Sherbert v. Verner

Sherbert v. Verner was one in a long line of cases revolving around the issue of state restrictions on the free exercise of religion. The trend at the time this case was decided was toward narrower protection of free exercise. In the 1961 case of Braunfeld v. Brown, the Court held that a Pennsylvania "blue law" that banned certain stores from remaining open on Sunday did not violate the free exercise rights of an Orthodox Jewish shopkeeper who could not, for religious reasons, operate his shop on Saturday. This decision was essentially reaffirmed in Gallagher v. Crown Kosher Market (1961). In these cases, the Court concluded that restrictions on religious freedom are not unconstitutional if they impose only an indirect burden, such as loss of economic opportunities, on individuals.

Sherbert v. Verner presented a somewhat different set of circumstances. In this case, the appellant claimed to have suffered a direct and substantial economic burden. Adeil Sherbert, a member of the Seventh Day Adventist Church, was fired from her job because she refused to work on Saturdays, the Sabbath day of her faith. Sherbert attempted to find work elsewhere, but was turned down for a number of jobs because of her unwillingness to work Saturdays. She then applied for unemployment compensation from the state of South Carolina. The South Carolina Unemployment Compensation Act provided compensation for any individual who has made a good faith effort to accept available suitable work when offered. The state denied Sherbert's claim on the grounds that she had failed to accept jobs when offered. Sherbert appealed this denial of benefits, claiming her freedom to practice religion had been unfairly restricted. But the South Carolina Supreme Court upheld the unemployment commission's decision. Sherbert then appealed her case to the U.S. Supreme Court.