He asked about his husband’s coverage before taking the job - the answer changed fast
Catholic Relief Services (CRS) discriminated against a gay IT analyst by revoking his husband’s dependent health insurance, a federal appeals court has affirmed.
The employee met CRS at a job fair in 2016. Before accepting the role, he told the recruiter he was gay and married, and asked whether his husband would be covered under the organization’s dependent health benefits.
The recruiter said yes. No caveats.
He joined CRS and enrolled his husband. Five months later, the organization reversed course - his husband’s enrollment had been a mistake, CRS said, because extending dependent benefits to a same-sex spouse was contrary to its religious values. CRS offered an alternative arrangement. The employee declined, and CRS terminated his husband’s coverage.
He stayed eight years before resigning in 2024. Then he sued.
CRS, a nonprofit affiliated with the Catholic Church, has more than 8,000 employees. It is governed by the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops and does not require most staff to adhere to the Catholic faith. The organization threw everything it had at the appeal: Title VII’s religious-employer exemption, the Religious Freedom Restoration Act (RFRA), the Free Exercise Clause, and the church autonomy doctrine.
The Fourth Circuit, in a 2-1 published decision on October 16, 2026, rejected all of them.
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