Students Sue Christian University Over Its Anti-LGBTQ+ Policies
A private Christian university in Washington that admits to discriminating against LGBTQ+ job applicants is being sued by dozens of current and former students, faculty, and staff.Seattle Pacific University has been under investigation by the state since May after Washington state Attorney General Bob Ferguson received multiple complaints from students, staff, and faculty regarding the hiring policies at SPU.
In June, the university responded to an inquiry from Ferguson by filing a suit in federal court requesting protection from the Washington state investigation due to its exemption as a religious institution.
SPU freely admits it discriminates against applicants who are involved in same-sex sexual relationships as they say the practice violates the institution’s religious principles.In their suit against SPU, the plaintiffs claim the university has failed “to serve the educational interest of its students” because of its anti-LGBTQ+ hiring practices.
The suit asks the court to remove the trustees and officers who enabled the hiring policies, appoint a receiver to oversee an election of new trustees, review the university’s finances, and award unspecified economic damages to the plaintiffs.SPU does not hide from its hiring policies but instead embraces them as a protected right of a private religious institution.“When hiring employees, Seattle Pacific requires regular faculty and staff to be Christians and to abide by the University’s Statement of Faith as well as our Employee Lifestyle Expectations, which together shape the vision and mission of the institution as a Free Methodist 2 Church-affiliated university,” the university said in a letter to faculty and students in June explaining its federal lawsuit.In its.
