Legal Issue(s): NA
Case Description
Can a faith-based ministry hire only staff who share the core tenets of that faith and behave in accordance with those beliefs? The state of Washington has said no.
In Ferguson v. Yakima Union Gospel Mission (YUGM), Washington’s Attorney General has wielded the religious exemption standards in violation of the First Amendment. This is yet another case of a state targeting disfavored faith-based organizations (often rooted in their beliefs about marriage and sexuality). The state holds the threat of subpoenas on groups like YUGM, but slow walk enforcing compliance in an effort to get ministries to volunteer all kinds of sensitive internal documents.
But after doing so the AG claimed the Mission had no legal standing to sue for court protection from complying until the AG asks a state court to enforce its subpoena. So, wait until we crack your knees with a bat, then you can defend yourself in federal court.
Christian Legal Society has submitted a comprehensive amici brief joined by many other organizations supporting YUGM’s position to hire consistent with its faith. The CLS Center’s brief asks the federal appeals court for the Ninth Circuit to affirm the lower courts holding that the First Amendment prevents the State from bullying faith-based ministries over their exercise of religious hiring rights.
Read the complete Ferguson v. YUGM amici brief here.
