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The
US Supreme Court unanimously held that the Establishment and Free Exercise
Clauses of the First Amendment bar suits brought on behalf of ministers against
their churches, claiming termination in violation of employment discrimination
laws.
The
church employed Cheryl Perich as a "called" teacher and a commissioned
minister. In addition to teaching secular subjects, Perich taught a religion
class, led her students in daily prayer and devotional exercises, and took her
students to a weekly school-wide chapel service. Perich led the chapel service
herself about twice a year. After the church discharged Perich, the EEOC sued
claiming the church discharged her in retaliation for threatening to bring a
suit under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). The trial court granted
summary judgment for the church based on the ministerial exception; the 6th
Circuit reversed on the ground that Perich was not a "minister." The
Supreme Court reversed.
The
Court recognizes a ministerial exception because "Requiring a church to
accept or retain an unwanted minister, or punishing a church for failing to do
so, intrudes upon more than a mere employment decision. Such action interferes
with the internal governance of the church."
Perich
was a minister within the meaning of the ministerial exception. Both the church
and Perich held her out as a minister. That title required significant religious
training and formal commissioning. Her job duties reflected a role in conveying
the church's message and carrying out its mission.
(The
Court expressed no view on whether the ministerial exception bars suits other
than employment discrimination suits challenging a church's decision to
discharge a minister.)
Case below: EEOC
v. Hosanna-Tabor Evangelical Lutheran Church and School (6th Cir
03/09/2010)
Official docket
sheet
Certiorari granted: March 28, 2011.
Oral argument: October 5, 2011. [Transcript
of argument]
Question presented in petition for certiorari:
The federal courts of appeals have long recognized the "ministerial exception," a First Amendment doctrine that bars most employment-related lawsuits brought against religious organizations by employees performing religious functions. The circuits are in complete agreement about the core applications of this doctrine to pastors, priests, and rabbis. But they are evenly divided over the boundaries of the ministerial exception when applied to other employees. The question presented is:
Whether the ministerial exception applies to a teacher at a religious elementary school who teaches the full secular curriculum, but also teaches daily religion classes, is a commissioned minister, and regularly leads students in prayer and worship.
Briefs on the merits:
- Brief
for Petitioner Hosanna-Tabor Evangelical Lutheran Church and School
- Brief
for Respondent Cheryl Perich
- Brief
for the Federal Respondents
- Reply
Brief for Petitioner Hosanna-Tabor Evangelical Lutheran Church and
School
- Brief
for the American Association of Christian Schools in Support of
Petitioner
- Brief
for the American Center for Law and Justice and the Intervarsity
Christian Fellowship/ USA in Support of Petitioner and Urging
Reversal
- Brief
for the American Jewish Committee and the Union for Reform Judiasm in
Support of Petitioner
- Brief
for American Bible Society, Association of Christian Schools
International, Association of Gospel Rescue Missions, Awana Clubs
International, Azusa Pacific University, Bethesda Ministries, the
Christian and Missionary Alliance, Christian Camp & Conference
Association, Compassion International, Crista Ministries, Evangelical
Council for Financial Accountability, Moody Bible Institute of Chicago,
the Navigators, New Tribes Mission, Trans World Radio, and Upward Sports
in Support of Petitioner
- Brief
for the Council for Christian Colleges and Universities in Support of
Petitioners
- Brief
for Evangelical Covenent Church, Evangelical Lutheran Church in America,
General Conference of Seventh Day Aventist, General Council in Finance
and Administration of the United Methodist Church, Inc., General Synod
of the United Church of Christ, Reverend Gradye Parsons, Stated Clerk of
the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) and the
Salvation Army National Corporation in Support of Petitioner
- Brief
of the International Center for Law and Religious Studies at Brigham
Young University in Support of Petitioner
- Brief
for the International Mission Board of The Southern Baptist Convention,
Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission of The Southern Baptist
Convention, Council of Hindu Temples of North America, Mandaean
Association of Massachusetts, And International Church of the Foursquare
Gospel in Suport of Petitioner
- Brief
for Justice and Freedom Fund in Support of Petitioner
- Brief
for Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod in Support of Petitioner
- Brief
for Michigan and 7 Other States in Support of Petitioner
- Brief
for the Muslim-American Public Affairs Council, United Sikhs, Church of
the Lukumi Babalu Aye, International Society for Krishna Consciousness,
O Centro Beneficente Uniao Do Vegetal, and Templo Yoruba Omo Orisha in
Support of Petitioner and Urging Reversal
- Brief
for Professor Professor Eugene Volokh, National Council of the Churches
of Christ In The USA, Baptist Joint Committee for Religious Liberty,
Queens Federation of Churches, National Association of Evangelicals, And
Christian Legal Society in Support of Petitioner
- Brief
for Religious Organizations and Institutions in Support of Petitioner
- Brief
for the Rutherford Institute in Support of Petitioner
- Brief
for Jewish Educational Center, Association of Christian Schools
International, and the North American Division Of Seventh-Day Adventists
Office Of Education in Support of Petitioner
- Brief
for Religious Tribunal Experts in Support of Petitioner
- Brief
for Trinity Baptist Church in Support of Jacksonville in Support of
Petitioner
- Brief
for the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, Church of Jesus
Christ of Latter Day Saints, the Presiding Bishop of the Episcopal
Church and the Union of Orthodox Jewish Congregations of America in
Support of Petitioner
- Brief
for Wallbuilders, Inc. in Support of Petitioner
- Brief
for the American Humanist Association and American Atheists, Inc.,
American Ethical Union, Atheist of , Military Association of Atheists
and Freethinkers, Secular Student, and Society for Humanistic Judaism in
Support of Respondent
- Brief
for Americans United for Separation of Church and State, American Civil
Liberties Union, ACLU of Michigan, National Council of Jewish Women,
Sikh Council on Religion and Education, and Unitarian Universalist
Association in Support of Respondent
- Brief
for the Anti-Defamation League in Support of Respondent
- Brief
for Antitrust Professors and Scholars in Support of Respondent
- Brief
for Bishopaccountability.Org, the Cardozo Advocates for Kids, Child
Protection Project, the Foundation to Abolish Child Sex Abuse, Jewish
Board of Advocates for Children, Inc., Kidsafe Foundation, the National
Black Church Initiative, the National Center for Victims of Crime,
Survivors for Justice, and The Survivors Network Of Those Abused by
Priests in Support of Respondent
- Brief
for Law and Religion Professors in Support of Respondent
- Brief
for NAACP Legal Defense Fund, Lawyers’ Committee For Civil Rights
Under Law, National Women’s Law Center, National Partnership For Women
And Families, Disability Rights Education And Defense Fund, Disability
Rights Advocates, Bazelon Center For Mental Health Law, and the National
Council on Independent Living in Support of Respondent
- Brief
for the National Employment Lawyers Association in Support of Respondent
- Brief
for People for the American Way in Support of Respondent
- Brief
for Neil H. Cogan in Support of Respondents Urging Affirmance
Certiorari Documents:
Counsel:
For Respondent EEOC: Donald B. Verrilli Jr.; Solicitor General;
United States Department of Justice; 950 Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W.;
Washington, DC 20530-0001; SupremeCtBriefs@USDOJ.gov;
(202) 514-2217.
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