Employment Division, Department of Human Resources of the State of Oregon, et al. v. Black

Opinion summary

Etalia.ai summary of the majority opinion

The case involved two Native American men, Alfred Smith and Galen Black, who were fired from their jobs at a private drug rehabilitation organization for ingesting peyote as part of religious ceremonies of the Native American Church. They applied for unemployment benefits but were denied by the Employment Division of Oregon on grounds that they had been dismissed for work-related 'misconduct.' The central question was whether denying unemployment benefits to individuals using illegal drugs in religious rituals violated their First Amendment right to free exercise of religion. The Supreme Court ruled against Smith and Black, holding that the state could deny them unemployment compensation because prohibiting peyote use was a valid law not specifically targeting any religious practice. Thus, it did not violate the Free Exercise Clause since laws incidentally burdening religion are permissible if they are neutral and generally applicable.