The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals recently bolstered the legal standing of religious employers in Union Gospel Mission of Yakima v. Brown. Interpreting the Washington Law Against Discrimination (WLAD), the court upheld a preliminary injunction that prevents the state from penalizing the Mission for its faith-based hiring preferences. This decision continues a broader judicial trend favoring religious organizations and offers critical guidance for similar entities navigating employment law within the Ninth Circuit.
The court held that the church autonomy doctrine prevented Washington from enforcing WLAD against Union Gospel when its hiring practices were based on sincerely held religious beliefs and central to its mission.
For more information, read Miller Nash’s detailed blog post HERE.
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