# Laws against working on the Sabbath? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [March 31, 2026, 6:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/laws-against-working-on-the-sabbath/1028918 "2026-03-31T18:06:48Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 5
**Author:** ![Mark\_Finn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/34f0e0/32.png) [@Mark\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mark_Finn)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2026, 5:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/laws-against-working-on-the-sabbath/1028918/81 "2026-04-03T17:19:20Z")
I don’t think it’s a law, but looking at opening hours for a half dozen auto dealerships in the Montreal area - all are closed on Sundays (and most on Saturdays). I recall some incidents a few years ago, in which dealers who opened on weekends might find a brick or two thrown through their window. ---
**Author:** ![PatrickLondon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/patricklondon/32/4422_2.png) [@PatrickLondon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PatrickLondon)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2026, 5:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/laws-against-working-on-the-sabbath/1028918/82 "2026-04-03T17:20:29Z")
> [@EinsteinsHund](#): > > > [@Loach](#): > > > > Not following the rules was not an option. > > Which sums up the German psyche quite nicely… 😆 _Ordnung muß sein_ ---
**Author:** ![md-2000](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/9d8465/32.png) [@md-2000](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/md-2000)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2026, 7:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/laws-against-working-on-the-sabbath/1028918/83 "2026-04-07T19:45:44Z")
Oddly enough, the CBC radio had a bit last weekend on “The Big M” in Calgary, a drug store/supermarket (like Walmart or Woolworths) which opened in the late 70’s. They decided to open on Sundays, and the police gave them a ticket each time - $40 for breaking The Lord’s Day act. they fought the ticket all the way to Canada’s Supreme Court, who ruled that forced religious observance violated the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. ---
**Author:** ![Al128](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/al128/32/16541_2.png) [@Al128](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Al128)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2026, 5:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/laws-against-working-on-the-sabbath/1028918/84 "2026-04-10T17:31:23Z")
> [@Mops](#): > > Most neighbouring countries have similar rules, most strict in Austria and Switzerland. of course b/c it is: ## Wochenendfahrverbot für Lastkraftwagen! (Week-end-drive-prohibition for Cargo-power-vehicles or so) ---
**Author:** ![Al128](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/al128/32/16541_2.png) [@Al128](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Al128)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2026, 5:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/laws-against-working-on-the-sabbath/1028918/85 "2026-04-10T17:42:22Z")
> [@Mark\_Finn](#): > > I don’t think it’s a law, but looking at opening hours for a half dozen auto dealerships in the Montreal area - all are closed on Sundays (and most on Saturdays). I recall some incidents a few years ago, in which dealers who opened on weekends might find a brick or two thrown through their window. interesting - I’d have thought that at least one day on the weekend would be good for car shopping / tire kicking / whatever comes with this… Mo-Fr you pretty much have the same opening hours as people are trapped in their work. When do Canadians buy their cars? … during lunchbreaks? . > [@PatrickLondon](#): > > Ordnung muß sein . Jawohl! ---
**Author:** ![doreen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/858c86/32.png) [@doreen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/doreen)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2026, 6:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/laws-against-working-on-the-sabbath/1028918/86 "2026-04-10T18:02:27Z")
> [@Al128](#): > > Mo-Fr you pretty much have the same opening hours as people are trapped in their work. Do they? Dealers can open on Sat and Sun in New York, but the ones I’ve dealt with are open till 8 or 9 pm most weekdays. I’m pretty sure dealerships that close one or both weekend days probably have evening hours even in Canada. I’m sure it’s the same thing as opening Sundays- if every dealer closes at 6 pm Mon- Fri, no one loses business but as soon as one closes at 9 pm, the others feel pressure to stay open later. ---
**Author:** ![Mark\_Finn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/34f0e0/32.png) [@Mark\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mark_Finn)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2026, 6:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/laws-against-working-on-the-sabbath/1028918/87 "2026-04-10T18:59:10Z")
The Montreal dealerships that I checked are all open to 8 or 9 pm at least four nights a week - even if they are closed on weekends. ---
**Author:** ![FinsToTheLeft](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/finstotheleft/32/2930_2.png) [@FinsToTheLeft](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FinsToTheLeft)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2026, 2:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/laws-against-working-on-the-sabbath/1028918/88 "2026-04-11T02:18:25Z")
My Volvo dealer here in Toronto is open until 8 M-Th and they are closed Sundays. ---
**Author:** ![Die\_Capacitrix](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/die_capacitrix/32/9_2.png) [@Die\_Capacitrix](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Die_Capacitrix)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2026, 3:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/laws-against-working-on-the-sabbath/1028918/89 "2026-04-12T15:40:05Z")
> [@Hari\_Seldon](#): > > A propos Monday morning closures, I recall that when I was in Zurich for a year, at least some businesses were closed Monday mornings. When we first moved to Luzern, over 2 decades ago, some of the smaller shops in smaller towns would be closed on Monday mornings. All shops closed at 6:30 pm M-F, 4:00 pm on Saturday, and Sunday? Good luck finding a bakery which might sell some milk, eggs, butter, or a shop attached to a gas station. Who would also have to block off half their shop due to the rules. Since 2020, shops stay open until 7:00 pm, M-F, and 5:00 pm on Saturday. Sometime before then, the Swiss National Railway has changed their philosophy for the bigger train stations, and have added chain grocery stores, clothing stores and even an electronics shop, all of which are open until 9:00 pm, M-F, maybe even Saturday and Sunday. Good Friday is a holiday here. Holy Saturday is not. Easter Sunday is a holiday, and Easter Monday is an official holiday, but stores, such as the local mall, can decide to be open, as they are allowed to be open on 4 Sundays each year. Being open on Easter Monday is the equivalent of being open on a Sunday. There are people who want to change this, but it takes time. Zurich shops are open much later, also on Saturdays. And people there even go to the airport for shopping on official holidays. Oddly enough, even some of the more rural cantons have longer shopping hours than Luzern. > [@Mark\_Finn](#): > > Is this still the law? It is in Switzerland. Hair dressers and many restaurants are closed on Mondays, so that the employees get a weekend (Sunday + Monday). If a company decided that their people have to work on a Sunday, such as for a network upgrade, the company has to get formal permission from the canton. ---
**Author:** ![Melbourne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b5e925/32.png) [@Melbourne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Melbourne)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2026, 7:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/laws-against-working-on-the-sabbath/1028918/90 "2026-05-08T07:25:25Z")
We’ve gradually got rid of such laws around here: I don’t think there are any still on the books in Victoria.Aus. But at the point of removal, they weren’t “religious” laws anymore (if they ever were). They were laws which protected workers, and later, protected small-business owners. A large business can run shift workers for long opening hours and 7-day weeks. An owner-operator has to be present 7-11, 7 days a week, to operate 7-11, 7 days a week. And if the big shop is open 24/7, customers go to the big shop at midnight, and the small shop loses business. So, the obvious result has happened gradually in Vic.Aus: the corner shops are going/gone. Of course, as I gradually realized, a lot of what we called “religious” was just the division of society that took responsibility. When “organized religion” was responsible for labor conditions, labor conditions were regulated by “religious” laws. ---
**Author:** ![CC](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f1d935/32.png) [@CC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CC)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2026, 6:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/laws-against-working-on-the-sabbath/1028918/91 "2026-05-16T18:06:02Z")
Probably no coincidence, but Evanston is the home of the WCTU, and even has an elementary school named after Frances E. Willard, the founder of the WCTU. And a distillery in Evanston is slyly named FEW, her initials. ---
**Author:** ![Mark\_Finn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/34f0e0/32.png) [@Mark\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mark_Finn)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2026, 7:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/laws-against-working-on-the-sabbath/1028918/92 "2026-05-16T19:19:57Z")
Toronto has a WCTU building, with the unabbreviated words carved into the stone near the roofline. It was known as “Willard Hall”, and today is a youth shelter. ---
**Author:** ![Hari\_Seldon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hari_seldon/32/5173_2.png) [@Hari\_Seldon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hari_Seldon)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2026, 8:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/laws-against-working-on-the-sabbath/1028918/93 "2026-05-16T20:19:45Z")
Referring to my earlier post, I have since discovered that the restriction of Sunday sports in PA to the hours 1PM-7PM was never repealed but ruled unconstitutional in 1978. ---
**Author:** ![Mk\_VII](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Mk\_VII](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mk_VII)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2026, 11:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/laws-against-working-on-the-sabbath/1028918/94 "2026-05-18T23:18:01Z")
In most of Western Christianity, care of the sick and the mentally feeble was also delegated to organised religion, for most of its existence. ---
**Author:** ![Mark\_Finn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/34f0e0/32.png) [@Mark\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mark_Finn)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2026, 11:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/laws-against-working-on-the-sabbath/1028918/95 "2026-05-19T11:25:20Z")
Go back 100 years, most/all Montreal hospitals and schools were religion-affiliated (mostly Catholic or Protestant). Some still are (e.g. Jewish General hospital), but accept anyone. ---
**Author:** ![Melbourne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b5e925/32.png) [@Melbourne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Melbourne)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2026, 2:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/laws-against-working-on-the-sabbath/1028918/96 "2026-05-20T02:58:40Z")
> [@CC](#): > > Frances E. Willard, the founder of the WCTU My mother was named after her. (And Mary Lyon). Frances was Great-Aunt of my mother. The WCTU still exists, but, judging by the stink-eye they gave me when I took my son in to show him a picture, and by the obvious security screens, perhaps in the women’s refuge business now. ---
**Author:** ![Melbourne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b5e925/32.png) [@Melbourne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Melbourne)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2026, 3:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/laws-against-working-on-the-sabbath/1028918/97 "2026-05-20T03:08:50Z")
> [@Mark\_Finn](#): > > Some still are (e.g. Jewish General hospital), but accept anyone There are obvious reasons why a patient would prefer a “Jewish” or “RC” hospital, but my observation is that the reason for Jewish/RC/State hospitals is that _Management_ wanted a Jewish/RC/State hospital, and that they continued to provide _training opportunities_ for sectional interests. Like Provident Hospital in Chicago, and Howard University Hospital in DC. ---
**Author:** ![md-2000](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/9d8465/32.png) [@md-2000](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/md-2000)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2026, 6:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/laws-against-working-on-the-sabbath/1028918/98 "2026-05-21T18:55:20Z")
Once upon a time, hospitals were a service to the community of the sort religions used to provide, not a money-making operation. ---
**Author:** ![OldGuy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/3bc359/32.png) [@OldGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OldGuy)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2026, 12:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/laws-against-working-on-the-sabbath/1028918/99 "2026-05-22T00:08:12Z")
Only about a quarter of hospitals in the US are for profit. This percentage has approximately doubled since 1980. ---
**Author:** ![Askance](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/askance/32/8281_2.png) [@Askance](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Askance)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2026, 12:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/laws-against-working-on-the-sabbath/1028918/100 "2026-05-22T00:27:25Z")
In Sydney - I think in NSW in fact - there were laws against most businesses operating on Sundays AND Saturday afternoons. There were exceptions for essentials like corner stores and petrol stations. These started being overturned after a case where a hairdresser started work on a client at maybe 11:30 am but had not finished by 12 so kept going, and was reported for that as a breach. It was so patently silly that now there are no real restrictions like that. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/laws-against-working-on-the-sabbath/1028918.md?page=4) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/laws-against-working-on-the-sabbath/1028918.md?page=6)