The Maryland Supreme Court ruled Aug. 14 that the religious exemption in the state’s Fair Employment Practices Act "bars claims (of) 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." In its 4-3 decision, the court also said that the ban on discrimination on the basis of sex in the fair employment law as well as in the Maryland Equal Pay for Equal Work Act does not include "sexual orientation." The state Supreme Court ruling is the latest action in a case called Doe v. Catholic Relief Services . "Doe" is a data analyst who is employed by CRS, the U.S. bishops’ overseas relief and development agency based in Baltimore, and who sued the Catholic agency in 2020 claiming its refusal to provide health benefits to his husband was discrimination. According to legal records, CRS initially provided the benefits to Doe’s husband, but after months of discussions between Doe and the agency’s human resources department, the organization removed Doe’s husband from the health plan in October 2017. In 2018, Doe filed a discrimination complaint against CRS with the Equal Opportunity Employment Commission and […]
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