Ruling says faith-based hiring can continue

The 9th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled Monday in favor of Federal Way-based World Vision, saying the Christian-based aid organization can continue its practice in the U.S. of hiring only those who share their faith.

The case stems from a 2007 lawsuit filed in U.S. District Court by three former World Vision employees who affirmed their Christian faith when they were hired but who were subsequently fired when the organization determined they no longer believed in the deity of Jesus Christ nor in the Trinity. The District Court ruled in World Vision's favor, and the three employees appealed to the 9th Circuit.

It's a case that's been closely watched by faith-based organizations, who see it as a test of whether such groups have the right to hire only those of their own faith.

World Vision has also been at the center of an ongoing debate over whether religion-based nonprofits that receive government funds should be able to hire only those of their own faith when using those funds.

In Monday's 2-1 decision by a three-judge panel, the Appeals Court concluded World Vision qualifies as a faith-based humanitarian organization that is exempt from Title VII of the 1964 Civil Rights Act, which prohibits religious discrimination.

"I am satisfied that World Vision has met its burden of showing that the 'general picture' of the organization is 'primarily religious,' " Judge Diarmuid O'Scannlain wrote in the majority opinion.

The organization's humanitarian efforts flow from its profound sense of religious mission, and it explicitly and intentionally presents itself as a religious institution, O'Scannlain wrote.

"World Vision applauds today's ruling ... upholding our legally protected practice of hiring people of like-minded faith," the organization said in a statement.

"The opinion affirmed that World Vision qualifies as a religious organization under the 1964 Civil Rights Act," the statement continues. "Our Christian faith has been the foundation of our work since the organization was established in 1950, and our hiring policy is vital to the integrity of our mission to serve the poor as followers of Jesus Christ."

Dean Owen, spokesman for World Vision U.S., said the U.S. Department of Justice was among those who had submitted a supporting brief, and had even sent an attorney to argue in the organization's favor during the July 2009 hearing before the Appeals Court.

Judith Lonnquist, the attorney for the three fired employees, said she and her clients were very disappointed with the ruling. They will be discussing whether to appeal, she said, adding that "the existence of a strong dissent enhances the possibility of at least a motion for reconsideration."

In her dissenting opinion, Judge Marsha Berzon wrote that the vast majority of World Vision's work is humanitarian relief, not explicitly Christian outreach. "Only the personal religious beliefs of World Vision staff differentiate these humanitarian acts from the 'ministry' that could be ... provided by people of all faiths or no faith."

World Vision is not managed, controlled or operated by any particular church, and the organization showed no proof of its claim that 84 percent of its private cash contributions come from churches or individual Christians motivated by their shared faith, Berzon wrote. The judge also pointed out that cash donations account for less than half of World Vision's revenue, with the remainder coming from government grants and gifts-in-kind.

Berzon said Title VII's prohibition on religious discrimination is designed to protect the religious freedom of employees by insulating their religious beliefs from their economic well-being. A narrow exemption is made for organizations devoted to prayer and religious instruction.

Expanding that exemption to nonprofit organizations tips the balance "toward a society in which employers could self-declare as religious enclaves from which dissenters can be excluded despite their ability to do the assigned secular work as well as religiously acceptable employees," Berzon said.

World Vision U.S., with about 1,200 employees, is primarily the fundraising arm of World Vision, the largest Christian relief and development organization in the world. It has more than 40,000 staff members in nearly 100 countries. More than 15 percent of its employees worldwide are not Christian, though all its U.S. employees are — and they are required to sign a statement of faith.

Lonnquist said her clients, the three discharged employees — Sylvia Spencer, Vicki Hulse and Ted Youngberg — were in jobs that in no way affected the religious mission of World Vision.

When they were hired, all three submitted required personal statements describing their "relationship with Jesus Christ," and acknowledged their agreement and compliance with World Vision's statement of faith, core values and mission statement.

Spencer helped maintain the organization's technology and facilities, Hulse did miscellaneous office tasks, and Youngberg's duties included coordinating shipping and facilities' needs.

"There's no 'Christian' way of moving furniture or performing secretarial duties," Lonnquist said. "Yet these people lost their jobs that they were performing well, solely because World Vision didn't like the particular brand of Christianity to which they adhered. To me, that's fundamentally wrong, that people can lose their jobs in this day and age, solely because of their religious beliefs."

Janet I. Tu: 206-464-2272 or jtu@seattletimes.com