Court Sides With Religious Freedom in Employment Case

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NEW ORLEANS, LA – The U.S. Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals held that a Christian-owned business is exempt from federal discrimination law and can choose whether or not to hire or keep employees based on their sexual orientation and gender in accordance with the company’s deeply held religious beliefs.

A three-judge panel ruled unanimously in Braidwood Management v. EEOC that the Religious Freedom Restoration Act (RFRA) of 1993 protects not just a church, but a private entity from violating their religious beliefs by having to employ someone who does not share the same beliefs or whose conduct does not align with the company’s views. The RFRA prevents the federal government from enforcing otherwise neutral laws that burden a person’s free exercise of religion. In this case, the RFRA protects a Christian business from having to employ homosexual or gender-dysphoric employees who are incompatible with the company’s biblical views on sexuality and marriage.