Published December 10, 2024
The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), the federal agency tasked with preventing and remedying employment discrimination, recently filed an amicus brief in the Ninth Circuit, arguing that religious organizations cannot make hiring decisions based on religion.
The case, World Vision v. McMahon, involves the application of religious defenses to a sex discrimination claim.
The facts of the case are simple. Aubry McMahon applied for a job at World Vision, a “Christian ministry dedicated to sharing the gospel of Jesus Christ” through “humanitarian outreach to children and families around the world who are poor and underserved.” During the interview process, McMahon explicitly affirmed that she could comply with World Vision’s religious standards of conduct, including the ministry’s beliefs about traditional marriage. After World Vision offered her a job, McMahon disclosed that she was in a same-sex marriage. Because McMahon could not comply with the ministry’s religious standards of conduct, World Vision rescinded the job offer.
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Rachel N. Morrison is a Fellow at the Ethics and Public Policy Center, where she directs EPPC’s Administrative State Accountability Project. An attorney, her legal and policy work focuses on religious liberty, health care rights of conscience, the right to life, nondiscrimination, and civil rights.
