Everything you need to know about ranked-choice voting in one spot. Click to learn more!

Catholic Charities Bureau, Inc. v. Wisconsin Labor & Industry Review Commission

From Ballotpedia
Jump to: navigation, search

Supreme Court of the United States
Catholic Charities Bureau, Inc. v. Wisconsin Labor & Industry Review Commission
Term: 2024
Important Dates
Argued: March 31, 2025
Decided: June 5, 2025
Outcome
reversed
Vote
9-0
Majority
Chief Justice John Roberts • Clarence Thomas • Samuel Alito • Sonia Sotomayor • Elena Kagan • Neil Gorsuch • Brett Kavanaugh • Amy Coney Barrett • Ketanji Brown Jackson
Concurring
Clarence Thomas • Ketanji Brown Jackson

Catholic Charities Bureau, Inc. v. Wisconsin Labor & Industry Review Commission is a case that was decided by the Supreme Court of the United States on June 5, 2025, during the court's October 2024-2025 term. The case was argued before the Supreme Court of the United States on March 31, 2025.

In a 9-0 opinion, the court reversed the judgment of the Supreme Court of Wisconsin, holding The Wisconsin Supreme Court’s decision denying Catholic Charities Bureau a tax emption available to religious entities under Wisconsin law violates the First Amendment. Justice Sonia Sotomayor delivered the opinion of the court.[1]

HIGHLIGHTS
  • The issue: The case concerned whether denying a religious organization an otherwise-available tax exemption based on a state's criteria for religious behavior violates the First Amendment, and whether a court may require proof "beyond a reasonable doubt" in addressing challenges to federal constitutionality. Click here to learn more about the case's background.
  • The questions presented: "1. Does a state violate the First Amendment's Religion Clauses by denying a religious organization an otherwise-available tax exemption because the organization does not meet the state's criteria for religious behavior?

    2. In addressing federal constitutional challenges, may state courts require proof of unconstitutionality "beyond a reasonable doubt?"[2]

  • The outcome: In a 9-0 opinion, the court reversed the judgment of the Supreme Court of Wisconsin.[1]


    • The case came on a writ of certiorari to the Supreme Court of Wisconsin. To review the lower court's opinion, click here.

    Background

    Case summary

    The following are the parties to this case:[3]

    • Petitioner: Catholic Charities Bureau, Inc., et al.
      • Legal counsel: Eric Christopher Rassbach (The Becket Fund for Religious Liberty)
    • Respondent: Wisconsin Labor & Industry Review Commission, et al.
      • Legal counsel: Colin T. Roth (Wisconsin Department of Justice), Charlotte Gibson (Wisconsin Department of Justice)

    The following summary of the case was published by Oyez

    “

    Catholic Charities Bureau (CCB) is the social ministry arm of the Diocese of Superior in Wisconsin, operating since 1917 to provide services to the poor and disadvantaged as an expression of the Catholic Church's social ministry. The organization is controlled by the bishop of the Diocese, who serves as CCB’s president and appoints its membership. CCB’s mission is to provide service to people in need and advocate for justice, with a philosophy rooted in being “an effective sign of the charity of Christ.” The organization makes no distinctions based on race, sex, or religion in its services, employment, or board appointments.

    Under CCB’s umbrella are four sub-entities involved in this case: Barron County Developmental Services, Black River Industries, Diversified Services, and Headwaters. These entities provide various social services, including job placement and coaching for people with disabilities, community-based training, daily living services, and support programs. While CCB oversees these sub-entities and provides management services, the sub-entities themselves are primarily funded through government contracts and do not receive direct funding from the Diocese. Neither employees nor service recipients are required to be of any particular religious faith, and the programs do not provide religious training or attempt to promote the Catholic faith.

    CCB and its sub-entities sought an exemption from state unemployment insurance contributions in 2016, but the Department of Workforce Development denied the exemption. An administrative law judge reversed that decision, but then the Labor and Industry Review Commission (LIRC) reversed again, finding the organizations were not operated primarily for religious purposes. Then, the circuit court sided with CCB, and then the Wisconsin Court of Appeals reversed and reinstated LIRC’s decision. Ultimately, the Wisconsin Supreme Court affirmed, holding that the organizations did not qualify for the religious purposes exemption under state law.[4]

    		”

    To learn more about this case, see the following:

    Timeline

    The following timeline details key events in this case:

    • June 5, 2025: In a 9-0 opinion, the court reversed the judgment of the Supreme Court of Wisconsin.[1]
    • March 31, 2025: The U.S. Supreme Court heard oral argument.
    • December 13, 2024: The U.S. Supreme Court agreed to hear the case.
    • May 28, 2024: Catholic Charities Bureau, Inc., et al. appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court.
    • March 14, 2024: The Supreme Court of Wisconsin affirmed the decision of the Court of Appeals of Wisconsin.

    Questions presented

    The petitioner presented the following questions to the court:[2]

    Questions presented:
    “ 1. Does a state violate the First Amendment's Religion Clauses by denying a religious

    organization an otherwise-available tax exemption because the organization does not meet the state's criteria for religious behavior? 2. In addressing federal constitutional challenges, may state courts require proof of unconstitutionality 'beyond a reasonable doubt?'[4]

    		”

    Oral argument

    Audio

    Audio of oral argument:[5]




    Transcript

    Transcript of oral argument:[6]

    Outcome

    In a 9-0 opinion, the court reversed the judgment of the Supreme Court of Wisconsin, holding The Wisconsin Supreme Court’s decision denying Catholic Charities Bureau a tax emption available to religious entities under Wisconsin law violates the First Amendment. Justice Sonia Sotomayor delivered the opinion of the court.[1]

    According to SCOTUSblog:[7]

    “ ‘A law that differentiates between religions along theological lines,’ Sotomayor explained, ‘is textbook denominational discrimination.’ This case, Sotomayor continued, involves precisely that kind of discrimination: Catholic Charities is controlled by a church, but the Wisconsin Supreme Court ruled that the exemption did not apply – even though the group’s ‘charitable works are religiously motivated’ – because they do not proselytize and because they provide their services to people of all faiths. Because the group’s Catholic faith in fact prohibits it from proselytizing or limiting its services to Catholics, Sotomayor observed, denying the exemption ‘thus grants a denominational preference by explicitly differentiating between religions based on theological practices.’ [4] ”

    Opinion

    In the court's majority opinion, Justice Sonia Sotomayor wrote:[1]

    “

    It is fundamental to our constitutional order that the government maintain “neutrality between religion and religion.” Epperson, 393 U. S., at 104. There may be hard calls to make in policing that rule, but this is not one. When the government distinguishes among religions based on theological differences in their provision of services, it imposes a denominational preference that must satisfy the highest level of judicial scrutiny. Because Wisconsin has transgressed that principle without the tailoring necessary to survive such scrutiny, the judgment of the Wisconsin Supreme Court is reversed, and the case is remanded for further proceedings not inconsistent with this opinion.[4]

    		”
    —Justice Sonia Sotomayor

    Concurring opinion

    Justice Thomas

    Justice Clarence Thomas filed a concurring opinion.

    In his concurring opinion, Justice Thomas wrote:[1]

    “

    The Court correctly holds that Catholic Charities and its subentities have suffered unconstitutional religious discrimination even on the assumption that those entities should be considered in isolation. See ante, at 9–11. I would reverse for an additional reason—that the Wisconsin Supreme Court violated the church autonomy doctrine. However incorporated, Catholic Charities and its subentities are, from a religious perspective, a mere arm of the Diocese of Superior. The Wisconsin Supreme Court should have deferred to that understanding, and its failure to do so amounted to an unlawful attempt by the State to redefine the Diocese’s internal governance.[4]

    		”
    —Justice Clarence Thomas

    Justice Brown Jackson

    Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson filed a concurring opinion.

    In her concurring opinion, Justice Brown Jackson wrote:[1]

    “

    Church-related nonprofit employers care for the sick, feed the hungry, and improve the world in countless ways. Most do this—no doubt—for religious reasons. All do this thanks to their employees’ labor. As I read §3309(b)(1)(B), evaluating whether a church-affiliated nonprofit ‘operate[s] primarily for religious purposes’ is not a matter of assessing the sincerity or primacy of its religious motives. Instead, as with so many other interpretive issues, determining what the religious-purposes exemption means involves attempting to discern what Congress was trying to achieve. Here, Congress sought to extend to most nonprofit workers the stability that unemployment insurance offers, while exempting a narrow category of church-affiliated entities most likely to cause significant entanglement problems for the unemployment system—precisely because their work involves preparing individuals for religious life. It is perfectly consistent with the opinion the Court hands down today for States to align their §3309(b)(1)(B)-based religious-purposes exemptions with Congress’s true focus.[4]

    		”
    —Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson

    Text of the opinion

    Read the full opinion here.

    October term 2024-2025

    See also: Supreme Court cases, October term 2024-2025

    The Supreme Court began hearing cases for the term on October 7, 2024. The court's yearly term begins on the first Monday in October and lasts until the first Monday in October the following year. The court generally releases the majority of its decisions in mid-June.[8]


    See also

    External links

    Footnotes

    1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 Supreme Court of the United States, "Catholic Charities Bureau, Inc. v. Wisconsin Labor & Industry Review Commission," June 5, 2025
    2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 Supreme Court of the United States, "24-154 CATHOLIC CHARITIES BUREAU, INC. V. WISCONSIN LABOR & INDUSTRY REVIEW COMMISSION QP", December 13, 2024
    3. ↑ Supreme Court of the United States, ""No. 24-154accessed 45649
    4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 4.4 4.5 Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
    5. ↑ Supreme Court of the United States, "Oral Argument - Audio," argued March 31, 2025
    6. ↑ Supreme Court of the United States, "Oral Argument - Transcript," argued March 31, 2025
    7. ↑ SCOTUSblog, "Supreme Court sides with Catholic social ministry over tax exemption," June 5, 2025
    8. ↑ SupremeCourt.gov, "The Supreme Court at Work: The Term and Caseload," accessed January 24, 2022
    Retrieved from "https://ballotpedia.org/wiki/index.php?title=Catholic_Charities_Bureau,_Inc._v._Wisconsin_Labor_%26_Industry_Review_Commission&oldid=10414460"