Thomas v. Review Board of the Indiana Employment Security Division

E67057

Thomas v. Review Board of the Indiana Employment Security Division is a 1981 U.S. Supreme Court case that applied strict scrutiny to a denial of unemployment benefits based on an individual’s religiously motivated refusal to perform certain work, reinforcing robust protections for free exercise of religion.

All labels observed (4)

How this entity was disambiguated

Statements (49)

Predicate Object
instanceOf First Amendment case
U.S. Supreme Court case
United States constitutional law case
free exercise of religion case
areaOfLaw United States First Amendment jurisprudence
arguedDate 1980-11-04
citation 450 U.S. 707
concurrenceBy Potter Stewart
surface form: Justice Potter Stewart

William J. Brennan Jr.
surface form: Justice William J. Brennan Jr.
constitutionalProvision First Amendment to the United States Constitution
Free Exercise Clause
court Supreme Court of the United States
decisionDate 1981-04-06
dissentBy John Paul Stevens
surface form: Justice John Paul Stevens
factPattern Jehovah’s Witness employee quit job after transfer to department producing turrets for military tanks
fullName Thomas v. Review Board of the Indiana Employment Security Division self-link
holding Denial of unemployment benefits to a worker who quit his job because of religious objections to producing armaments violated the Free Exercise Clause of the First Amendment
issue whether denial of unemployment benefits for refusing work on religious grounds violates the Free Exercise Clause
jurisdiction Indiana
surface form: State of Indiana

United States of America
surface form: United States
legalSubject constitutional law
labor and employment law
unemployment compensation
majorityJustices Byron R. White
Harry A. Blackmun
Lewis F. Powell Jr.
Potter Stewart
Thurgood Marshall
Warren E. Burger
William H. Rehnquist
William J. Brennan Jr.
majorityOpinionBy Warren E. Burger
surface form: Chief Justice Warren E. Burger
pageInUnitedStatesReports 707
petitioner Eddie C. Thomas
principle courts may not question the reasonableness of a religious belief, only its sincerity
government may not condition receipt of unemployment benefits on conduct that violates sincerely held religious beliefs absent a compelling state interest
relatedCase Employment Division v. Smith
Sherbert v. Verner
Wisconsin v. Yoder
respondent Thomas v. Review Board of the Indiana Employment Security Division self-linksurface differs
surface form: Review Board of the Indiana Employment Security Division
result Indiana’s denial of unemployment benefits was reversed
shortName Thomas v. Review Board of the Indiana Employment Security Division self-linksurface differs
surface form: Thomas v. Review Board
standardOfReview strict scrutiny
stateParty Indiana
topic conscientious objection
religious liberty
unemployment benefits
volumeOfUnitedStatesReports 450
yearDecided 1981

How these facts were elicited

Referenced by (11)

Full triples — surface form annotated when it differs from this entity's canonical label.

Sherbert v. Verner precedentFor Thomas v. Review Board of the Indiana Employment Security Division
Sherbert test relatedCase Thomas v. Review Board of the Indiana Employment Security Division
this entity surface form: Thomas v. Review Board
Thomas v. Review Board of the Indiana Employment Security Division fullName Thomas v. Review Board of the Indiana Employment Security Division self-link
Thomas v. Review Board of the Indiana Employment Security Division shortName Thomas v. Review Board of the Indiana Employment Security Division self-linksurface differs
this entity surface form: Thomas v. Review Board
Thomas v. Review Board of the Indiana Employment Security Division respondent Thomas v. Review Board of the Indiana Employment Security Division self-linksurface differs
this entity surface form: Review Board of the Indiana Employment Security Division
Hobbie v. Unemployment Appeals Commission of Florida relatedCase Thomas v. Review Board of the Indiana Employment Security Division
Frazee v. Illinois Department of Employment Security precededByCase Thomas v. Review Board of the Indiana Employment Security Division
Eddie C. Thomas partyTo Thomas v. Review Board of the Indiana Employment Security Division
Eddie C. Thomas legalActionAgainst Thomas v. Review Board of the Indiana Employment Security Division
this entity surface form: Review Board of the Indiana Employment Security Division
Eddie C. Thomas filedAppealWith Thomas v. Review Board of the Indiana Employment Security Division
this entity surface form: Review Board of the Indiana Employment Security Division
Eddie C. Thomas caseCitation Thomas v. Review Board of the Indiana Employment Security Division
this entity surface form: Thomas v. Review Board of the Indiana Employment Security Division, 450 U.S. 707 (1981)