(A) The General Assembly finds that certain areas of the State would benefit greatly from a complete exemption from Chapter 1 of Title 53. This benefit would be a result of an expanded tax base thereby reducing the burden placed on property owners through the property tax. Allowing the operation of establishments on Sunday in these areas also would reduce the property tax burden through additional accommodations tax revenue which allows these areas to provide necessary governmental service from these revenues.
(B) The provisions of Chapter 1 of Title 53 do not apply to any county area, as defined in Section 6-4-5(1), which collects more than nine hundred thousand dollars in one fiscal year in revenues from the accommodations tax provided for in Section 12-36-2630(3) and imposed in Section 12-36-920(A). After a county area has collected more than nine hundred thousand dollars in one fiscal year in revenues from the accommodations tax provided for in Section 12-36-2630(3) and imposed in Section 12-36-920(A), the exclusion from the provisions of Chapter 1 of Title 53 will continue from year to year irrespective of whether revenue falls below nine hundred thousand dollars in subsequent years.
(C) Any employee of any business which operates on Sunday under the provisions of this section has the option of refusing to work in accordance with Section 53-1-100. Any employer who dismisses or demotes an employee because he is a conscientious objector to Sunday work is subject to a civil penalty of treble the damages found by the court or the jury plus court costs and the employee's attorney's fees. The court may order the employer to rehire or reinstate the employee in the same position he was in prior to dismissal or demotion without forfeiture of compensation, rank, or grade.
No proprietor of a retail establishment who is opposed to working on Sunday may be forced by his lessor or franchisor to open his establishment on Sunday nor may there be discrimination against persons whose regular day of worship is Saturday.
HISTORY: 1985 Act No. 86 Section 3; 1995 Act No. 134, Section 3, eff (became law without the Governor's signature on June 13, 1995).
Editor's Note