Labor/Employment,
Constitutional Law
Sep. 2, 2025
No religious accommodation for state's loyalty oath violates Title VII
The oath, a part of the California Constitution, requires state employees to pledge to "bear true faith and allegiance" to and "support and defend" the state and national constitutions "against all enemies, foreign and domestic."
The state controller's office violated Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 when it rescinded a job offer to a Jehovah's Witness who sought to modify the required loyalty oath to state her first duty was to God, a federal judge in Sacramento ruled Friday.
The California Department of Justice argued that Title VII does not apply to state oaths, like the ones required for employment. Bolden-Hardge v. Office of the State Controller, 2:20-cv-02081-JAM-SCR (E.D. C...
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