WASHINGTON − The Supreme Court on June 5 said Wisconsin should not have denied a tax exemption to a Catholic Charities chapter, the latest in a series of rulings the justices have decided in favor of faith groups.
The court unanimously ruled that the state violated the First Amendment’s protection for religion and discriminated against the religious organization in Wisconsin.
“There may be hard calls to make in policing that rule, but this is not one,” Justice Sonia Sotomayor wrote.
Wisconsin’s law, which is similar to most states’ and the federal government’s, grants exemptions from its unemployment insurance program for certain church-controlled organizations that are “operated primarily for religious purposes.”
Wisconsin said the Catholic Charities bureau and four affiliates had to participate in the state’s unemployment benefits system because the work being performed is primarily secular, even if it’s motivated by religious belief.
There’s no religious instruction during job training, placement and coaching offered to disabled people through the affiliates, the state said. Neither employees nor the people they serve have to be Catholic. The Catholic Charities bureau and its affiliates are incorporated separately from the diocese.
The purpose of the exemption is to keep the government from violating the First Amendment by getting too involved in a church’s employment decisions. Because an employee is not eligible for unemployment benefits if the person was fired for misconduct, Wisconsin doesn’t want to have to decide the legitimacy of a firing that was based on matters of religious faith and doctrine.
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Catholic Charities, which was represented by the Becket Fund for Religious Liberty, argued it was being discriminated against because, unlike other religious organizations, the charitable arm is incorporated separately from the diocese and because it offers its services without proselytizing.
Wisconsin’s attorney pointed out that Catholic Charities had participated in the state’s unemployment system since 1971 without requesting an exemption. Its initial registration described the nature of its operations as “charitable,” “educational,” and “rehabilitative,” not “religious,” according to filings.
Colin T. Roth, assistant attorney general for Wisconsin, warned that a broad exemption policy could leave more than 1 million employees in the country who work for religiously affiliated hospitals outside of the unemployment benefits system.
If fewer employers pay into the system, Roth and outside municipal groups said, states might choose to shut down all religious exemptions.
Catholic Charities said it prefers to protect employees through the church’s unemployment program. The maximum weekly benefits are the same as the state’s program and can be more generous and received more quickly, according to the church.
Labor rights groups say the church’s unemployment program is not as good because it’s not backed up by the government if funds run out. And workers in a private system are ineligible for supplemental federal benefits such as those provided during the pandemic.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Supreme Court sides with Catholic Charities in tax and religion case
