Ohio Attorney General David Yost leads 18 other state attorneys general in opposition to the Wisconsin Supreme Court's decision to deny a religious charity organization's request for exemption from unemployment taxes.

As with Wisconsin law, religious nonprofit organizations are generally exempt from these taxes.

The Wisconsin Supreme Court ruled that the activities of the Catholic Charities Bureau were not sufficiently religious due to their willingness to serve the public as a whole as opposed to only those within their faith.

The attorney general believes this is not only against the Constitution but may suggest that the judges and figures in government have the power to define what makes something a religious practice or not.

"Our Constitution guards against government interference on religion, and few maneuvers are as intrusive as the government taking it upon itself to define religious practice," said Attorney General Yost.

Yost is accompanied by attorneys general from the states listed below.

  • Alabama
  • Arkansas
  • Florida
  • Georgia
  • Idaho
  • Iowa
  • Kentucky
  • Louisiana
  • Mississippi
  • Missouri
  • Montana
  • Nebraska
  • North Dakota
  • South Dakota
  • South Carolina
  • Utah
  • Virginia
  • West Virginia