Frazee v. Illinois Department of Employment Security (1988)
- Docket
- 87-1945
- Decided
- 1988-01-01
Summary
Question: Must a person who declines to work on Sunday because of a sincerely-held religious conviction prove that his conviction is a tenet of an established religious sect or body in order to claim the protection of the First Amendment guarantee of free exercise of religion? Conclusion: No. Justice Byron R. White, writing for a unanimous court, reversed the lower court and remanded. The Supreme Court held that denying Frazee unemployment benefits violated the free exercise clause. The state had no interest compelling enough to override an individual's exercise of sincerely-held religious beliefs, even though they were not part of an established religious sect.