Supreme Court will hear Catholic charitable group’s plea to be free from Wisconsin unemployment tax
WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court said Friday it would include new religious rights case on whether a Catholic charity must pay Wisconsin employment taxes.
The justices will review a split state Supreme Court ruling that denied granting relief to the Catholic Charities Bureau, based in Superior, Wisconsin. The state court ruled that the work of Catholic Charities and four related organizations is not primarily religious, although it ruled that the motivation to help the elderly, disabled and low-income people comes from Catholic teachings.
The case will likely be argued in the spring.
The Supreme Court has issued an uninterrupted series of rulings in recent years decisions siding with churches and religious claimants in disputes with states.
Lawyers for the Wisconsin groups argued in court that the decision violates religious freedoms protected by the First Amendment. They also said the court should intervene to resolve conflicting rulings of different apex state courts on the same issue.
Wisconsin Attorney General Joshua Kaul had urged the Supreme Court to stay out of the case, arguing that much of the groups’ funding comes from state and local governments and the joint federal and state Medicaid program.
Employees do not have to be Catholic and “people who receive services from these organizations do not receive religious training or orientation,” Kaul wrote.
Catholic charities have been paying unemployment taxes since 1972, he wrote.
Wisconsin exempts church-controlled organizations from the tax if they are “operated primarily for religious purposes.” The Supreme Court ruled that both motivations and activities must be religious for organizations to avoid the tax.
A group of religious scholars, who support Catholic charities, told the court that “the case concerns government interference in religious freedom” that justifies the judges’ intervention.
Catholic, Muslim, Lutheran, Jewish and Mormon organizations also submitted briefs in support of Catholic charities.
At the state Supreme Court, the Freedom from Religion Foundation argued that a ruling for Catholic Charities would extend to religiously affiliated hospitals and some colleges in Wisconsin, potentially removing their employees from the state unemployment insurance system.
Catholic Charities in Superior operates nonprofit organizations that operate more than 60 programs designed to help the elderly or disabled, children with special needs, low-income families and those suffering from disasters, regardless of religion, according to court documents.