Supreme Court Expands Scope of "Ministerial Exception"

In a 7-2 decision handed down earlier today, the U.S. Supreme Court expanded the scope of the “ministerial exception” by holding that employment discrimination suits filed by Catholic elementary school teachers are barred by the exception. As we noted in our prior post on the oral arguments in this case, the Court ruled in its 2012 Hosanna-Tabor decision that religious institutions have an absolute First Amendment right to choose their religious ministers. This “ministerial exception” shields religious institutions from federal employment discrimination claims brought by their ministers.

The case before the Court involved grade school teachers at parochial schools in California. These teachers alleged, unlike the commissioned minister found to be covered by the ministerial exception in Hosanna-Tabor, they were primarily lay employees who taught secular subjects and were not required to be Catholic to have the position. One teacher claimed that her termination was due to age discrimination, and the other claimed that she was fired because she told her supervisor that she needed time off for medical treatment for breast cancer. The schools denied the allegations but also claimed that the ministerial exception applied because the teachers taught students religion for 40 minutes each day.

In its ruling, the Court determined that the teachers’ claims were barred by the ministerial exception. The Court held that, although an employee’s title is a significant factor in determining whether he/she is a covered “minister,” it is not determinative. Under the Court’s framework, the more important inquiry is whether the employee’s duties involve teaching and training students in matters of the faith. Ultimately, the most important factor will be the employee’s job description and whether he/she has responsibility for teaching and training in faith. 

For questions about this or any other labor and employment issues, please do not hesitate to contact the attorneys at Hoffman & Hlavac. To stay updated on the key labor and employment law developments that affect your workplace, subscribe to our blog and follow us on social media.