The Churchome lawsuit is a 2023 class action filed in King County Superior Court alleging that the Kirkland-based megachurch led by pastor Judah Smith required its employees to give back 10 percent of their wages as tithes or face discipline and termination, in violation of Washington state wage laws. The church denies wrongdoing and says the First Amendment protects its right to expect staff to live by its teachings.
Who Filed the Case and What It Alleges
Rachel Kellogg, a former production assistant who later worked as a post-production producer, filed the complaint on March 21, 2023 against Churchome, Judah Smith, Chelsea Smith, and CEO David Kroll (Case No. 23-2-05119-0). The suit says Churchome maintained a company-wide policy requiring all employees to return 10 percent of their gross monthly wages to the church, and that workers who didn’t comply faced “actual or threatened pressure, discipline, or termination.”1Class Action. Kellogg v. Churchome et al. Complaint
Kellogg says the requirement was not disclosed when she was hired in December 2019. She began tithing by automatic electronic transfer in April 2020 out of fear of losing her job, then stopped around December 2020 after a car accident and a rent increase left her short. A supervisor pressured her to resume in November 2021. In January 2022 she received a written reprimand for “exhibiting misconduct” by failing to meet the 10 percent expectation, and by February 2023 she was told continued noncompliance would likely lead to her removal from staff.1Class Action. Kellogg v. Churchome et al. Complaint
The complaint quotes an April 2020 staff meeting in which Judah Smith allegedly told employees: “People have already been transitioned and moved on and fired because they were not tithing.”1Class Action. Kellogg v. Churchome et al. Complaint It also cites the employee handbook, which instructs staff to “Tithe and be generous with your time, finances, and other resources,” with violations subject to “corrective action, up to and including termination.”2Class Action. Churchome Forces Employees to Tithe 10 Percent of Wages, Class Action Alleges
The Wage Laws at Issue
Kellogg’s lawyers frame the tithe as an unlawful wage-rebate scheme. The complaint raises three claims under Washington law:
- Unlawful rebate of wages under RCW 49.52.050, which makes it illegal for an employer to collect back any part of wages already paid.3Washington State Legislature. RCW 49.52 – Wages – Rebates – Penalty
- Unlawful deductions under RCW 49.52.060 and WAC 296-126-028, for taking money from wages for the employer’s benefit without proper authorization.
- Violation of the Washington Consumer Protection Act (Chapter 19.86 RCW), on the theory that the undisclosed tithing policy was a deceptive practice.1Class Action. Kellogg v. Churchome et al. Complaint
Kellogg is seeking return of all rebated wages, double damages under RCW 49.52.070, prejudgment interest, and attorney’s fees. The proposed class covers anyone employed by Churchome for its Washington operations on or after March 21, 2019.2Class Action. Churchome Forces Employees to Tithe 10 Percent of Wages, Class Action Alleges
How Churchome Is Defending Itself
The church, represented by Nathaniel Taylor of Seattle firm Ellis, Li & McKinstry PLLC, said it “intends to vigorously defend the rights of all religious institutions to live, teach, and model their faith through their employees.”4Christianity Today. Church Staff Mandatory Tithe Lawsuit Churchome Judah Smith It has taken the position that the First Amendment protects its right to restrict employment to people who “abide by church teaching.”5FOX 13 Seattle. Celebrity-Endorsed Megachurch Accused of Violating Washington Consumer and Wage Acts in Lawsuit
Churchome has also drawn a distinction between deducting tithes from a paycheck and asking employees to give on their own. It says it does not withhold tithes at payroll but asks employees to “live out this faith practice.” The statement of faith and handbook, the church says, have carried the tithing expectation for many years, and senior leadership, including the Smiths and Kroll, tithe as well.5FOX 13 Seattle. Celebrity-Endorsed Megachurch Accused of Violating Washington Consumer and Wage Acts in Lawsuit
The Legal Question at the Center
The case pits Washington wage-rebate statutes against religious-employer protections under the First Amendment. The closest precedent is the U.S. Supreme Court’s 1987 decision in Corporation of the Presiding Bishop v. Amos, which upheld a Title VII religious exemption allowing a church to fire a building engineer who failed to maintain a “temple recommend,” a status that required tithing among other things.6Justia. Corporation of Presiding Bishop v. Amos The Court reasoned that the exemption reduced government interference with a religious organization’s ability to define its own mission.7Georgetown Berkley Center. Corporation of Presiding Bishop of Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints v. Amos
Kellogg’s suit doesn’t sit squarely inside that precedent. She isn’t suing under Title VII for religious discrimination in hiring or firing. She’s suing under state statutes that flatly bar employers from taking back part of paid wages. Whether those wage laws reach a church’s tithing expectation, or whether the First Amendment blocks them from doing so, is the open question the court will have to work through.
Where the Case Stands
The case remained pending in public dockets as of early 2026, with no reported ruling on class certification, no reported ruling on a motion to dismiss, and no reported final judgment.2Class Action. Churchome Forces Employees to Tithe 10 Percent of Wages, Class Action Alleges One 2025 report described the tithing lawsuit as having been “settled out of court for an undisclosed amount,” but no other outlet confirmed the terms or timing of any settlement.8Vulture. Judah Smith Church Pastor Justin Bieber
A Separate Controversy People Sometimes Confuse With This Case
Weeks before Kellogg filed suit, Churchome faced public criticism over its September 2022 rehiring of former children’s pastor Braylon Oliver, who a 2018 independent investigation had found, by a preponderance of the evidence, raped a woman in San Diego in October 2012. Oliver resigned again after The Roys Report published its findings in February 2023, and the accuser filed a police report with the King County Sheriff’s Department, which was forwarded to San Diego police.9The Roys Report. Judah Smith Hires Man Accused of Rape That matter is factually separate from the wage lawsuit and is not part of Kellogg’s claims.