Seventh-day Adventist Church sues Maryland over employment discrimination law
The Seventh-day Adventist Church has filed a lawsuit against Maryland over a recent state court decision that the denomination argues restricts its right to hire people who share Adventist beliefs.
Filed last week in the U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland, the lawsuit takes issue with a recent reinterpretation of the Maryland Fair Employment Practices Act by the state supreme court that reportedly limits the religious exemption to the law.
"Plaintiffs have a constitutional right to hire only those who share their faith and support their religious mission," the complaint reads. "That right extends to all employees and is not contingent on whether Plaintiffs can convince a jury that a specific employee 'directly' furthers a 'core' mission of their organization."
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The General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists is based in Silver Spring. It requires employees to be "baptized, tithe-paying member[s] in regular standing of the Seventh-day Adventist Church" and to refrain from things like sex outside of marriage, alcohol, homosexuality and immodest dress.
At issue, according to the complaint, was a Maryland Supreme Court decision released last year known as Doe v. Catholic Relief Services, which said that MFEPA's religious exemption "bars claims for religious, sexual orientation, and gender identity discrimination against religious organizations by employees who perform duties that directly further the core mission(s) of the religious entity."
According to the lawsuit, this interpretation conflicts with the SDA Church's hiring policy, which requires "all employees to be members in regular standing of the Church — regardless of their job title and responsibilities."
"Plaintiffs, however, fear that continuing with their current hiring practices could lead to liability under the Maryland Supreme Court's recent reinterpretation of MFEPA," continued the complaint.
"Given how recently the law changed, there has not yet been time for a clear history of enforcement to develop. Nevertheless, Defendants — far from disavowing enforcement — have made statements and taken actions confirming they are likely to attempt to enforce this new understanding of MFEPA's religious exemption against Plaintiffs."
The SDA Church is represented by Becket, a religious liberty law firm that has successfully argued First Amendment cases before the U.S. Supreme Court.
The complaint names several Maryland public officials as defendants, including Attorney General Anthony Brown, Maryland Commission on Civil Rights Acting Executive Director Cleveland L. Horton, and other members of the Civil Rights Commission.
