ACLJ’s Sekulow Says Supreme Court Made Right Decision by Protecting Church Authority to Hire & Fire

"Government has no business deciding who should or should not carry out religious ministry, and we're delighted the high court reached that conclusion," said Jay Sekulow, ACLJ Chief Counsel

WASHINGTON, Jan. 11, 2012—The U.S. Supreme Court made the right decision, according to the nation's top public interest law firm, by upholding church autonomy over hiring and firing practices. In a unanimous decision validating a brief filed by the American Center for Law and Justice (ACLJ), the high court concluded that the First Amendment protects the ability of churches and church schools to select ministerial employees without government intrusion.

"This is a tremendous victory for religious freedom," said Jay Sekulow, chief counsel of the ACLJ. "Government has no business deciding who should or should not carry out religious ministry, and we're delighted the high court reached that conclusion."

The case - Hosanna-Tabor Evangelical Lutheran Church and School v. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) (No. 10-553) - involved a religiously commissioned teacher in Missouri who was fired after she became confrontational with school administration. The federal EEOC and the teacher teamed up to sue the church behind the school, claiming the church retaliated against her for threatening to sue over a medical disability.

A federal district court threw the case out on the grounds that the so-called "ministerial exception" to employment laws barred court review of the retaliation claim. But a federal appeals court reinstated the lawsuit, reasoning that the teacher's religious role and duties were outweighed by her instruction of the students in secular subjects.

With an argument bolstered by a friend-of-the-court brief submitted by the ACLJ on behalf of itself and the InterVarsity Christian Fellowship/USA, the Supreme Court today overturned the appeals court's decision. The Court concluded unanimously that the Free Exercise and Establishment Clauses of the First Amendment protect the freedom of churches to select religiously commissioned teachers for their religious grade schools.

"The fact that the Court was unanimous underlines how essential a part of religious liberty is the principle that churches and synagogues get to select their religion teachers," said Sekulow.

Led by Chief Counsel Jay Sekulow, the American Center for Law and Justice focuses on constitutional law and is based in Washington

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