Estate of Thornton v. Caldor, Inc.

We granted certiorari to decide whether a state statute that provides employees with the absolute right not to work *705on their chosen Sabbath violates the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment.

I

In early 1975, petitioner’s decedent Donald E. Thornton1 began working for respondent Caldor, Inc., a chain of New England retail stores; he managed the men’s and boys’ clothing department in respondent’s Waterbury, Connecticut, store. At that time, respondent’s Connecticut stores were closed on Sundays pursuant to state law. Conn. Gen. Stat. §§53-300 to 53-303 (1958).

In 1977, following the state…