In Lown v. Salvation Army, Inc., 2005 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 22260 (Sept. 30, 2005), a New York federal district court dismissed constitutional claims brought by employees of the Salvation Army challenging the organization's requirement that employees not act inconsistently with the teachings of the religious group. It found that any religious discrimination against the employees could not be attributed to governmental action.
However the court permitted a taxpayers' Establishment Clause claim against governmental defendants in the case to proceed. The City of New York and a number of other governmental entities contract with the Salvation Army for the provision of social services. Plaintiffs alleged that government funds were used to finance the Salvation Army's religious discrimination, and that government funds supported indoctrination of clients whom the government compelled to participate in the Salvation Army's Social Services for Children programs.
