The project’s proposal to amend the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) to mandate time-and-a-half pay for Sunday work reflects a traditional view of the Sabbath. However, this focus on Sunday has sparked concerns among religious groups like Seventh-day Adventists, who observe their Sabbath from Friday sundown to Saturday sundown. While the proposal includes provisions for varying Sabbath practices, its primary emphasis on Sunday could inadvertently marginalize other faiths.
On March 1, 2024, the European Sunday Alliance issued a new manifesto reaffirming its commitment to a work-free Sunday.
Reintegrating Sunday into the European Union’s Working Time Directive would be unlawful, unconstitutional, and result in indirect discrimination says Brighton Kavaloh, founder and director of Adventreligio-legal Perspectives.
In a world of religious diversity coupled with a common system of of commerce, the institution of a common day of rest and its enforcement would necessarily require coercive methods to prevent individuals from carrying out interpersonal business activities, and place greater pressure on observers of other days of rest to violate their conscience by working on their rest days.
Senator Joseph Lieberman, Independent-Democrat of Connecticut and former vice presidential candidate describes his observance of the Sabbath in his new book entitled, “The Gift of Rest.” Description: The Sabbath is a gift that Senator Joe Lieberman, as an observant Jew, received from his parents who, in turn, received it from their parents, who received it…
NOTE: This is in reference to a law that has been on the books in North Dakota for many years. In the past, it banned business all on Sunday. In 1991, the law was changed to restrict business only until noon on Sunday. This is not a “new” Sunday blue law. This article is interesting…
EXCERPT: Two of the most influential forces in conservative lobbying are poised to go head-to-head this fall over an issue that some Pennsylvania lawmakers dread might be one of the most difficult of the session. It’s the Pennsylvania Farm Bureau vs. the National Rifle Association in a title bout over the legalization of hunting on…
EXCERPT: A proposal to put Israel on a shortened work week, with Friday a half-day and Sunday a vacation day, may be buried before it gets off the ground. Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu has agreed on a Knesset committee to discuss the proposal by Deputy Prime Minister Silvan Shalom, but it quickly ran into opposition…
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…
In its Founding Statement, the European Sunday Alliance argues that, in the interest of synchronicity, Sunday is the appropriate day of rest for all of Europe, and makes no allowance or acknowledgment of what should be done for those whose faith requires them to rest on a day outside of Sunday. In fact, it is not hard to see how those who rest on a different day might be an annoyance or hindrance to Sunday rest, and even in the debate may be portrayed as roadblocks, troublemakers, or even anti-religious. Businesses who open on Sunday could be fined, and those who conduct their own entrepreneurial endeavors on Sunday could also find themselves operating against the law.