Another Attempt to Undermine Religious Freedom
By Anne Hendershott February 19, 2020
Less than a decade after the Supreme Court issued its 2012 ruling in Hosanna-Tabor Evangelical Lutheran Church and School vs. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, giving religious organizations wide latitude in selecting their employees, the Court has agreed to review yet again whether two Catholic K-12 schools should be able to hire and fire their own teachers.
The two new cases slated for deliberations this session involve two female California Catholic school teachers—both teaching fifth grade—who sued their employers after their contracts were not renewed. In St. James School vs. Biel, and Our Lady of Guadalupe School vs. Morrisey-Berru, a lower District court applied Hosanna-Tabor and ruled in favor of each of the schools’ decisions to terminate the contracts of the two teachers. But the notorious 9th Circuit U. S. Court of Appeals reversed both of those decisions—claiming that “a ministerial title or religious credentials†was required to merit First Amendment protection. On December 18, 2019, the Supreme court agreed to review the 9th Circuit decision and consolidate the two cases.
https://www.mindingthecampus.org/2020/02/19/another-attempt-to-undermine-religious-freedom/
