Discrimination & Religious Employees

DISCRIMINATION & RELIGIOUS EMPLOYEES

By Ryan

I can see the deference given to the churches by the  courts being greatly abused.  I’m sure it has been abused in the past and it will in the future.  If someone in charge of a religious school fired a teacher or another employee, no one can really do anything about because of all the protection churches have.  Now I can see where the firing of religious leaders in the churches and schools should be fired at the discretion of the church and not the government, but the math and English teachers who have nothing to do with the religious function of the school, that’s another matter.  Someone who is not involved in the religion department of the school should not be subject to the Ministerial Exception firing rule.  They should get the same rights as public school teachers.  In Perich’s case, a better solution might have been to get her a teacher’s aide.  That way when Perich does fall asleep, someone can still watch over the kids and keep them out of danger.  Then this whole ordeal could have been avoided.  A religious school may be able to get away with not hiring someone because they are openly gay, if that particular religion considers homosexuality a sin.  The school would most likely tell the person that they did not get hired for different reasons, however.  But if they simply said that they will not hire someone because they are gay, disabled or African-American, it would be a different story.  The courts would probably get involved in that case.