The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit will hear a case over whether a religious ministry can limit who it hires to people who share its beliefs, in the latest hotly contested test of religious liberty, which could make its way to the Supreme Court.The full bench of the federal appeals court agreed to an appeal in a lawsuit brought by Yakima Union Gospel Mission against a Washington law that would have restricted their ability to limit hiring to people who share their religious beliefs, arguing the law is a violation of their First Amendment religious freedom. A three-judge panel on the Ninth Circuit previously sided with the ministry, and the judge who wrote the opinion for that panel offered a sharp criticism of the rest of the bench for deciding to review the case.The lawsuit centers on the Washington Law Against Discrimination, which prevents employment discrimination of various kinds, including on the basis of sexual orientation, and how it would affect the religious ministry’s ability to only hire employees who share and uphold the same religious beliefs as the ministry. The WLAD allows a religious exemption for non-ministerial employees, but the Yakima Union Gospel Mission argued that it unconstitutionally prevents the religious organization from limiting hiring of roles, such as in the IT department, to those who share its religious views.
Ninth Circuit to weigh if religious ministries can limit hiring to like-minded employees
The full Ninth Circuit's decision to rehear the case tosses a win for the religious ministry, which could make its way to the Supreme Court.
TL;DRAI
The Ninth Circuit will hear Yakima Union Gospel Mission's challenge to Washington's anti-discrimination law on whether religious organizations can limit hiring to believers. The case tests the boundary between First Amendment religious autonomy and state employment protections, likely to reach the Supreme Court.
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