Seventh-day Adventist Church sues Maryland over employment discrimination law

October 11, 2024

The Seventh-day Adventist Church has filed a lawsuit against the State of Maryland following a recent court decision the church says restricts its right to hire people who share the church’s beliefs.

According to the Christian Post, the lawsuit challenges a recent state supreme court interpretation of the Maryland Fair Practices Employment Act (MFEPA) which reportedly limits the religious exemption to the law.

The complaint filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland states: “Plaintiffs have a constitutional right to hire only those who share their faith and support their religious mission. That right extends to all employees and is not contingent on whether Plaintiffs can convince a jury that a specific employee ‘directly’ furthers a ‘core’ mission of their organization.”

The issue stems from a recent Maryland Supreme Court decision released last year in the case of Doe v. Catholic Relief Services, which ruled that MFEPA’s religious exemption “bars claims for religious, sexual orientation, and gender identity discrimination against religious organizations by employees who perform duties that directly further the core mission(s) of the religious entity.”

The General Conference of the Seventh-day Adventists is headquartered in Silver Spring, Maryland and requires church employees to abstain from sex outside of marriage, alcohol, homosexuality and immodest dress. The organization also requires employees to be “baptized, tithe-paying member[s] in regular standing of the Seventh-day Adventist Church”

The Christian Post reports that the lawsuit was filed over concerns that the new interpretation of the MFEPA could conflict with the church’s hiring policies and lead to liability under the state law.

The Seventh-day Adventist Church is represented by Becket, a religious law firm that has successfully argued First Amendment cases before the U.S. Supreme Court.

Photo: top, Credit: Wikimedia Commons/Eldridge Roy 2017