BALTIMORE — A federal judge has ordered Baltimore-based Catholic Relief Services to pay $60,000 to a gay former employee who said the agency revoked health insurance coverage for his husband, according to court documents.

The former employee, referred to as “John Doe” in court documents, worked as an information technology professional at Catholic Relief Services, the international humanitarian agency of the Catholic Church in the U.S. In the lawsuit, Doe alleges Catholic Relief Service withdrew health insurance benefits for his husband because he and his husband are men.

On Monday, U.S. District Judge Julie Rubin found that Catholic Relief Services violated the Maryland Fair Employment Practices Act, ruling the agency’s claim of an exemption to the law for religious groups did not apply to Doe’s positions at the agency.

“I’m very happy with Judge Rubin’s ruling and am honored to be part of such a precedent-setting case that has helped clarify, for employers and employees alike, the legal protections Maryland law provides, especially for LGBTQ workers,” Doe said in a statement provided by his attorneys. “I truly hope that CRS will see this ruling as an opportunity to promote the human dignity of employees in same-sex marriages by providing them the same opportunities and benefits granted to their straight counterparts.”

A spokesperson for Catholic Relief Services said the agency is reviewing the ruling and did not have any comment “at this time.”

Attorneys said that Doe’s lawsuit against Catholic Relief Services is the first case to apply the Supreme Court of Maryland’s clarification on the religious exemption under MFEPA.

The complaint was first filed in 2020 when Doe worked for Catholic Relief Services with the understanding that employee benefits covered all dependents, including same-sex spouses. Attorneys for Doe said that Catholic Relief Services did not follow through on that commitment and canceled his husband’s insurance coverage because they are gay.

In 2022, U.S. District Judge Catherine C. Blake ruled in Doe’s favor under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act and the Federal Equal Pay Act, stating that religious organizations are not excused from anti-discrimination statutes, attorneys said.

Upon clarification from the Supreme Court, Judge Rubin concluded that Doe did not directly further a Catholic Relief Services’ core religious mission in any of the positions he held at the agency. As a result, Catholic Relief Services could not rely on the religious exemption to allow it to discriminate against him.

The court also concluded that because MFEPA is neutral and generally applicable, it does not violate Catholic Relief Services’ First Amendment free exercise rights, according to Doe’s attorneys.

“MFEPA’s prohibition on employment discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation does not apply to a religious entity’s employment of an individual of a particular sexual orientation whose duties directly further a core mission,” Rubin wrote in court documents.

Doe’s attorney said the case should provide a precedent on how the Supreme Court of Maryland and trial courts analyze MFEPA’s religious exemption on a case-by-case basis.

“The court thoughtfully weighed all of the circumstances and correctly concluded that while he was dedicated to assisting CRS provide humanitarian relief to vulnerable individuals around the world, his specific job duties did not permit CRS to compensate him lesser than his colleagues merely because of who he loves. We are delighted that our client has received the justice he deserves,” Anthony May, an attorney with Brown, Goldstein & Levy who represents Doe, said in a statement.

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