A federal appellate court ruled in favor of World Vision, a global Christian relief and development organization, last week, saying it was justified in revoking employment of a customer service representative after it learned the candidate was in a same-sex marriage.
The ruling, filed Aug. 5 in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, overturned an earlier decision by a lower court where Aubry McMahon filed a lawsuit arguing World Vision had discriminated against her marital status, sex and sexual orientation.
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Initially, the district court ruled in World Vision’s favor, finding that the doctrine of church autonomy “foreclose(d) judicial inquiry into World Vision’s religiously motivated personnel decision.” But the lower court reversed its ruling after McMahon sought reconsideration and determined it could use “neutral principles of law” to conclude the case and not entangle itself in religion. That court also rejected World Vision’s other defenses, including ministerial exception.
But World Vision, which is known for connecting sponsors with children in need around the world, argued to the 9th Circuit that customer service representatives play a significant role in the ministry’s voice, and the higher court reversed the lower court’s decision.
Writing for a three-judge panel, Judge Richard C. Tallman said, “the district court erred by viewing the CSR’s responsibilities in the abstract, isolated from World Vision’s central mission.”
He added, “We now hold that the ministerial exception bars McMahon’s employment discrimination claims because the record shows that CSRs perform key religious functions central to World Vision’s mission.”
EDITOR’S NOTE — This story was written by Adelle Banks and originally published by Religion News Service.
