Back in 2016, Catholic Charities requested an exemption from the state of Wisconsin's unemployment insurance (UI) tax. Arguing that it was a religious organization, Catholic Charities said it should be exempt from UI taxes, per WI state law. The Wisconsin Department of Workforce Development (DWD) denied the request, and Catholic Charities sued. In the spring of last year, the WI Supreme Court sided with the DWD, saying Catholic Charities wasn't "operated primarily for religious purposes" and that it doesn't "proselytize and serve everyone."
Catholic Charities, with the Becket Fund, appealed the state Supreme Court's ruling to the U.S. Supreme Court and won in a 9-0 decision.
Despite that, Wisconsin officials continue to fight Catholic Charities in court. Their attorney, Eric Rassbach, is speaking out.
Despite losing 9-0 at SCOTUS, Wisconsin still won’t take the L. State officials are defying the Court’s unanimous ruling in Catholic Charities Bureau and continuing to fight my clients in court. @becketfund just asked the Wisconsin Supreme Court to put a stop to it.
— Eric Rassbach (@ericrassbach) October 21, 2025
Rassbach points to the SCOTUS decision as settling the argument.
In June, all nine SCOTUS Justices rejected Wisconsin’s argument that Catholic Charities’ care for the poor and needy wasn’t religious enough to qualify for a religious exemption. https://t.co/6si8ycDAVz
— Eric Rassbach (@ericrassbach) October 21, 2025
Even Justice Sotomayor chided WI officials for their religious discrimination.
Justice Sotomayor explained that Wisconsin had violated federal law by “impos[ing] a denominational preference by differentiating between religions based on theological lines.” The Court further recognized that “whether to express and inculcate religious doctrine through worship,… pic.twitter.com/6i7THofOfP
— Eric Rassbach (@ericrassbach) October 21, 2025
Now, WI AG Josh Kaul, who is running for reelection in 2026, has decided that instead of giving the exemption to Catholic Charities, he wants to axe the exemption for all religious charitable organizations.
Rather than following the Supreme Court’s ruling, Wisconsin officials are now trying to avoid it by attacking the religious exemption itself. The attorney general recently asked the state’s high court to consider axing the exemption entirely—undermining a key protection relied on…
— Eric Rassbach (@ericrassbach) October 21, 2025
Rassbach says such a move is "undermining a key protection relied on by faith-based organizations across Wisconsin."
The Becket Fund is asking the state Supreme Court to stop this power grab.
The Wisconsin Supreme Court then ordered additional briefing on the question. Becket is asking the court to stop this maneuver in its tracks. https://t.co/euDt9eWrUF
— Eric Rassbach (@ericrassbach) October 21, 2025
If the court doesn't stop Kaul, it'll harm every religious charitable organization in the state.
If the state succeeds, it would harm not only Catholic Charities but also countless churches, synagogues, mosques, and other ministries that depend on the same exemption.
— Eric Rassbach (@ericrassbach) October 21, 2025
Having to pay the UI tax means religious organizations would owe thousands — perhaps tens of thousands — of dollars to the state of Wisconsin, a financial burden many of them could not afford.
Rather than accepting defeat, the state is now trying to punish all religious groups in Wisconsin, not just Catholic Charities. Doubling down on excluding religious people makes a mockery of both our legal system and religious freedom.
— Eric Rassbach (@ericrassbach) October 21, 2025
While Kaul's office has not issued a comment on this latest filing, he did submit a brief to SCOTUS prior to the case's hearing last year. In that brief, Kaul argued that "people receiving services from these organizations receive no religious training or orientation" and urged the court not to hear the case.