The Canadian Jewish Congress has won a victory in the case of two religious Jews denied the benefits of Canada’s unemployment insurance program because they insisted on keeping the Sabbath on Saturday.
Benefits were denied Benny Shapiro and Samuel Zeidenberg of Toronto by the Unemployment Insurance Commission on the grounds that by their refusal to work Saturday the two men had withdrawn their availability for work within the meaning of the law. In an appeal, the Congress argued that refusal to grant them full benefits constituted a dimunition of their rights on religious grounds. A judicial umpire settled the case in favor of the two Jews. Subsequently, the Unemployment Insurance Commission amended its regulations to grant full benefits in other similar cases.
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The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
