Last week, the Seventh Day Adventist Church filed suit against officials and members of the Maryland Civil Rights Commission challenging as unconstitutional the Maryland Supreme Court's narrow interpretation of the religious institution exemption from the anti-discrimination provisions of the Maryland Fair Employment Practices Act (FEPA). Last year in Doe v. Catholic Relief Services, the Maryland Supreme Court held that the religious institution exemption only applies to "claims brought by employees who perform duties that directly further the core mission (or missions) of the religious entity." (See prior posting.) The complaint (full text) in General Conference of the Seventh Day Adventists v. Horton, (D MD, filed Oct. 2, 2024), alleges that the Catholic Relief Services interpretation of FEPA exemption violates plaintiffs' rights under the Free Exercise and Establishment Clauses as well as other 1st and 14th Amendment rights. The complaint says in part:
Plaintiffs believe that all their employees are representatives of the Church and are responsible for sharing the Church’s faith with the world. It is therefore a critical component of Plaintiffs’ religious exercise that all their employees embrace the Church’s faith, support its religious mission, and share the faith with others. This is why Plaintiffs’ employment policies have long required all those they employ to be members of the Church in regular standing and to conduct themselves in accordance with the Church’s religious beliefs....
What is more, applying Catholic Relief Services’ gloss on MFEPA would require the government to engage in a “fact-intensive inquiry” to “determine[] what constitutes a core mission” for each Plaintiff, and then assess which roles “directly” further those mission(s)...." Applying this amorphous standard would require courts to delve into entangling questions of religious doctrine.
Becket Fund issued a press release announcing the filing of the lawsuit.
