from 2020, Supreme Court makes “pro”-religion, pro-boss decision that it’s okay for a church school to fire someone because they have breast cancer

[Multicolored Lemur]

After My Wife Got Cancer, Her Catholic School Fired Her. It Only Got Worse From There.

The Supreme Court got involved. I still can’t believe how they ruled.

slate.com

this part written by the husband—

‘during the summer, Kristen came in to prepare the classroom for the next year. That’s when Sister Mary Margaret told her that they would not renew her contract. Sister Mary Margaret’s words were, “It’s not fair to the kids to see you go through such a traumatic surgery.”’

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And that’s basically it. This Catholic Church school fired this teacher because she had cancer.

And from 2020, the Supreme Court ruled in a 7-2 decision that this was A-okay, because of the “ministerial exception.” That if someone is a minister, it’s okay for a church to hire and fire for whatever reason they choose. But this lady taught a pretty plain vanilla subject!, not religion.

The bureaucracy of the school later lied and said they fired her for poor classroom management. And companies frequently do this. They “clean up” the reason for firing someone. But the Supreme Court should not allow them to get away with it.

And in a sense,

The school might actually be right. It may not be fair to have a teacher this obviously in declining health. But then, the right way to do it is to put someone on medical leave and make 100% sure they have their full health insurance while on leave.

From 2020, a a “pro”-religion and “pro”-business decision.

 

[AgnosticBoy]

Hey Lemur. That article was a good read!

Because the story was told mostly from one side, I commit to one side or another. I would first want to hear the Catholic side and whatever evidence they had for firing Kristen. Either way, the "ministerial exception" poses a problem in that it can be abused. Here's from your article:

In 2012, the Supreme Court ruled that religious institutions, including religious schools, were exempt from anti-discrimination laws in the hiring and firing of employees designated as “ministers,” based on First Amendment grounds. But this “ministerial exception” was relatively undefined, leaving the question of who, exactly, could be counted as a minister.

[emphasis added]

Being "undefined" is problematic in that it could be used at the convenience of the Catholic Church so that they can fire anyone without lawful cause. I recommend before working at these institutions that people get it in writing that they are NOT serving in any "ministerial" capacity. Just my two cents.

 

[Multicolored Lemur]

Because the story was told mostly from one side, I commit to one side or another. I would first want to hear the Catholic side and whatever evidence they had for firing Kristen.

Yes, it was a 1-sided article. And I’d like to get articles more open to the other side.

In fact, I’m going to say that this is one of those situations in which I hope it’s not as bad as it first looks.

 

[Multicolored Lemur]

U.S. Supreme Court protects religious schools from employment bias suits

The U.S. Supreme Court, siding with Catholic schools in a legal dispute with teachers who said they were unlawfully dismissed, ruled on Wednesday that religious institutions like churches and schools are shielded from employment discrimination lawsuits.

www.reuters.com

July 8, 2020:

‘ . . Justice Samuel Alito, writing for the court, said there was “abundant” evidence that the two teachers performed “vital religious duties” and therefore fell under the ministerial exception. . ’

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And this sounds like a good argument on the other side. That regardless of what their “main” subject was, the two teachers also did plenty of religious education [the Supreme Court had rolled two cases into one].

I think still it’s lousy and crappy for a school to fire someone because they have cancer. And even more so for a religious school which is supposed to be about ethics and morality.