Lots of Unrest Over Slip-Up on 'Day of Rest' Law

ALEXANDRIA, Va. — At first the idea made sense to Tony Floyd, a courier and part-time employee of a magazine shop here. People should have the right to take Saturday or Sunday off to observe the Sabbath.

"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 have also figured out the repercussions of the state's "day of rest" law, a statute accidentally revived by a well-meaning senator, and by 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 has temporarily blocked the law.

Discovered by a young labor lawyer, the mistake has caused a flurry of lobbying and embarrassed backpedaling, all expected to culminate Tuesday 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 part-time 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 Tuesday's session.

"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, said Quayle, to a time when he stumbled upon a set of codes that barred businesses from being open on Sundays. Known as "blue laws," the statutes were out of date and probably unconstitutional, he said.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," said Quayle.

His service was appreciated by his Senate colleagues, who unanimously passed his bill scrubbing the blue laws from the books.

The measure 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 R. Warner without a hitch. He signed it. The state Legislature adjourned.