WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court won’t get involved in a Montana decision to force a Hutterite religious colony to pay worker compensation insurance for jobs outside the commune.
The high court on Monday refused to hear an appeal from the Big Sky Colony of Hutterites, which is fighting a 2009 state law requiring religious organizations to carry workers’ compensation insurance.
The Hutterites say the law targeted their religion and infringed on their beliefs. Its members have no personal property and make no wages as part of their communal life, and a member can’t make a claim against the colony or take money for himself without risking excommunication.
The Montana Supreme Court ruled that the workers’ compensation requirement does not interfere with the Hutterites’ religious practices but only regulates their commercial activities.