On September 21, 2016, Samuel Goldstein applied for an accounting position at the Preston Accounting Firm, located in Middlesex County, NJ. While interviewing for the job, Goldstein made it clear that, as an Orthodox Jew, he would need several extra days off throughout the year in order to observe Jewish holidays such as Rosh Hashanah, Yom Kippur, and Hanukkah. After several rounds of interviews, the company decided to go with another, less qualified and less experienced candidate by the name of Jonathan Fernando Smith. When Goldstein later inquired about why he had not been hired, the management told him it was because he would have to miss too much work and would therefore not be as valuable of a worker. Goldstein soon after sued the company for religious discrimination. He claimed that they had not hired him because of his religious practices, especially because the company offered days off for Christian holidays such as Christmas and Easter. According to Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, employers may not religiously discriminate in hiring, firing, promoting, compensating, and training, and it requires employers to offer reasonable compensation, including flexible scheduling, unless doing so creates an “undue hardship” on the employer. Goldstein sued the company on the grounds of Title VII for monetary damages, as he claimed that he was not hired due to discrimination based on his religious practices. However, Preston Accounting Firm claimed that they did not hire Goldstein because he would have to take off so many days from work -- absences that just happened to be due to his religion. Preston Accounting Firm held that it was their right not to hire Goldstein and that their decision had nothing to do with religion. They claimed that they had not discriminated against Goldstein by not hiring him. Both the Federal District Court and the Court of Appeals ruled in Preston’s favor, saying that Goldstein’s absence would create an undue hardship for the company, so Goldstein appealed to the Supreme Court.