Chick-fil-A could sue the state of New York if it's forced to keep restaurants open seven days a week, according to a legal expert.
New York Assemblyman Tony Simone recently introduced a bill that would require all restaurants at New York's rest stops to be open every day of the week—including Chick-fil-A, whose restaurants are closed on Sundays. According to the Democratic lawmaker, the new legislation would guarantee necessary food services for the many people driving throughout the state on the weekend, the busiest travel days of the week.
"It makes no sense for rest areas to rely on a company that by policy is closed on such a busy travel day," a spokesperson for Simone previously told Newsweek, referring to Chick-fil-A.
Chick-fil-A says on its website that the fast-food chain's founder, Truett Cathy, decided to close the restaurants on Sundays in 1946 when he opened the first one, in Hapeville, Georgia.
"Having worked seven days a week in restaurants open 24 hours, Truett saw the importance of closing on Sundays so that he and his employees could set aside one day to rest or worship if they choose, a practice we uphold today," Chick-fil-A says on its site.
This decades-long tradition might end at Chick-fil-A's nine restaurants at New York's rest stops if the bill becomes law. While Chick-fil-A's current contract would not be affected if the legislation is passed, "the bill would require any future contracts negotiated by the Thruway Authority to include a provision that restaurants are open seven days a week," Simone's spokesperson said.
Newsweek contacted Chick-fil-A for comment on Wednesday by email.
Gregory Germain, a professor at Syracuse University's College of Law, told Newsweek that Chick-fil-A could sue and argue that the law violates its religious principles.
The Hobby Lobby Case's Precedent
The governing U.S. Supreme Court decision on the matter would be Burwell v. Hobby Lobby Stores, "where the Court held that private corporations are 'persons' under the Affordable Care Act and that the ACA violated HL's religious principles by requiring them to pay for contraceptives for employees," Germain said.
The case involved the Green family, which owned and operated an arts and crafts chain, Hobby Lobby Stores, according to what it considered Christian principles. Because of their beliefs, the family believed that contraception is immoral and did not want to provide the company's employees with contraception approved by the Food and Drug Administration—even though Hobby Lobby had to do so under the ACA.
On September 12, 2021, Hobby Lobby Stores sued the then-secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services, Kathleen Sebelius, challenging the ACA's contraception requirement. The Green family argued that the requirement violated the free exercise clause in the First Amendment and the Religious Freedom Restoration Act of 1993 (RFRA).
The case eventually went to the Supreme Court, which ruled that companies were "persons" under the RFRA and had protected rights under the free exercise clause.
The landmark decision allowed privately held, for-profit companies to be exempt from regulations that their owners object to for religious reasons, although the Court held that the ruling applied only to the contraceptive mandate.
"Burwell was a controversial 5-4 decision, so it's hard to know whether it would be followed and how it would be applied under different facts," Germain said.
He continued: "Assuming the Court followed Burwell, it is unclear to me whether the Court would view the seven-day requirement the same way that they view funding for contraceptives—after all, many Christian-owned businesses are open on Sunday—and if so, whether the government would have a less restrictive way of meeting the public need for food on Sunday."
Uncommon Knowledge
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
");jQuery(this).remove()}) jQuery('.start-slider').owlCarousel({loop:!1,margin:10,nav:!0,items:1}).on('changed.owl.carousel',function(event){var currentItem=event.item.index;var totalItems=event.item.count;if(currentItem===0){jQuery('.owl-prev').addClass('disabled')}else{jQuery('.owl-prev').removeClass('disabled')} if(currentItem===totalItems-1){jQuery('.owl-next').addClass('disabled')}else{jQuery('.owl-next').removeClass('disabled')}})}})})
ncG1vNJzZmivp6x7r7HWrK6enZtjsLC5jpyfopubYrOquIycpq6klGLAtrGMp5ywZamkv6x51aKmpZmknruoedGeo6KfmaTCtHnPq6Cnm5mluaa%2FjGpvbmxlZ4M%3D