Month: October 2015
Same-Sex Marriage Is Now Legal Nationwide, Which Will Lead To Legal Battles Between Supporters Of This New Constitutional Right on the One Hand Versus Religious Institutions and Individuals That Support Traditional Marriage On the Other Hand
1. A summary of the opinion legalizing gay marriage in the U.S. Supreme Court’s Obergefell decision this year and its relevance to Oregon churches and religious schools In a 5 to 4 split decision issued on June 26, 2015, the U.S. Supreme Court in Obergefell v. Hodges, 135 Supreme Court 2584 (2015), in an opinion written by “swing” Justice Kennedy (who was joined by the Court’s four liberal justices – Justices Ginsburg, Breyer, Kagan, and…
The “Sweetcakes By Melissa” Dispute – Oregon’s Bureau Of Labor and Industries (BOLI) Made National News This Year By Ordering Christian Bakers to Pay a Lesbian Couple $135,000 for Refusing to Make a Cake For Their Wedding Based on the Bakers’ Religious Beliefs
1. A summary of the Sweetcakes ruling by BOLI and its rejection of the Christian bakers’ First Amendment free exercise of religion defense On July 2, 2015 – the week after the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in Obergefell v. Hodges, 135 Supreme Court 2584 (2015), which legalized gay marriage nationwide (as separately discussed in this newsletter) – Brad Avakian, Oregon’s BOLI Commissioner, issued his Final Order in a BOLI case entitled In the Matter of…
DEFAMATION LIABILITY AND TERMINATED EMPLOYEES
Churches and religious schools are periodically faced with the dilemma of having to terminate a priest, pastor, teacher, or other employee and then answer questions from the congregation and other employees about why the person was let go. Churches and religious schools can feel torn between wanting to explain what happened and fearing civil liability for defamation (a false, unprivileged statement that causes injury to another) to a person who is upset that they were…
