SCOTUS won't decide if bias law's religious exemption applies to hiring - Reuters
The company and law firm names shown above are generated automatically based on the text of the article. We are improving this feature as we continue to test and develop in beta. We welcome feedback, which you can provide using the feedback tab on the right of the page.
(Reuters) - The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday declined to consider whether religious organizations are shielded from discrimination claims when they turn away applicants for secular jobs who do not share their religious views.
The court denied a bid by Seattle's Union Gospel Mission for review of ruling from Washington state's highest court that said a bisexual man could sue the mission for sex discrimination after he was turned down for a staff attorney position.
The lawyer, Matthew Woods, who had previously volunteered at the Christian nonprofit mission, applied for the job in order to protest its policy of requiring staff to refrain from homosexual behavior, according to court filings.
The Supreme Court first recognized a "ministerial exception" to state and federal anti-discrimination laws for religious groups employing workers with explicitly religious duties in a 2012 case.
In reviving Woods' lawsuit that had been thrown out by a lower state court, the Washington Supreme Court said last year the exception does not apply when a religious employer turns away an applicant who does not share its religious beliefs for a secular job.
The Supreme Court generally does not explain why it turns down cases. But Justice Samuel Alito wrote separately on Monday, saying the state court's interpretation seemed too narrow and could undermine religious organizations' autonomy and ability to participate in public life.
But Woods' case is in its early stages and is not yet ripe for Supreme Court review, Alito wrote, joined by Justice Clarence Thomas.
The mission's lawyer, John Bursch of Christian legal group Alliance Defending Freedom, said he was pleased that Alito had left the door open for the court to address the issue in the future.
Denise Diskin of QLaw Foundation of Washington, who represents Woods, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The Supreme Court last month declined to take up a separate case involving a social work professor at a Christian college in Massachusetts who claimed she was denied a promotion after protesting the school's anti-LGBT policies.
Alito at the time wrote that a lower court ruling in her favor was troubling, and that teachers of secular subjects can still have key roles in instilling religious values in students.
The case is Seattle's Union Gospel Mission v. Woods, U.S. Supreme Court, No. 21–144.
For the mission: John Bursch of Alliance Defending Freedom
For Woods: Denise Diskin of QLaw Foundation of Washington
Read more:
source: https://www.reuters.com/legal/government/scotus-wont-decide-if-bias-laws-religious-exemption-applies-hiring-2022-03-21/
Your content is great. However, if any of the content contained herein violates any rights of yours, including those of copyright, please contact us immediately by e-mail at media[@]kissrpr.com.