bendog
Diamond Member
- Thread starter
- #141
Religious groups may discriminate.
"These arguments came before the Supreme Court in 1987, in Corporation of Presiding Bishop v. Amos (483 U.S. 327) when the 1972 exemption was challenged as violating the establishment clause. The Court unanimously upheld the broadened exemption. As a result, religious employers now can use religious criteria in choosing personnel, regardless of their station."
Title VII and Religious Exemptions
However, Ark World appears to be a commercial enterprise.
"The second question is much more unclear. Under Title VII, an employer is entitled to the religious exemption if it can show it is a ‘‘religious corporation, association, educational institution, or society.’’ What that means, however, is somewhat uncertain. On one hand, traditional religious organizations—churches, for example—are certainly exempt. On the other hand, for-profit corporations surely cannot escape religious discrimination suits by suddenly claiming to be exempt religious employers. Ultimately, the key issue courts examine is whether the purpose and character of the organization are really religious in nature. Churches, synagogues, and other traditional religious organizations are clearly religious and therefore exempt. Exempt also are subsidiaries of such organizations, provided the subsidiaries are owned, operated by, or closely affiliated with the parent religious organization. Thus, organizations closely related to the Catholic Church or the Salvation Army will likely be considered exempt religious employers, even if their work is considered secular to some. However, organizations that were not founded for religious purposes or that have mostly secular functions are not likely to be exempt. For-profit corporations are also not likely to be exempt."
That is, once one ventures into the world of commerce, it becomes a question of worldly goods.
"
"These arguments came before the Supreme Court in 1987, in Corporation of Presiding Bishop v. Amos (483 U.S. 327) when the 1972 exemption was challenged as violating the establishment clause. The Court unanimously upheld the broadened exemption. As a result, religious employers now can use religious criteria in choosing personnel, regardless of their station."
Title VII and Religious Exemptions
However, Ark World appears to be a commercial enterprise.
"The second question is much more unclear. Under Title VII, an employer is entitled to the religious exemption if it can show it is a ‘‘religious corporation, association, educational institution, or society.’’ What that means, however, is somewhat uncertain. On one hand, traditional religious organizations—churches, for example—are certainly exempt. On the other hand, for-profit corporations surely cannot escape religious discrimination suits by suddenly claiming to be exempt religious employers. Ultimately, the key issue courts examine is whether the purpose and character of the organization are really religious in nature. Churches, synagogues, and other traditional religious organizations are clearly religious and therefore exempt. Exempt also are subsidiaries of such organizations, provided the subsidiaries are owned, operated by, or closely affiliated with the parent religious organization. Thus, organizations closely related to the Catholic Church or the Salvation Army will likely be considered exempt religious employers, even if their work is considered secular to some. However, organizations that were not founded for religious purposes or that have mostly secular functions are not likely to be exempt. For-profit corporations are also not likely to be exempt."
That is, once one ventures into the world of commerce, it becomes a question of worldly goods.
"
