Religious Use Law in South Florida
On May 8, 2024, the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit issued a monumental opinion in Billard v. Charlotte Catholic High School. Senior Judge Harris, joined by Judge Niemeyer, wrote the majority opinion....more
Supreme Court Decides Freedom of Speech Trumps Public Accommodations Law In 303 Creative LLC v. Elenis, No. 21-476 (June 30, 2023), the U.S. Supreme Court reversed 6-3 the lower courts' denial of the injunction the plaintiff...more
In Ratliff v. Wycliffe Assoc., Inc., No. 6:22-cv-1185-PGB-RMN, 2023 WL 3688082 (M.D. Fla. May 26, 2023), the plaintiff, a software developer, sued the defendant, a Bible translation ministry, for sex discrimination under...more
Over the past decade, federal courts have repeatedly reviewed religious-affiliated employers' ability to avoid federal discrimination claims. Courts recognize a "ministerial exception" that prevents discrimination claims by...more
Recently, the 9th Circuit applied, in an unpublished opinion, the U.S. Supreme Court’s broad definition of minister for purposes of the “ministerial exception.” Under the ministerial exception, religious institutions have a...more
In Starkey v. Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Indianapolis, No. 1:19-cv-03153 (S.D. Ind. August 11, 2021), a federal court rejected a Catholic school guidance counselor’s employment discrimination suit, ruling her claims were...more
Ministerial Exception Doctrine Bars Minister-on-Minister Hostile Work Environment Claim In Demkovich v. St. Andrew the Apostle Parish, Calumet City, No. 19-2142, 2021 WL 2880232 (7th Cir. July 9, 2021), the U.S. Court of...more
Here's what's been going on this week. Some noteworthy labor and employment developments from the past week, in no particular order: Court rules against Christian teacher who wouldn't use kids' names, preferred...more
Seyfarth Synopsis: In the most recent decision to consider the intersection between religion and employment law, Massachusetts’s highest court in DeWeese-Boyd v. Gordon Coll., No. SJC-12988., 2021 WL 841932 (Mass. Mar. 05,...more
Even after the Supreme Court’s recent decision that the so-called “ministerial exception” barred employment discrimination claims brought by a pair of Catholic school teachers, lower courts continue to wrestle with the scope...more
Our Lady of Guadalupe School v. Morrissey-Berru, 591 U.S. ___, 2020 WL 3808420 (2020) - Agnes Morrissey-Berru and Kristen Biel worked as elementary school teachers at, respectively, Our Lady of Guadalupe School and St....more
On July 8, 2020, the United States Supreme Court decided two cases addressing employers’ religious freedoms in very different contexts: one concerning whether religious school teachers could challenge adverse employment...more
On July 8, 2020, the United States Supreme Court expanded the “ministerial exception” – a legal doctrine that exempts religious employers from certain discrimination laws in Our Lady of Guadalupe School v. Morrissey-Berru. ...more
Key Points •The ministerial exception protects religious employers from government interference in internal employment disputes involving the selection, supervision, and removal of individuals who play an important role...more
On July 8, 2020, the Supreme Court analyzed the ministerial exception for employees who allege employment discrimination claims for the first time in nearly a decade when it issued its decision in Our Lady of Guadalupe School...more
Although the issue of whether someone can sue a church for employment discrimination doesn’t come up often, in Our Lady Of Guadalupe School v. Morrissey-Berru, the Supreme Court expanded the ministerial exception that...more
On July 8, 2020, in a 7–2 decision, the U.S. Supreme Court in Our Lady of Guadalupe School v. Morrissey-Berru expanded the “ministerial exception,” which allows religious organizations to avoid federal anti-discrimination...more
On July 8, 2020, in a 7-2 opinion, the U.S. Supreme Court in Our Lady of Guadalupe Sch. v. Morrissey-Berru issued a victory for religious employers, seeking to limit the application of federal anti-discrimination laws. The...more
On July 8, 2020 the United States Supreme Court ruled that the U.S. civil rights laws barring discrimination on the job do not apply to most lay teachers at religious elementary schools. The decision extends earlier Supreme...more
On July 8, 2020, the Supreme Court gave religious employers wide leeway to hire and fire employees whose duties include religious instruction without having to worry about employment discrimination suits. In a 7-to-2...more
The U.S. Supreme Court ruled 7-2 in Our Lady of Guadalupe School v. Morrissey-Berru, Nos. 19-267 and 19-348 (July 8, 2020), that the First Amendment ministerial exception doctrine bars courts from entertaining an age or...more
By a vote of 7-2, the U.S. Supreme Court held on July 8, 2020, that the “ministerial exception” under the religion clauses of the First Amendment forecloses employment-discrimination claims against religious schools by...more
In Our Lady of Guadalupe School v. Morrissey-Berru, 591 U.S. ___, 2020 WL 3808420 (2020) (“Morrissey-Berru”), the United States Supreme Court provided further guidance on the application of the “ministerial exception,” which...more
On July 8, 2020, the Supreme Court of the United States issued two new opinions applying First Amendment religious rights to employers. The first case, Our Lady of Guadalupe School v. Morrissey-Berru, No. 19-267 (July 8,...more
Does a teacher at a religious school have the right to bring suit for employment discrimination against her employer in civil court? Or does the U.S. Constitution’s Freedom of Religion Clause shield religious employers from...more