Legal Issue(s): NA
Case Description
Did a state official of California violate Title VII of the 1964 Civil Rights Act when he rescinded a job offer solely because the potential employee’s religion prevented her from taking a state loyalty oath? The Center believes he did.
The Center joined an amicus brief (Bolden-Hardge v. CA State Controller) on behalf of the plaintiff who is a devout Jehovah’s Witness. Important factors made this case stand out. The plaintiff, already a state employee, was denied accommodation to add language that satisfied her need to assert she would not take up arms against the state nor put the state before God. In past positions, the oath was either not administered or she was given accommodations. Now, the state declares she can’t have either.
There is no undue hardship on the state for her to perform the duties of the position in the controller’s office. Moreover, California cannot claim that the state constitution requires the oath. Essentially, the case shows disqualification by government from benefits—a job—because of the person’s sincerely held religious viewpoint.
A win for the state opens wide the possibility of disfavoring other job applicants who may hold religious views disfavored by state actors. The Center’s brief urges the court to overturn this decision with either damages or reinstatement of the job, or both.
