Case Study: Church Of Latter-Day Saints V. Amos

On Church of Latter-Day Saints v. Amos, Mayson has been employed for 16 years by Latter-Day Saints for 16 years. In 1981, he was discharged due to ineligibility for a temple recommend, thus a a non member of the church is not qualified to attend to to the temples which is part of his duty as a building engineer. The issue is whether or not the religious employers violate the First Amendment by discriminating on religious grounds in hiring nonreligious jobs. Although the district court ruled in favor of Mayson and ordered reinstatement with backpay, the court of appeals reversed the judgment.

Taking into account the Ministerial Exemption under Title VII, religious organizations are protected under the First Amendment. To avoid constitutional concerns of the free exercise rights of a religious organization, the federal court created the “Ministerial Exemption.” Said exception include personnel decisions by religious organizations regarding who would perform spiritual functions and how those functions would be organized. Thus, the initial decision of the lower court in favor of Mayson was later reversed by the court of appeals.

Hardison, TWA operates round the clock all year round. Its.seniority system is implemented by the union therefore dictates the shifts of employees. One of its employees, Larry Hardison practiced religion that requires refraining from work in respect to Sabbath and other religious holidays. Hardison’s manager was accommodating to his religious practice, however, when Hardison applied for transfer to another position, his seniority status didn’t qualify for him to choose his shifts. His refusal to report for work on Sabbath days (Saturdays) eventually caused his dismissal due to insubordination. The court decided that TWA did made reasonable efforts to accommodate Hardison’s religious