Supreme Court: Certain religious employees can’t sue for job bias
The Supreme Court ruled Wednesday that certain employees of church-run schools and other religious organizations cannot sue for job bias. The 9-0 decision stresses the need of religious groups to carry out their mission without government interference.
The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission had argued against a so-called “ministerial exception” to federal protections against job discrimination.
The commission had backed a Michigan teacher who was diagnosed with narcolepsy but cleared to work. She sued under the Americans with Disabilities Act when she lost her job at a Lutheran school.
The Hosanna-Tabor Evangelical Lutheran Church said Cheryl Perich violated a core church principle by bringing her grievance to the EEOC rather than using church processes to try to win reinstatement. Hosanna-Tabor, appealing a lower court decision for Perich, argued that her lawsuit should be barred by the First Amendment protection for religion.
In accepting that argument, Chief Justice John Roberts wrote for the court, “The interest of society in the enforcement of employment discrimination statutes is undoubtedly important. But so too is the interest of religious groups in choosing who will preach their beliefs, teach their faith and carry out their mission.”
Roberts said that when a person who has ministerial duties sues her church for bias, courts must throw out the case. The “First Amendment has struck the balance for us,” he said. “The church must be free to choose those who will guide it on its way.”
