Seattle Pacific’s Legal Battle Over Hiring Policies Continues
Last week, the 9th Circuit heard arguments about why the federal lawsuit over hiring practices should be allowed to continue.
The legal battle over Seattle Pacific University’s commitment to a Biblical view of sexuality and marriage continued before the United States 9th Circuit Court of Appeals last week. 
In June 2022, SPU filed a lawsuit against Washington’s Attorney General Bob Ferguson for violating its First Amendment guarantees of freedom of speech, free exercise of religion, and freedom of assembly.
Ferguson had demanded the school provide employment records about every position at the school pursuant to his investigation of the college’s hiring practices after complaints arose. The Washington Law Against Discrimination protects employees from discrimination based on their sexual orientation and gender identity. While it exempts religious groups, it has narrowed the exemption to only apply to employees who are “ministers.”
The federal district court judge dismissed the lawsuit in October 2022, claiming it was a state issue over which the court had no jurisdiction.
Becket Fund for Religious Liberty Attorney Lori Windham, who represents SPU, argued before the appellate court last week that dismissal was erroneous because the “trolling” of the school’s records and threat of enforcement were sufficient injury to allow the case to proceed, WORLD reported.
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Washington Assistant Attorney General Daniel Jeon argued that SPU wants a “blank check” to apply the discrimination law as it sees fit. Ninth Circuit Judge M. Margaret McKeown asked him, “But why wouldn’t that be a question after discovery for the court to determine whether it had the factual or legal foundation to issue such an injunction or declaratory judgment?”
Windham elaborated on the importance of the case after the oral arguments. “If SPU can’t bring this kind of case, that makes it harder for any religious group to go to court to protect its rights. You have to wait until a state official has taken some serious enforcement action against you before you can make your First Amendment case,” she said.
The court has not yet issued a ruling.
The controversy began after an adjunct nursing professor filed a lawsuit in January 2021, accusing SPU of refusing him job opportunities because of his sexual orientation. Four months later, the university’s faculty in April 2021 voted no confidence in its board of trustees when the board declined to change the hiring policy.
The university, founded in 1891, is associated with the Free Methodist Church and has a statement on human sexuality, which it requires its employees to adhere to.
In opposition to the school’s hiring policy, students staged a more than month-long sit-in beginning in late May 2022.
