In a precedent-making decision, the Board of Review of the Massachusetts Division of Employment Security has ruled in favor of an Orthodox Jewish woman who had been denied unemployment compensation because she had refused to work on the Sabbath.
The decision, handed down on the appeal of a bookkeeper, from a ruling last January denying her the right to collect compensation, because of her refusal to accept a job offered her which required some work on Saturdays, held that this refusal was reasonable, and did not destroy her availability for bookkeeping work in general.
Edward J. Barshak, attorney for the American Jewish Congress, who pressed the appeal, pointed out to the review board that the statutes made no provision for Sabbath observance, and asked the board to construe the statutes in the light of the constitutional requirement of religious liberty. He termed the decision a “victory for religious freedom.”
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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.
