Posted on 07/22/2011 11:00:58 PM PDT by TheDingoAteMyBaby
The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission filed a lawsuit against a Florida Jewish nursing home for firing a Seventh-day Adventist staffer who did not want to work on her Sabbath.
Menorah House in Boca Raton "denied a religious accommodation to Philomene Augustin and fired her because of her religious beliefs," the EEOC said in a statement Tuesday. The firing violated religious protections in the federal Civil Rights Act that require "reasonable accommodation" of religious beliefs, "so long as this does not pose an undue hardship," the EEOC said.
According to the EEOC, Augustin worked at Menorah House as a certified nursing assistant. The nursing home had accommodated her request not to work on the Seventh-day Adventist Sabbath, from sundown Friday to sundown Saturday, for more than 10 years until management instituted a new policy requiring all employees to work on Saturdays, regardless of their religious beliefs.
The EEOC filed a lawsuit, the statement said, only after its conciliation process failed. Menorah House, which is privately owned, is situated next to the Jewish community campus.
Huh? Don’t they both celebrate Shabbat on the same day?
Somebody still has to feed those old folks.
No such think as an old folks kennel.
As an SDA, I cannot for the life of me see the woman’s point of view. We have Seventh-day Adventist hospitals, and they don’t shut down on Sabbath. There are also Seventh-day Adventist nursing homes that I know are staffed fully on weekends and not with non-Adventist employees necessarily either. This is going to be a difficult one for the EEOC since they won’t be able to find many Adventists that would stand with the woman “wronged” on this one, particularly in a Jewish facility where supposedly they would all be worshipping on the same day.
I worked in a hospital for years. Nobody wanted to work Christmas, Sundays, Thanksgiving. Occaisionally you’d get the young girl who’d trade New Years for Christmas with you, but we all had to give up certain holidays.
I remember sadly getting up from Thanksgiving dinner at 2 to go to work one year. (I did 3-11).
Holidays are not for people that work in hospital type environments.
For obvious reasons, the nursing home for Jewish folks wanted to hire a person who could work on the Jewish Sabbath (which is the SDA's sabbath).
When this person converted and wanted to have sabbath off, it would negate the reason they hired her (whether it is the only reason, they don't say -- but even if we assume she's as good as or better than the rest of the staff, that still means that they will have a gap on Sabbath for folks to look after the elderly)
I sympathize with the lady who converted, but can also see the nursing place's point of view
Are Jewish employees of this Jewish nursing home required to work on the Sabbath?
This goes to show you how bizarre things get when you try to impose Federal mandates in any situation involving multiple religious groups. It's really no different than Chistianity and Sundays, though in most Christian denominations there are clear exceptions to Sunday work prohibitions for jobs that relate to life and safety.
Yeah they do. And I’ve had jobs doing eldercare and nursing like this were I sometimes had to work on Sunday. Those of us to wanted Sunday (I know it is Saturday for this person) off, would rotate so we would only have to work one Sunday a month.
I don’t know — maybe they purposely hire non-Jews for taking over on the Sabbath? In India I’ve seen Christians, Hindus, Moslems, Sikhs etc. substituting each other for each other’s holy days
New converts do tend to be more zealous and rigid in their beliefs. However, having grown up Adventist, health care was one of the careers hyped by church leaders and teachers, it being a field without any stigma for working on Sabbath as well as a good place to bear witness to Christ’s love.
Two friends of ours at church, one an EEOC instructor, also a retired chief petty officer, for the Navy, the other an Army chaplain, were involved with trying to work something out with a new convert who ran into trouble with his Navy supervisors in getting Sabbaths off. I forget the details, but his job was one that was considered necessary, where finding coverage for him every Saturday would be virtually impossible. One of the complicating factors was he was within months of retirement. The Navy was threatening dishonorable discharge. The chaplain, our pastor, and our retired Navy fireman/EEOC instructor tried to convince him that his job category fell into the the area where he could stay true to his God as well as the country.
As it turned out, the guy continued to refuse to work, but the chaplain, the EEOC guy, and the pastor were able to convince the powers that be to quietly let him retire a couple of months early.
“The nursing home had accommodated her request not to work on the Seventh-day Adventist Sabbath, from sundown Friday to sundown Saturday, for more than 10 years until management instituted a new policy requiring all employees to work on Saturdays...”
It sounds as if she had been a practicing SDA as long as her time with the facility, and requiring Saturday work is a recent change. Still, it’s only until sundown Saturday so that should leave room for Saturday evenings.
If you’d like to be on or off, please FR mail me.
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Acoording to the article yes, they are.
BTW, all Jewish authorities agree that the Sabbath may be violated to protect human life. This certainly qualifies.
It was the fact that they honored her request for 10 YEARS then suddenly changed their policy which is the problem.
If she had gone into the job knowing it required Saturday working, that would be one thing, however to suddenly change policy, when employers are bound by law to honor Sabbath keepers.
I too am a Sabbath keeper—on Sunday. MANY, MANY employers refuse to respect Sabbath keeping and make no “reasonable accommodation” for those who believe, as the 10 Commandments make clear, keeping one day of rest is an obligation—except in emergency type situations.
I have been turned down flat for more than one retail store jobs, which, unlike a Nursing Home, they doesn’t HAVE to be open... because they “required all employees to work weekends” which is a euphemism for disregarding keeping the Sabbath. What they did openly in interviews was illegal...but, they get away with it all the time in retail.
I have friends in retail who constantly HAVE to work on Sunday, and cannot go to Church, because of course if the refuse, they will be fired.
I think it is right and good that employers be required by law to respect religious practices such as Sabbath keeping.
I do understand in a hospital situation that’s not possible—but even in Orthodox Jewish regulations, that is acceptable. Like I said the problem is here, a nursing home is NOT a hospital, and, no reasonable accommodation was attempted to be made, after many years allowing this woman to honor the Sabbath day...
Ping
“Are Jewish employees of this Jewish nursing home required to work on the Sabbath?”
Yes.
FWIW, Mrs. (Dr.) Jewbacca has worked many a Shabbos and even Yom Kippur.
My youngest was born on Shabbos, and you bet your ass I drove the car as Mrs. Jewbacca went into labor. Used my cell and my credit card, too. Fed the other kids non-kosher food from a vending machine in the waiting room.
Saving/serving life is always the greater mitzvah.
“Are Jewish employees of this Jewish nursing home required to work on the Sabbath?”
Yes.
FWIW, Mrs. (Dr.) Jewbacca has worked many a Shabbos and even Yom Kippur.
My youngest was born on Shabbos, and you bet your ass I drove the car as Mrs. Jewbacca went into labor. Used my cell and my credit card, too. Fed the other kids non-kosher food from a vending machine in the waiting room.
Saving/serving life is always the greater mitzvah.
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