Virginia's day-of-rest law, revived in error, to be axed

By Kathleen Hennessey
Los Angeles Times

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"That's cool and all," he said.

A few minutes later, it dawned on him. If stores had to close on Sundays, "People wouldn't know what to do with themselves," he said. "They wouldn't be able to get their Starbucks. They wouldn't be able to get their Sunday paper."

Virginia's business leaders and lawmakers also figured out the repercussions of the state's "day of rest" law, a statute accidentally revived by a well-meaning senator, and a legislature and governor distracted by budget battles this spring.

The effect of the legislative "erratum" is to grant employees the right to take Sunday or Saturday off, or earn triple wages if they must work. A judge temporarily has blocked the law.

Discovered by a young labor lawyer, the mistake has caused a flurry of lobbying and embarrassed backpedaling, all expected to culminate tomorrow in a rare special session of the legislature called solely to undo the deed.

"We make as many mistakes as Congress does, only we do it cheaper and faster," said Delegate H. Morgan Griffith, the Republican majority leader of the Virginia House of Delegates. "One year we outlawed antique cars, but we didn't have to go into special session to fix that."

Legislative leaders in both parties have agreed to make quick work of tomorrow's session to undo the day-of-rest bill.

"It probably won't take 45 minutes," said state Sen. Frederick Quayle, a Republican who introduced the bill that caused the commotion. "Unless some people decide to chide me a little for getting us into this jam."

The story goes back a few years, Quayle said, to a time when he stumbled upon a set of codes that barred businesses from being open on Sundays. The statutes, known as "blue laws," were out-of-date and probably unconstitutional, he said.

This year, he decided to do something about it. "I thought it might be a good deed for me to try to clean up the code," he said.
 
His service was appreciated by his Senate colleagues, who unanimously passed his bill scrubbing the blue laws from the books. It moved quickly through the House of Delegates, was passed around by lobbyists, interest groups and government agencies, and went to the desk of Democratic Gov. Mark Warner without a hitch. He signed it. The state legislature adjourned.

Unbeknown to Quayle, the blue laws also contained exemptions to a separate Virginia statute that allows employees to demand Saturday or Sunday off for religious reasons. The exemptions were repealed along with the blue laws, but the day-of-rest law was left standing. That meant it would take effect again.

Buddy Omohundro, a 34-year-old lawyer in his first year of practice, found the glitch. His company alerted the Virginia Chamber of Commerce, and business leaders quickly were up in arms, said chamber President Hugh Keogh.

Hotel and restaurant owners said they'd be short-staffed during peak days. Food-processing-plant managers in southern Virginia said they couldn't afford the extra pay.

The thought of paying triple wages was another sticking point — and perhaps antithetical to the spirit behind the bill.

"If you're deeply religious, I wouldn't think you could be bought off like that," joked Jeff Davis, the general manager at Station One Hotel in Virginia Beach.

By the time many Virginians learned of the new law, business groups had taken action. Last weekend, the day after Quayle's bill went into effect, the Chamber of Commerce and other business groups won an injunction blocking enforcement of the day-of-rest law.

Under pressure, Warner called for the special session to restore the exemptions.

Some Virginians said they see the whole episode as embarrassing, but others thought briefly about what might have been. Photo shop manager Devan Burnett, a self-described atheist, said maybe he would consider finding religion, if it meant an extra day of rest.