A bill to protect the rights of Jews and others who want time off from their jobs to observe Shabbat and religious holidays has been introduced in the House by Rep. Stephen Solarz (D-N.Y.).
The Religious Accommodation Amendment of 1989 would require an employer to allow an employee to choose a means of accommodating his or her religious needs if there is more than one way to do this.
“The freedom to observe religious obligations, to keep the Sabbath and other holy days, is basic to the American way of life,” Solarz said.
The bill is a response to a series of decisions by the U.S. Supreme Court. Solarz believes the decisions have eroded the provision of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 that requires employers to “reasonably” accommodate the religious practices of employees.
David Lachman, an aide to Solarz, said that the high court’s decisions have freed employers from the obligation to accommodate employees.
In some cases, employees have been required to take a day off without pay, rather than work a different shift at no inconvenience to the employers.
JTA has documented Jewish history in real-time for over a century. Keep our journalism strong by joining us in supporting independent, award-winning reporting.
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.
