A federal appeals court revived lawsuits by a Christian health care provider and a Catholic parish.
A federal appeals court has partially revived lawsuits brought by a Christian health care provider and a Catholic parish, challenging portions of Michigan’s anti-discrimination laws under the claim that those laws violate their constitutional rights.
The plaintiffs argue that the laws prevent them from making public statements opposing same-sex relationships or transgender activity and from hiring employees who share their religious values in this regard.
A three-judge panel for the Sixth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals issued a 37-page
ruling on Sept. 20 that allows the plaintiffs to proceed with their constitutional challenges, finding that they plausibly established standing. The court ruled that the Christian health care provider and parish faced a credible threat of enforcement for their public statements and hiring practices, but affirmed a lower court’s dismissal of the plaintiffs’ challenges to the Equal Accommodations Act and the claims brought by a third Catholic school.
The revived lawsuits primarily challenge new provisions of the state Elliott-Larsen Civil Rights Act (ELCRA) that explicitly protect against discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity. Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer signed a bill into law in March 2023 that expanded ELCRA to explicitly include sexual orientation, gender identity, and gender expression in the act.
“Getting this done will help attract and retain talent from across the nation, and I am proud that Michigan today is more free and fair than it was yesterday,” Whitmer
said in a statement at the time of the signing on March 16, 2023.
The plaintiffs—Christian Healthcare Centers and Sacred Heart of Jesus Parish—contend that these amendments to ELCRA infringe on their constitutional rights, particularly their religious freedom and free speech rights.
Specifically, they claim that the new provisions prevent them from making public statements opposing same-sex relationships or transgender activity in accordance with their religious beliefs. They also claim that the amendments restrict their ability to hire employees who share their religious views on marriage and gender.
A district court
dismissed the Christian Healthcare lawsuit and
dismissed the Sacred Heart lawsuit, in both cases for lack of standing, reasoning also that neither plaintiff had shown that there was a credible threat that Michigan would actually enforce the laws against them. This led to appeals before to the Sixth Circuit, which consolidated the actions into a single case.
“These laws prevent Christian Healthcare from hiring staff who agree with its religious values, force the ministry to use pronouns and prescribe cross-sex hormones contrary to its beliefs about the immutability of sex, and act like a speech code to censor the ministry from publicly explaining its religious beliefs and policies,” the
complaint to the Sixth Circuit, filed by Christian Healthcare on Oct. 18, 2023, reads.
It its own
appeal, filed on Aug. 22, 2023, Sacred Heart alleged that the amended laws prevent it “from operating and adopting policies consistent with Catholic doctrine and teachings regarding marriage and sexuality,” while also preventing parents from providing their children with an authentic Catholic education at Sacred Heart, and hampering the school in its effort to hire and retain only employees who adhere to Catholic teachings.
After hearing oral arguments in June, the Sixth Circuit ultimately found that Michigan’s amended laws arguably forbid several of the plaintiffs’ pleaded activities and “although the threat of enforcement analysis is more nuanced, we conclude that two Plaintiffs—Christian Healthcare and Sacred Heart—have plausibly established a credible threat that Defendants will enforce against them at least some of the challenged provisions.”
The appeals court’s ruling sends the case back to the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Michigan with instructions to take up the case once again and determine possible relief.
