U.S. Supreme Court Rules that Teachers at Religious Schools are not Covered by Federal Employment Discrimination
Contact Michael D. McQueen, Clara (C.B.) Burns, Charles C. High, Jr. and Gilbert L. Sanchez -
July 8, 2020
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The U.S. Supreme Court in a 7-2 decision in Our Lady of Guadalupe School v. Morrissey-Berru held that employment discrimination suits by teachers fired by Catholic elementary schools were barred by the “ministerial exception.” The ministerial exception is the legal doctrine arising under the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, which bars the government, including through employment discrimination laws, from interfering in the employment decisions of churches and religious institutions regarding the hiring and firing of ministers. Justice Alito delivered the majority opinion for the Court and Justice Thomas filed a concurring opinion. Justice Sotomayor, joined by Justice Ginsburg authored the dissenting opinion.
The court considered two sets of cases in Our Lady of Guadalupe School v. Morrissey-Berru. The first concerned a fifth grade teacher at a Catholic school, who filed a lawsuit claiming her contract was not renewed because of a disability; the second case involved another fifth grade teacher at a Catholic school, who filed an age discrimination lawsuit after the school refused to renew her contract. In each case, the Catholic schools argued that the teachers’ claims were barred by the ministerial exception. On the other side, the teachers argued that their “religious leadership role” was not the one normally subject to the exception because their role was limited to teaching religion from a book. The trial courts agreed with the schools, but the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit concluded that the teachers did not meet the requirements delineated by the ministerial exception because the teachers did not play the “religious leadership” role.
In its opinion reversing the Ninth Circuit, the Supreme Court examined its 2012 unanimous decision in Hosanna-Tabor Evangelical Lutheran Church & School v. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission where it refused to “adopt a rigid formula” to decide which employees were covered by the ministerial exception. In that case, the Court delineated factors helpful in determining whether the ministerial exception applied, including the employee’s title, duties, religious training, and self-description as a minister. The Court in Our Lady of Guadalupe emphasized that the Hosanna-Tabor factors are not a rigid test that must be followed in all cases. Rather, the actual duties the employee carries out are determinative to whether the exception applies. Educating young people in their faith and their church’s teachings and training them to live their faith are responsibilities that lie at the very core of a private religious school’s mission for purposes of this analysis.
In that light, the majority recognized that the Ninth Circuit mistakenly applied the factors the Court found relevant in Hosanna-Tabor as a checklist of items to be addressed and weighed against each other. The Court established that such approach would lead to a distorted analysis. Instead, whether the employee’s duties further the religious institution’s teaching is key to whether the exception applies. Applying this rationale, the Court concluded that the teachers in Our Lady of Guadalupe – who both performed vital religious duties, such as educating students in the Catholic faith and guiding their students to live in accordance with that faith –were covered under the ministerial exception, thus barring their lawsuits under federal employment discrimination laws.
If you have any questions regarding this new ruling or the ministerial exception, please feel free to contact Kemp Smith’s Labor and Employment Department at 915-533-4424.
The court considered two sets of cases in Our Lady of Guadalupe School v. Morrissey-Berru. The first concerned a fifth grade teacher at a Catholic school, who filed a lawsuit claiming her contract was not renewed because of a disability; the second case involved another fifth grade teacher at a Catholic school, who filed an age discrimination lawsuit after the school refused to renew her contract. In each case, the Catholic schools argued that the teachers’ claims were barred by the ministerial exception. On the other side, the teachers argued that their “religious leadership role” was not the one normally subject to the exception because their role was limited to teaching religion from a book. The trial courts agreed with the schools, but the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit concluded that the teachers did not meet the requirements delineated by the ministerial exception because the teachers did not play the “religious leadership” role.
In its opinion reversing the Ninth Circuit, the Supreme Court examined its 2012 unanimous decision in Hosanna-Tabor Evangelical Lutheran Church & School v. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission where it refused to “adopt a rigid formula” to decide which employees were covered by the ministerial exception. In that case, the Court delineated factors helpful in determining whether the ministerial exception applied, including the employee’s title, duties, religious training, and self-description as a minister. The Court in Our Lady of Guadalupe emphasized that the Hosanna-Tabor factors are not a rigid test that must be followed in all cases. Rather, the actual duties the employee carries out are determinative to whether the exception applies. Educating young people in their faith and their church’s teachings and training them to live their faith are responsibilities that lie at the very core of a private religious school’s mission for purposes of this analysis.
In that light, the majority recognized that the Ninth Circuit mistakenly applied the factors the Court found relevant in Hosanna-Tabor as a checklist of items to be addressed and weighed against each other. The Court established that such approach would lead to a distorted analysis. Instead, whether the employee’s duties further the religious institution’s teaching is key to whether the exception applies. Applying this rationale, the Court concluded that the teachers in Our Lady of Guadalupe – who both performed vital religious duties, such as educating students in the Catholic faith and guiding their students to live in accordance with that faith –were covered under the ministerial exception, thus barring their lawsuits under federal employment discrimination laws.
If you have any questions regarding this new ruling or the ministerial exception, please feel free to contact Kemp Smith’s Labor and Employment Department at 915-533-4424.
