Earlier this summer, a panel of the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals concluded that World Vision, Inc. is exempt from nondiscrimination laws because, they concluded, it is a religious organization entitled to hire and fire on religious grounds as they see fit. One burning issue that the parties in the case did not raise was whether the significant amount of taxpayer money received by World Vision negates that exemption and requires them to refrain from discrimination in hiring for positions supported by public funds.
In a friend-of-the-court brief filed today, Americans United – along with the Interfaith Alliance and the Anti-Defamation League – urged the 9th Circuit to revisit the case and hold that question in reserve if necessary, since it was not brought up as an issue in the suit.
Although the receipt of federal funds does not itself prevent an organization from establishing that it qualifies for the…exemption, it is an open question whether an organization that otherwise qualifies… can, consistent with the Constitution, rely on that statutory exemption to justify discriminatory employment practices in connection with positions that are funded directly through government dollars.
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[A]pplication of the…exemption to sanction religious discrimination with respect to government-funded positions raises significant constitutional issues under the Establishment Clause. The Court should expressly reserve those important questions for a case in which they are briefed and argued by the parties and raised by the facts in the record.
