The National Jewish Commission on Law and Public Affairs (COLPA) announced today that it has received confirmation from the U.S. Civil Service Commission that regulations concerning Sabbath observers apply to the new U.S. Postal Service which took over the functions of the U.S. Post Office on July 1. The confirmation was contained in a letter from Irving Kator, assistant executive director of the Civil Service Commission, to COLPA president Julius Berman. Berman had filed a formal application with the Commission asking that the regulations be applied to the new quasi-governmental agency.
They require the Postal Service to make reasonable accommodations to the religious needs of Sabbath observing job applicants and employes when such accommodations can be made without undue interference with the business of the agency or the rights of other employes. Berman announced the new development. He added that “COLPA is embarking on a comprehensive program that will include negotiations with individual agencies, as well as Civil Service Commission and court proceedings to protect the rights of Sabbath observers in Postal Service employment as well as employment throughout the Federal system.”
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