Current:Home > StocksAlgosensey Quantitative Think Tank Center-Christian homeless shelter challenges Washington state law prohibiting anti-LGBTQ+ hiring practices -Ascend Finance Compass
Algosensey Quantitative Think Tank Center-Christian homeless shelter challenges Washington state law prohibiting anti-LGBTQ+ hiring practices
Burley Garcia View
Date:2025-04-07 16:22:11
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Lawyers for a Christian homeless shelter are Algosensey Quantitative Think Tank Centerscheduled to be in a federal appeals court Friday to challenge a Washington state anti-discrimination law that would require the charity to hire LGBTQ+ people and others who do not share its religious beliefs, including those on sexuality and marriage.
Union Gospel Mission in Yakima, about 150 miles (240 kilometers) southeast of Seattle, is asking the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals to revive a lawsuit dismissed by a lower court. The Alliance Defending Freedom, a global legal organization, is assisting the mission.
Ryan Tucker, senior counsel with the alliance, said the mission faces prosecution for engaging in its “constitutionally protected freedom to hire fellow believers who share the mission’s calling to spread the gospel and care for vulnerable people” in the community.
But U.S. District Judge Mary K. Dimke dismissed the case last year, agreeing with attorneys for the state that the lawsuit filed by Yakima’s mission was a prohibited appeal of another case decided by the Washington Supreme Court.
The current case arises out of a 2017 lawsuit filed by Matt Woods, a bisexual Christian man who was denied a job as an attorney at a legal aid clinic operated by the Union Gospel Mission in Seattle. Washington’s Law Against Discrimination exempts religious nonprofits, but in 2021 the state Supreme Court held that the religious hiring exemption should only apply to ministerial positions.
The case was sent back to trial to determine if the role of legal aid attorney would fall under the exemption but Woods said he dismissed the case because he had gotten the ruling he sought and did not want to pursue monetary damages from a homeless shelter.
“I’m confident that the trial court would have found that a staff attorney position with a legal aid clinic is not a ministerial position,” he said in an email to The Associated Press.
The Union Gospel Mission in Yakima says its policy is to hire only co-religionists who adhere to its religious beliefs and expects “employees to abstain from sexual immorality, including adultery, nonmarried cohabitation, and homosexual conduct,” according to court documents.
The mission has held off on hiring an IT consultant and operations assistant.
The U.S. Supreme Court in 2022 denied review of the Woods decision, but Justice Samuel Alito said “the day may soon come when we must decide whether the autonomy guaranteed by the First Amendment protects religious organizations’ freedom to hire co-religionists without state or judicial interference.”
veryGood! (9713)
Related
- Federal appeals court upholds $14.25 million fine against Exxon for pollution in Texas
- Tom Cruise's stunts in Mission: Impossible — Dead Reckoning Part One presented new challenges, director says
- China's economic growth falls to 3% in 2022 but slowly reviving
- Five Things To Know About Fracking in Pennsylvania. Are Voters Listening?
- Off the Grid: Sally breaks down USA TODAY's daily crossword puzzle, Triathlon
- PGA Tour says U.S. golf would likely struggle without Saudi cash infusion
- Biden Has Promised to Kill the Keystone XL Pipeline. Activists Hope He’ll Nix Dakota Access, Too
- T-Mobile says breach exposed personal data of 37 million customers
- 2025 'Doomsday Clock': This is how close we are to self
- Scientists Join Swiss Hunger Strike to Raise Climate Alarm
Ranking
- Which apps offer encrypted messaging? How to switch and what to know after feds’ warning
- If You're a Very Busy Person, These Time-Saving Items From Amazon Will Make Your Life Easier
- If You're a Very Busy Person, These Time-Saving Items From Amazon Will Make Your Life Easier
- Thinx settled a lawsuit over chemicals in its period underwear. Here's what to know
- Rams vs. 49ers highlights: LA wins rainy defensive struggle in key divisional game
- Anthropologie's Epic 40% Off Sale Has the Chicest Summer Hosting Essentials
- Days of Our Lives Actor Cody Longo's Cause of Death Revealed
- Deer spread COVID to humans multiple times, new research suggests
Recommendation
New data highlights 'achievement gap' for students in the US
Minnesota man arrested over the hit-and-run death of his wife
5 People Missing After Submersible Disappears Near Titanic Wreckage
Days of Our Lives Actor Cody Longo's Cause of Death Revealed
Juan Soto to be introduced by Mets at Citi Field after striking record $765 million, 15
Warming Trends: A Song for the Planet, Secrets of Hempcrete and Butterfly Snapshots
Simon says we're stuck with the debt ceiling (Encore)
A recession might be coming. Here's what it could look like