Courts Can't Intercede in Church's Firing Choices
Courts Can't Intercede in Church's Firing Choices
(CN) - A narcoleptic teacher cannot sue the parochial school that fired her because her claims fall under the ministerial exception to the Americans with Disabilities Act, the Supreme Court ruled Tuesday.
Cheryl Perich had worked at Hosanna-Tabor Evangelical Lutheran Church and School in Redford, Mich., between 1999 and 2004. As a "called" teacher, meaning that she belonged to the teaching ministry of the Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod, the school could not dismiss Perich without cause.
Before being diagnosed with narcolepsy in June 2004, Perich was assigned to teach third and fourth grades. She took a leave of absence for the 2004-05 school year but planned to return to work in late February 2005, at which point her doctor said she would become stabilized to medication.
Though the doctor said Perich would be fully functional with the assistance of medication, Hosanna-Tabor tried to force Perich to resign and claimed school board members were concerned that Perich would be unable to supervise students throughout the entire day.
Perich refused to resign and said she would pursue legal action unless the school could work out a compromise. A month later the school fired Perich for insubordination and disruptive behavior. After Perich notified the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission in 2005 that the school had discriminated and retaliated against her in violation of the Americans with Disabilities Act, the EEOC filed suit on her behalf.
http://www.courthousenews.com/2012/01/11/42957.htm