...states, “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of Grievances.” Numerous cases discuss whether corporations have First Amendment rights, however only few cases discuss whether the Free Exercise Clause of the First Amendment applies to corporations. In Central Hudson v. PSC (1980) and Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission (2010) the Supreme Court ruled that the First Amendment protects corporations’ commercial speech and political speech, respectively. In Santa Clara Company v. Southern Pacific Railroad (1886) the court ruled that the equal protection clause of the Fourteenth Amendment applies to corporations. The issue of whether the Affordable Care Act violates individuals’ rights to Free Exercise of Religion has also been a hotly debated topic. The Supreme Court Case Church of the Lukumi Babalu Aye v. Hialeah (1993) discussed whether the government can give ordinances that violate an individual’s right to Free Exercise. The Supreme Court Case Shervert v. Verner (1963) showed that a company cannot not provide an employee with compensation benefits if it interferes with the employee’s right to Free Exercise. Issue Should corporations receive the same First Amendment Rights as individuals? Rule Multiple issues pertain to this situation. The First...
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...United States (1878): This Supreme Court case experimented the limitation of religious freedom by sustaining a federal law prohibiting polygamy. Court ruled that the first amendment banned government from adjusting religion except actions like marriage. Braunfeld v. Brown (1961): The Supreme Court endorsed a Pennsylvania law that enforced stores to close on Sundays. Orthodox Jews disagreed of that law since their religion required them to close their stores on Saturdays as well. Sherbert v. Verner (1963): The Supreme Court led that states couldn’t force anyone to leave their religion in compliance to gain benefits. Adell Sherbert, and Adventist, employed in a textile mill. She put in an application for unemployment compensation, a South Carolina court rejected her claim. Ten Commandments cases (2005): Controverted decisions in two cases ruled by the Supreme Court which had to do with the display of the Ten Commandments on public property. Van Orden v. Perry, Supreme Court ruled that the six-foot Ten Commandment statue displayed at the Texas State Capital was constitutional. Mcreary County v. ACLU, the Supreme Court ruled that two huge, bordered duplicated of the Ten Commandments in Kentucky courthouse infringed the First...
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...and Case Law Relationship Paper Charity Lehman Cev Smith Michelle R Wilson Connie Ferguson-Rangel MGT 434 April 5, 2006 Introduction Anti-Discrimination Laws were enacted to "promote fairness, equality, and opportunity within the workplace." More distinctively, these federal employment laws prohibit employment practices that discriminate on the basis of race, age, gender, national origin, color, disability and religion. The same laws also prohibit employers from striking back against those persons who filed claims of discrimination. There are several civil rights statutes that employers must become familiar with and incorporate into their daily business and employment practices. These statutes would include Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), Age Discrimination Act (ADEA), Equal Pay Act (EPA), and Title VII of the Civil Rights Act, Executive Order 11246, and the Vocational Rehabilitation Act. Religion The first amendment to the United States Constitution states in part “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof…” (Author Unknown, 1791). This statute has been at the root of a number of legal issues surrounding the Ten Commandments from Jewish and Christian religion of late. A number of cases from Texas to Maryland to Nebraska have worked their way through the Federal court system with a few being heard by the Supreme Court...
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...religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances.” The bill of rights was submitted to the states for ratification on September 25, 1789 and adopted on December 15, 1791. The first amendment was one of those amendments within the bill of rights to be adopted by the American culture. The first amendment was made as an act to guarantee our civil liberties rights. What people don’t really know is that the 1st amendment had to undergo many changes to be really effective. In the beginning the 1st amendment wasn’t as powerful it is now. Many cases had to happen for the first amendment to be really effective. Before these cases, people still weren’t really able to express themselves freely without any repercussions. For example, people weren’t able to freely write they wanted in the paper; as in talk bad about the government. The state government was no longer able to impose censorship and restrict speech, which is guaranteed by the First amendment. In 1798, the Sedition Act violated the first amendment by making it a crime to speak or write maliciously of the president or of Congress. President John Adams justified it by defining it as “intent to defame” or to bring either “into contempt or disrepute.” This act restricted the first amendment by limiting freedom of speech and of the press. This act stifled legitimate...
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...al-Samad has stated the SHARIA law violates the religious clauses of the First Amendment of the Constitution, or more specifically the free exercise and establishment clauses. al-Samad points this out because the law bans the usage of Sharia law in its application in forming federal laws and federal court precedents. As for how the SHARIA law violates the establishment clause of the U.S. Constitution one simply look no further than the third prong of the Lemon Test, which says a law passed under state or federal power should not create excessive government entanglement. Under the proposed definition of the this law, one would have to define what Sharia, is but my sharia’s definition, it is merely “a path to water” or a starting point and therefore would be different for each individual Muslim depending on their own interpretation and many other factors, rather than its counterpart in the Arabic language “fiqh” which is considered set in stone, but since it is decided by man, it may be filled in numerous errors and subject to change....
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...In order for a firm to be exempt from providing insurance to its employees they had to be classified as a non-profit organization or a Church. A businesses classification will give them exemptions for example a non-profit organization. A non-profit organization can be defined as “an incorporated organization which exists for educational or charitable reasons, and from which its shareholders or trustees do not benefit financially” (Investor Words, 2014). Because of the mandates of the Affordable Care Act, it is now in the center of litigation in which a for-profit organization is asking for exemptions from providing women health care, contraceptives, due to the owner’s religious belief. (Reese, 2014) Can a for-profit be exempt? What cases have been decided in which a for-profit organization has had a religious exemption? What are the implications to a business if a for-profit business gains religious exemptions on the owner’s religious beliefs? Hobby Lobby was founded by David Green in 1970. Mr. Green is 72 years old and operates as the chief executive officer of Hobby Lobby,...
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