EXCERPT: The law, called the “Workplace Religious Freedom Act” by supporters, changes the legal standard by which courts review claims of religious workplace discrimination by public and private city employees. Under current city law, employers are required to make ?reasonable accommodations’ for the religious practices of their employees. However, employers can bypass this requirement by…
Category: Employment Law
Feds Find Young Children Working Strawberry Farms – ABC News
EXCERPT: “In a letter to Labor Secretary Hilda Solis sent last Friday, Human Rights Watch expressed concern over a “disturbing overall decline in enforcement of child labor law” at the Department’s Wage and Hour Division. The non-profit group, which documented the use of child labor in farm work in a report released last year, cited…
Israel Looking Into Making Sunday Day of Rest (Bloomberg)
EXCERPT: Israel’s government is examining a proposal to shift the weekend to the western Saturday and Sunday, a step that may benefit financial markets and retail and leisure companies. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu this week appointed Eugene Kandel, head of the National Economic Council, to look into the implications of changing the weekend from Friday…
Church, State, and the Postal Service: The Contentious History of Sunday Mail Delivery
Between its inception in 1775 and 1912, postal employees delivered mail seven (7) days a week. In the early 1800s, religious leaders became concerned that employees were forced to work on the “Christian Sabbath,” or Sunday, and began to petition Congress to use its Article I powers to disallow Sunday delivery. This concern reached a fevered pitch in 1810 when Congress required post offices to open at least one hour on Sunday. Outraged that Congress had thus enforced Sunday desecration, religious leaders began to clamor for legislation that would outlaw Sunday operations.
Justice Department sues on behalf of Muslim teacher, triggering debate – The Washington Post
Do religious accommodation requirements cover a 3 week trip to Mecca? http://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/justice-department-sues-on-behalf-of-muslim-teacher-triggering-debate/2010/07/28/ABfSPtEB_story.html
Baptist Joint Committee for Religious Liberty – Supreme Court to Hear Religious Hiring Case
This case involving the ministerial exemotion from employment discrimination statutes could have huge implications for churches and denominations.
Religious Liberty 2010 – A Year in Review
By Jason Hines – 2010 has been an interesting year in the area of church-state relations, both at home and abroad. While we cannot cover every event of magnitude that took place this year in this forum, we will touch on some of the more important events have taken place over the last 365 days….
CalChamber Sounds Alarm on Employer Impact of Proposition 19
“This initiative would change the way employers are required to do business in our state,” said Allan Zaremberg, President and CEO of the California Chamber of Commerce. “Essentially any employer would be required to offer marijuana users extra protections above those provided to other employees. If Proposition 19 becomes law, our state’s workers will face increased exposure to injuries and our employers will face increased exposure to liability. Proposition 19 is bad for employers and their employees.”
9th Circuit: World Vision Can Continue Faith-Based Hiring
On August 23, 2010, the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that World Vision is a religious organization and is therefore exempt from Title VII prohibitions on religious discrimination. Three former employees Silvia Spencer, Ted Youngberg, and Vicki Hulse had had filed suit against the well-known humanitarian organization in 2007, claiming they had been victims…
Workplace Religious Freedom Bill Finds Revived Interest (Religion News Service)
EXCERPT: May 5, 2010 – WASHINGTON (RNS) — More than a decade after it was first introduced, an on-again off-again bill to protect employees’ religious expression in the workplace is attracting renewed attention that could lead to action on Capitol Hill in coming weeks. . . . “The bill will be introduced to Congress soon…