Doe v. Catholic Relief Services

Summary

The Supreme Court of Maryland answered three certified questions concerning the scope of Maryland employment-discrimination statutes. It held that the statutory prohibitions against discrimination based on sex in MFEPA and MEPEWA do not independently prohibit discrimination based on sexual orientation because the statutes separately enumerate sexual orientation or gender identity and their legislative histories show that the General Assembly treated those categories distinctly. It also held that MFEPA's religious-entity exemption applies to claims by employees whose duties directly further the religious entity's core mission, while leaving application of that standard to the federal court. No separate opinions are included in the record provided.