Union Gospel Mission of Yakima v. Ferguson

Description:  The Washington Supreme Court recently reinterpreted state law to prohibit religious organizations, including Yakima Union Gospel Mission, from only hiring individuals who share its religious beliefs. State officials are threatening the mission with significant penalties for using its constitutionally protected right to hire employees who share the ministry’s religious beliefs.

RICHLAND, Wash. – A federal district court ruled Friday that it violates the U.S. Constitution for Washington state officials to enforce a law against a Christian homeless ministry while its lawsuit continues. Alliance Defending Freedom attorneys represent Yakima Union Gospel Mission as it seeks to protect its freedom to hire like-minded individuals who share and live out its religious beliefs and mission to spread the gospel of Jesus Christ through its homeless shelter, addiction-recovery programs, outreach efforts, meal services, and health clinics.

In August, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit held that the mission can challenge the Washington Law Against Discrimination, a state law that limits its freedom to hire like-minded individuals who share and live out its religious beliefs. And on Friday, the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Washington ordered that state officials cannot enforce the law against the mission because it likely violates the Free Exercise Clause.

“The Constitution gives religious organizations the freedom to hire employees who are aligned with and live out their religious beliefs,” said ADF Senior Counsel Ryan Tucker, director of the Center for Christian Ministries, who argued before the court. “Yakima Union Gospel Mission exists to spread the gospel of Jesus Christ through its homeless shelter, addiction-recovery programs, outreach efforts, meal services, and health clinics. But it faces substantial penalties under Washington state law for simply engaging in its freedom to hire fellow believers who share the mission’s calling to spread the Gospel and care for vulnerable people in the Yakima community. We are pleased the court ruled to protect the ministry’s constitutional rights as this lawsuit proceeds.”

The Yakima Union Gospel Mission serves everyone regardless of background or belief, but it furthers its religious purpose by employing only likeminded believers who agree with and live out the mission’s Christian beliefs and practices, including the mission’s beliefs on biblical marriage and sexuality. But Washington state law prohibits the mission from requiring this. The mission has several open positions that it needs to hire for as soon as possible, but it risks significant penalties and liability under Washington law for using its religiously based hiring practices to fill them.

In its opinion in Union Gospel Mission of Yakima v. Ferguson, the court held that the mission “is likely to succeed on the merits of its Free Exercise claim” because “the WLAD likely is not neutral or generally applicable” and the law “places stricter limits on religious activities than it does [on] secular activities[.]”

The court further wrote that, “[Yakima Union Gospel Mission] argues that if it ‘is forced to hire those who do not [share its religious views], or those who do not adhere to those views, it may eventually be extinguished from public life.’ This ‘hamper[ing]’ of [the mission’s] ability to hire staff consistent with its religious beliefs likely ‘constitut[es] an enduring harm that will irreparably risk [the mission’s] continued existence[.]’”

Alliance Defending Freedom is an alliance-building, non-profit legal organization committed to protecting religious freedom, free speech, parental rights, and the sanctity of life.

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