A federal judge found that the state of California failed to offer the plaintiff a religious accommodation in an unusual but important dispute.
Bolden-Hardge, a devout Jehovah’s Witness, was offered a job by the California State Comptroller’s office, which requires the job holder to take an oath before starting. Bolden-Hardge asked to substitute her own version of the oath, which merely clarified that by taking the job she would not be required to take up arms or put the state before her religious convictions. The state had honored this request previously at a different job. The comptroller’s office refused the accommodation and rescinded the job offer.
The primary legal questions involved whether California violated Title VII of the 1964 Civil Rights Act for failing to accommodate Bolden-Hardge and for disparate impact. While the court found no disparate impact to Bolden-Hardge, it did find that California indeed violated her rights under Title VII when it failed to provide the requested accommodation.
CLS’s Center for Law & Religious Freedom filed an amicus brief urging summary judgement for Bolden-Hardge’s accommodation claim, which the court granted. Read the complete decision here.
