Please read the fact pattern below and answer the following questions:
Sam owns a resort that has over 100 employees. He hired Sandra, a Christian to serve as a housekeeper. Sandra informed him during the interview process that per her faith, she would need to have every Sunday off on the schedule as she goes to church on Sunday and believes that Sunday is the Sabbath and that she must keep it holy by not working and taking a rest. Sam, who espoused a policy of diversity, told her it wouldn’t be an issue.
After the U.S. Supreme Court decision in Burwell v. Hobby Lobby Stores, 573 U.S. 682 (2014), Sam decided to stop paying for any kind of birth control through the health insurance that he offered his employees due to financial loss associated with the COVID-19 crisis; the business went under and numerous employees left for higher paying jobs or left out of fear of catching the virus. While the resort offered free COVID-19 vaccinations, many stated that it was against their religion to take the vaccine and opted to look for other employment.
Sam then started thinking about other ways in which religion impacted his business. After talking with his wife, he decided to tell Sandra that she could no longer be off every Sunday, as it probably was disruptive to business and bothered the other employees (as they said they were Christians too, but still had to work on Sunday and even took the vaccine to maintain their job during the economic uncertainty). He issued Sandra a letter informing her that, under her religious freedom rights as a business owner, he would no longer allow her to be off every Sunday. The next day, he got a certified letter from Sandra’s lawyer telling him that he was violating her rights and unless he allowed her to continue to continue to be off every Sunday, he would be subject to a lawsuit.
Part 1
How would the legal dilemma(s) posed in this scenario likely be resolved if no Constitution existed? Does what you imagine seem impartial and/or fair to all parties?
Part 2
Using the federal Constitution “as is”, assume that:
– if your last name starts with A-M, you are a paralegal assigned to assisting Sandra’s lawyer.
– if your last name starts with N-Z, you are a paralegal assigned to assisting Sam’s lawyer.
Further assume that the lawyer for whom you work wants you to outline the basic arguments that should be made for the respective client (either Sandra or Sam). Upon what resource(s) did you rely in your proposed legal argument?
Note that the First Amendment protects against governmental actions, not those of private individuals. Also, what is the law that gives First Amendment rights to corporations? You will want to find that as well (it’s mentioned in the Hobby Lobby case). Here’s something to start your research on the rights of individuals in the workplace.
Part 3
Now you may make your personal commentary on these issues.
Do you agree with corporations having First Amendment rights? Why or why not?
Do you think that corporations should be able to impose the religious beliefs of the owners on the employees and not be subject to restrictions like Title VII?
What if Sam was a Scientologist? What if Sam was a member of a religion created by his cousin? How do you know if a religious practice is protected?
Does the US need a constitution or not? Why?
