Virginia Attorney General Jason Miyares has announced that the state is leading a coalition of 21 states in filing an amicus brief with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit. The brief supports the right of religious organizations to set their own missions and employment policies without interference from secular courts.
The legal challenge centers on a Maryland law against employment discrimination, which includes an exemption for religious organizations. Recently, the Maryland Supreme Court limited this exemption, ruling it only applies to employees who “directly further” a religious organization’s “core mission.” This decision means secular courts are now tasked with deciding what constitutes a faith’s core mission and determining which employees are essential to it.
The case was brought by the General Conference of Seventh-Day Adventists and Adventist Risk Management, Inc., who argue that all their employees must be church members in good standing because they believe every employee helps advance their religious mission. The new interpretation by Maryland puts this practice at risk by allowing judges to decide which roles are sufficiently tied to the church’s mission.
The amicus brief contends that such court involvement infringes on constitutional protections under the First Amendment. According to the brief, “The Free Exercise Clause protects the right of religious groups to shape their own faith and mission, while the Establishment Clause bars government from inserting itself into ecclesiastical matters.” It also notes that even potential lawsuits could discourage religious organizations from making decisions based on their beliefs due to fear of legal consequences: “The brief stresses that even the threat of litigation can chill religious exercise by pressuring organizations to make decisions based on legal risk instead of religious conviction.”
Attorney General Miyares filed the brief along with attorneys general from Alabama, Alaska, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Iowa, Kansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Carolina, South Dakota, Texas, Utah, and West Virginia.
More details about this case and access to the full text of the amicus brief can be found at the official Virginia Attorney General website.
