Wash. Court Says Faith Groups Can Be Sued for Nonreligious Job Bias

Washington State Supreme Court ruled Thursday that faith-affiliated nonprofits can be sued for job discrimination if the employee’s work is not related to religion, writes the Associated Press.

Faith organizations are exempt from Washington’s anti-discrimination law. Ruling on a suit filed by a fired worker at a Tacoma Catholic hospital, the divided court upheld the exemption but said it may not apply “to a person whose job qualifications and responsibilities are unrelated to religion.”

Larry Ockletree, who worked as an unarmed, front-desk guard at St. Joseph’s Medical Center, was fired after a 2010 stroke left him unable to use his left arm. The plaintiff, who is African-American, claimed discrimination on the basis of race and disability.

A lower-court judge hearing the case asked the Supreme Court to rule on faith groups’ overall exemption from the discrimination law. Eight justices split on whether the exemption was valid; the ninth, Justice Charles Wiggins, wrote the deciding opinion that it can be unconstitutional when applied to a job that has no bearing on religious practices.