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June 3, 2004
Union
of Orthodox Jewish Congregations
Criticizes A.C.L.U. for Opposing
Religious Liberty Legislation; Religious Accommodation Bill Will
Fight Religious Discrimination in
the Workplace and
is Supported by
Broad Array of Religious Groups
and Senators
Today, the
Union of Orthodox Jewish Congregations of America – the nation’s
largest Orthodox Jewish umbrella organization and a leading member
of the broad and diverse Coalition for Religious Freedom in the
Workplace – strongly criticized the American Civil Liberties Union
for its opposition to the bipartisan Workplace Religious Freedom
Act, currently pending in the U.S. Senate.
The Workplace Religious Freedom Act (“WRFA”) would reinstate
religious liberty protections in federal civil rights law which
encourage employers to accommodate the religious needs of their
employees. Examples include allowing individuals who wear
religious clothing such as skullcaps, turbans or headscarves to
work; and allowing for flexible scheduling arrangements in order
to accommodate time off for a religious holiday.
WRFA is supported by an incredibly broad and diverse coalition of
American religious organizations including the Union as well as:
American Jewish Committee, Southern Baptist Convention, National
Council of Churches, Sikh Mediawatch, National Council of Muslim
Women, Family Research Council, National Association of
Evangelicals, National Council of Jewish Women, Union of Reform
Judaism, the Interfaith Alliance, and many more.
It has
garnered broad bipartisan support in Capitol Hill. WRFA’s lead
sponsors are Senator Rick Santorum (R-PA) and Senator John Kerry
(D-MA); other cosponsors include Senators Hillary Clinton, Norm
Coleman, Joe Lieberman, Orrin Hatch, Barbara Mikulski, Gordon
Smith, Jon Corzine, John Cornyn, Chuck Schumer, Arlen Specter and
Ron Wyden.
Nevertheless, the ACLU has announced its opposition to this
consensus piece of religious liberty legislation by distributing a
memo on Capitol Hill yesterday asserting that WRFA would threaten
the rights of religious and racial minorities, women and gays.
Leaders of the Coalition supporting WRFA have offered detailed
responses to the ACLU memo demonstrating its assertions to be
baseless.
Nathan Diament, the UOJCA’s director of public policy stated in
reaction to the news of the ACLU’s action:
We are deeply disappointed
that an organization which is supposedly dedicated to the
protection of civil liberties has decided to oppose consensus
legislation which will bolster the very liberty this nation was
founded to champion – religious liberty. We are confident this
baseless attack will be quickly repudiated by people of good will
and that this important legislation will be enacted.
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