Letter: Church teacher case seeks definition of 'ministerial employee'

on October 06, 2011 at 3:05 PM

Voice: Gail Sype, Saginaw Township

I read with great interest Christopher J. Enge’s letter to the editor about the case involving Hosanna-Tabor Lutheran School’s dismissal of one of its teachers. Mr. Enge outlines this case as having frightening implications for the future of religious organizations, painting the specter that the federal government wants to tell churches and schools how to operate. This is a vast overstatement of the implications of this specific case. 

Hosanna-Tabor employed a woman as a teacher who was diagnosed as having narcolepsy. The school pressured the teacher to not return to employment until her recovery was complete, and then terminated her because she returned to her job earlier than they anticipated. 

She filed an Americans with Disabilities Act claim, and the church and school argue that her firing should not be subject to ADA policy because she is a “ministerial” employee. (Churches and religious organizations have complete freedom in overseeing their ministerial employees.) 

The Supreme Court’s role, as I understand it, will be to determine whether the fired teacher was in fact a ministerial employee. If she was, then the church has the right to fire her if it sees fit. If her duties were not ministerial in nature, then she is entitled to protection by the ADA and other applicable anti-discrimination laws. 

Hosanna-Tabor wants to be able to say all its employees are ministerial and therefore can be treated any way the church deems fit. I dare say that many people who currently work for religious organizations would be much more reluctant to do so if they were faced with the prospect that working for a church or religious school denied them basic protections of law enjoyed by their peers. 

Running a church does not entitle anyone to run roughshod over their employees’ rights in the name of God. Scripture says, “The laborer is worthy of his wages:” she or he should also be worthy of the same protections as any other individual fortunate enough to be working.