Thomas v. Review Board of the Indiana Employment Security Division

Thomas v. Review Board of the Indiana Employment Security Division reinforced earlier decisions that required the states to have a compelling interest when denying unemployment benefits to people who leave their jobs because of sincere religious convictions.

Eddie C. Thomas, a Jehovah's Witness, was employed by the Blaw-Knox Foundry and Machinery Company in Indiana as a sheet metal worker. After a year on the job, he found himself transferred to another department which produced turrets for military tanks. Since the manufacture of armaments violated his religious beliefs, Thomas asked for a second transfer. When he was told there were no other openings in departments unrelated to military production, he asked to be laid off. When this request was likewise refused, Thomas quit his job. Thomas then applied for unemployment compensation benefits and appeared at an administrative hearing to explain his beliefs. His request for benefits was denied, on the grounds that his decision to quit was not based on "good cause arising in connection with his work." The Indiana Employment Security Division affirmed this decision, which Thomas then appealed in the state court--on the grounds that the denial of benefits violated his right to the free exercise his religion.