Court says religious groups can impose faith conduct standards on IT staff, nurses, and cooks
Religious employers can enforce faith conduct rules on all staff, not just clergy, a federal appeals court ruled this month.
A federal appeals court handed religious organizations a significant victory on January 6, allowing them to require employees in any role to follow religious conduct standards, including rules about sex and marriage.
The 9th Circuit Court of Appeals sided with Union Gospel Mission of Yakima, a Christian nonprofit that operates homeless shelters and recovery programs in Washington state. In Union Gospel Mission of Yakima Washington v. Brown, the court blocked state officials from enforcing anti-discrimination laws against the organization's policy of hiring only people who agree to live according to its religious beliefs.
At the center of the dispute is Union Gospel's requirement that all employees abstain from sexual conduct outside what it calls biblical marriage between one man and one woman. That includes everyone from ministers to IT technicians, operations assistants, nurses, and kitchen workers.
The organization employs about 150 people and was looking to fill more than 50 positions when it filed the lawsuit in 2023. Union Gospel tells job applicants upfront about its faith requirements. Anyone who gets a job offer must sign agreements promising to follow the organization's statement of faith and conduct rules. Applications from people who disagree with those beliefs get screened out.
Washington state has prohibited employment discrimination based on sexual orientation for decades. For over 70 years, the law exempted religious nonprofits from these rules. But in 2021, the state supreme court narrowed that exemption to cover only ministers, opening the door for discrimination claims by other employees.
Union Gospel went to federal court before the state could take action against it, asking a judge to block enforcement of the anti-discrimination law. The district court agreed and issued a preliminary injunction. State officials appealed.
The appeals court affirmed the injunction, ruling that the Constitution's religion clauses protect more than just hiring decisions for clergy. Judge Patrick Bumatay wrote that religious organizations have constitutional protection over internal management decisions essential to their central mission, even when those decisions involve non-ministerial employees.
The decision requires three things for this protection to apply. The employer must be a religious organization, genuinely believe that only people sharing its faith can advance its mission, and base hiring decisions on those religious beliefs. Washington didn't challenge any of these points about Union Gospel.
According to the court, Union Gospel's hiring policy serves several religious purposes. Employees create an internal faith community that supports the organization's public ministry. They ensure the organization presents a consistent religious message. They prevent staff from undermining religious teachings. And they help maintain the organization's religious identity.
The court found these are protected decisions affecting the faith and mission of the organization itself. Union Gospel says employees are its hands, feet, and mouthpiece. Staff attend daily prayers and weekly chapel services, pray together, share devotionals, and are expected to model Christian living for the people they serve.
The ruling comes with important limits. Unlike positions designated as ministerial, where religious organizations can fire or refuse to hire for any reason, this protection only covers decisions actually based on religious beliefs. Religious employers cannot discriminate on other grounds. And they cannot use religion as a cover for discrimination based on something else.
The court also limited its decision to religious ministries like Union Gospel. It specifically said the ruling does not address whether other types of organizations run by religious groups, such as for-profit businesses or hospitals, would get the same protection.
The decision affects nine western states under the 9th Circuit's jurisdiction: Alaska, Arizona, California, Hawaii, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, Oregon, and Washington. Religious nonprofits operating in these states can now assert constitutional protection for requiring all employees to follow religious conduct standards.
For HR professionals, the ruling creates new territory to navigate. When working with or advising religious employers, documentation matters. Organizations need to show that employment requirements genuinely connect to religious beliefs rather than serving other purposes. And protection extends only to decisions rooted in religious teaching, not personal or business preferences.
The preliminary injunction stays in place while the case continues.
