Supreme Court hears Catholic agency's case seeking religious exemption to state program

WASHINGTON (OSV News) -- The U.S. Supreme Court on March 31 heard oral arguments in a case from the Catholic Charities Bureau of the Diocese of Superior, Wisconsin, in which the agency argued that a decision by the Wisconsin Supreme Court discounted its religious identity.

The group previously appealed to the high court challenging a ruling by the Wisconsin Supreme Court that Catholic Charities is not exempt from paying into the state's unemployment insurance system because its operations aren't primarily religious under the statute.

Wisconsin law states religious employers in the Badger State are eligible for an exemption from its unemployment benefit program, if they operate primarily for religious purposes. The state argued, however, that the Catholic Charities Bureau does not meet that standard since it employs non-Catholics and does not make its service to the less fortunate contingent on Catholic religious practice.

Eric Rassbach, vice president and senior counsel at Becket, argued, "By that measure, Mother Teresa might not qualify."

In a notable moment, Justice Elena Kagan appeared to make a similar point when she said that it might be a "matter of religious doctrine" that some religions "don't require people to say the Lord's Prayer with us before we give them soup."

While "there are lots of hard questions" presented by the case, she said, "I thought it was pretty fundamental that we don't treat some religions better than other religions, and we certainly don't do it based on the content of the religious doctrine that those religions preach."

A decision in the case, expected by the end of the court's term, could have broad implications if the court's ruling is sweeping enough to include other religiously affiliated organizations, such as hospitals.

Curtis Gannon, deputy solicitor general of Department of Justice, argued on behalf of the federal government that the Wisconsin Supreme Court was "wrong to think that it was conforming the state statute to the federal statute," and urged the justices not to throw out a similar federal law he argued Wisconsin's high court misinterpreted.

"This court should correct" the Wisconsin Supreme Court's mistake to "avoid serious constitutional questions," he said.

The Catholic Charities Bureau is seeking an exemption so that it can participate in an alternate program, the Church Unemployment Pay Program, established by the Wisconsin bishops in 1986, according to its court filings. In court documents, they argued the church's program provides the same level of benefits to unemployed individuals as the state's system but called their program “more efficient.”

Colin Roth, Wisconsin assistant attorney general, argued, "Exemption means employees lose state unemployment insurance coverage altogether."

"Accommodations are meant to solve particular problems," Roth said, arguing that chipping away at the state's ability to make determinations about religious affiliation could reduce its ability to make religious exceptions at all.

In a March 31 statement, Bishop James P. Powers of the Diocese of Superior, said, "For over a century, Catholic Charities has been a Good Samaritan to the poor, elderly, and disabled throughout northern Wisconsin."

"We pray the Court protects this vital work of improving the human condition, recognizing it as central to our duty as Catholics," Bishop Powers said.