Washington’s religious‑accommodation landscape is shifting in two distinct directions. In what is likely to be one of the most important religious freedom cases of the year, the Ninth Circuit in Union Gospel Mission v. Brown, No. 24-7246 (9th Cir., 2026) continued the trend of expanding constitutional protections for religious employers, holding that Washington cannot apply the Washington Law Against Discrimination to restrict a ministry’s ability to hire employees who share and live out its faith, even in non‑ministerial roles. At the center of the dispute is Union Gospel Mission’s requirement that all employees abstain from sexual conduct outside what it calls biblical marriage between one man and one woman. That includes everyone from ministers to IT technicians, operations assistants, nurses, and kitchen workers. In contrast, the Ninth Circuit held in Detwiler v. Mid‑Columbia Med. Ctr., No. 23-3710 (9th Cir., 2025) that employees must plead a bona fide religious belief, not a personal or individualized interpretation, to obtain Title VII protection—clarifying that secular or idiosyncratic objections do not trigger an employer’s duty to accommodate. Together, the cases signal a tightening of standards for employees seeking religious accommodations while simultaneously strengthening First Amendment autonomy for religious organizations in their hiring and mission‑driven staffing decisions.
For employers, the trend towards protecting religious employers and employees calls for thoughtful planning: reviewing job descriptions and mission‑based hiring criteria, ensuring religious expectations are clearly articulated, and developing consistent processes for evaluating accommodation requests grounded in genuine religious belief. Williams Kastner can help organizations strike that balance—protecting their religious identity while navigating accommodation obligations—through policy review, training, and tailored guidance for faith‑based workplaces. If you have any questions or would like to discuss how these developments impact your organization, please don’t hesitate to contact us.