WASHINGTON – Becket asked the Wisconsin Supreme Court yesterday to stop state officials from defying the U.S. Supreme Court’s unanimous ruling in Catholic Charities Bureau v. Wisconsin Labor & Industry Review Commission. In June, all nine Justices rejected Wisconsin’s argument that Catholic Charities’ care for the poor and needy wasn’t religious enough to qualify for a religious exemption from the state’s unemployment tax law. (Watch this video to learn more). But instead of complying with that decision, state officials are now asking the state’s high court to eliminate the exemption entirely. 

In the Supreme Court’s 9-0 ruling this past summer, Justice Sonia Sotomayor explained that Wisconsin had violated federal law by “impos[ing] a denominational preference by differentiating between religions based on theological lines.” The Court further recognized that “whether to express and inculcate religious doctrine through worship, proselytization, or religious education when performing charitable work are, again, fundamentally theological choices driven by the content of different religious doctrines.”   

“The idea that a Catholic ministry serving those in need isn’t religious was always absurd,” said Eric Rassbach, vice president and senior counsel at Becket. “That’s why the Supreme Court unanimously rejected Wisconsin’s arguments and protected Catholic Charities. Trying to wriggle out of a 9-0 loss is even more absurd. The state should take the L and move on.” 

Rather than following the Supreme Court’s ruling, Wisconsin officials are now trying to avoid it by attacking the religious exemption itself. The attorney general recently asked the state’s high court to consider axing the exemption entirely—undermining a key religious exemption relied on by faith-based organizations across Wisconsin. The Wisconsin Supreme Court then ordered further briefing on the question. Becket is asking the court to stop this maneuver in its tracks. If permitted to eliminate the exemption entirely, Wisconsin would harm not only Catholic Charities but also churches, synagogues, mosques, and other ministries that depend on the same exemption. 

“Wisconsin’s bald-faced defiance of the Supreme Court is nothing short of remarkable,” said Rassbach. “Rather than accepting defeat, the state is now trying to punish all religious groups in Wisconsin, not just Catholic Charities. Doubling down on excluding religious people makes a mockery of both our legal system and religious freedom.” 

Catholic Charities Bureau is also represented by Kyle H. Torvinen of Torvinen, Jones & Saunders, S.C., in Superior, Wisconsin. 

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