FRAZEE v. ILLINOIS DEPARTMENT OF EMPLOYMENT SECURITY et al., 489 U.S. 829

Summary

Appellant was presented with an employment opportunity that required him to work on Sunday. Appellant turned down the position and applied to the Department of Employment Security for unemployment benefits, claiming that there was good cause for his refusal to work on Sunday. His application was refused, and appellant challenged the denial. The Review Board affirmed the denial and informed appellant that, because appellant had not asserted a specific religious conviction, he was not entitled to benefits. The trial court and appellate court affirmed the decision. The United States Supreme Court held that the denial of appellant's unemployment compensation benefits violated the Free Exercise Clause, U.S. Const. amend. I, even though appellant had not professed that his membership in a particular religious sect did not allow him to be employed on Sunday. The Court found that appellant's refusal was based on a sincerely held religious belief and, therefore, reversed the lower courts' ...