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U.S. Supreme Court to Rule on Whether "Ministerial Exception" Applies to Catholic School Teachers


The U.S. Supreme Court accepted two cases out of the Ninth Circuit, in which the Court will consider whether the "ministerial exception" applies to two Catholic school teachers that filed discrimination claims against their employers.

As a bit of a refresher for readers, the Supreme Court issued a unanimous ruling in 2012, Hosanna-Tabor Evangelical Lutheran Church and School v. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, and held that the "ministerial exception" under the Establishment and Free Exercise Clauses of the First Amendment prohibited discrimination claims from being brought against churches or religious organizations.  As a result, under this exception, religious organizations were given leeway to hire and fire their ministerial leaders without government interference.  However, while the Supreme Court delineated four factors for a court to consider when addressing the matter, the Supreme Court declined to establish a clear cut test for determining who would qualify as a ministerial employee.  (The Court declined to take up a case in 2018, Grussgott v. Milwaukee Jewish Day School, Inc., which would have provided some clarity on the matter.)

However, with the Court accepting these two cases, Our Lady of Guadalupe School v. Morrissey-Berru and St. James School v. Biel, we might get some clarity on how the "ministerial exception" applies.  In Our Lady of Guadalupe School, the claimant filed suit for age discrimination after the school did not renew her contract.  In St. James School, the claimant filed suit under the Americans with Disabilities Act after she was diagnosed with cancer and the school did not renew her contract.  The district court in both cases granted the schools' motion to dismiss on the grounds that the "ministerial exception" applied.  The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals reversed the district court in both cases and held that the teachers were not covered by the exception on the grounds that neither the teachers nor the schools considered them to be ministers.

The Supreme Court consolidated the two cases (which makes sense given that they both ask the Court to address similar matters.)  While no oral argument has been set as of yet, I would expect this to get a lot of attention leading up to arguments and thereafter while we await a ruling from the Court.  Although it is too early to say for certain how the Court would rule, the Court's unanimous ruling in Hosanna-Tabor in 2012 gives me reason to pause and suspect that the schools might again prevail here.  Bear in mind, if anything, the Court has taken on a more conservative tilt in recent years (with Justice Neil Gorsuch and Justice Brett Kavanaugh being appointed since the ruling in Hosanna-Tabor), which could lead to a (strong) majority finding in favor of the schools.


For additional information:  http://www.bpnews.net/54096/court-to-review-ministerial-exception-rulings

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