Sunday. 

 
Question

Did the denial of unemployment compensation violate the First and Fourteenth Amendments?

 

Was denial of unemployment benefits a burden on her Free Exercise rights?

She was fired because her employer required her to work on her Sabbath Day; the state then denied her unemployment benefits for "fail[ing] without good cause, to accept suitable work when offered."

What is good cause? Who decides? What is suitable work?

Is denying unemployment benefits a burden on religion?  

See blog post on edited passage from casebook. 



No comments: