Jack Phillips, owner of Masterpiece Cakeshop in Colorado, who refused to make a cake for a same-sex couple. Credit:AP Just this month a California judge ruled on whether a bakery owner can continue to refuse making wedding cakes for same-sex couples because it violates her Christian beliefs. The judge found she could, because the baker was being asked to make a cake for an event and the act of creating it was protected artistic expression. She would not be allowed to refuse to sell an existing cake in a public display case. A similar case in Colorado is awaiting a decision by the US Supreme Court. But it's a myth in the sense that it's not about religious freedom for everyone, it's about religious freedom for a very specific type of person – business owners. It's easy to consider an example where the same individual is both the owner of the business and the person with the religious conviction. But most people are not self-employed small business owners. Most people are employees.

A demonstrator holds a sign in support of David Mullins and husband Charlie Craig outside the US Supreme Court during arguments in the Masterpiece Cakeshop v Colorado Civil Rights Commission case in Washington last December. Credit:Andrew Harrer In December 2017, there were about 1.3 million Australians who are either sole traders or owner-managers of companies with no employees, according to the Australian Bureau of Statistics. A further 750,000 or so were self-employed with employees. But the same month there were about 10.5 million Australians who are employees - that is, they have a boss. If you're an employee, who decides if you have the right to discriminate against customers on the basis of religious conviction? Is it a human right, and therefore every individual has the right to decide which customers to serve, regardless of the employer's preference?

Or is it the right of the boss or business owner to decide which customers to serve, because it's their money and reputation on the line? It would be a strange version of religious freedom indeed if it only applies if you own your own business. Especially given there are more than five times as many Australians who are employees as there are business owners. It's also a dangerous idea to grant human rights to companies and other legal entities rather than to, you know, humans. It's this type of thinking that has seen the United States rule that companies are people and entitled to make political donations because of their human right to freedom of speech. But let's be realistic. It would also be completely unfair for businesses to have rogue employees deciding when they will and won't serve customers. Consider the situation in reverse. Imagine the brand damage if you own a bakery, your policy is to treat all customers equally, but one of your shop assistants refuses to take an order from a gay couple planning a wedding, and isn't shy about saying why. You'd be dragged through the proverbial on social media for days.

Should you have the right to sack that employee? Even if the religious exemptions don't wind up applying to big business, there's still a significant problem. Small business is a major employer in Australia – as the business lobby is so fond of pointing out. In fact, 4.7 million people were employed by small businesses in 2013-14, according to the Australian Small Business and Family Enterprise Ombudsman. And only 3 per cent of companies have more than 200 employees. The Religious Freedom Review is due to report on March 31. It would be great to actually see the submissions – at this stage they haven't been made public – but I suspect something's up. Is the agenda of religious advocates really about protecting the rights of self-employed bakers and florists with no employees? Or is it actually about religious schools and charitable organisations wanting to keep or extend the right to discriminate when hiring and firing?

Loading A "don't ask, don't tell" policy isn't going to work once people start getting married. Caitlin Fitzsimmons writes columns about work, life and money. Find her on Facebook or Twitter.