Our nation’s cornerstone workplace discrimination law, Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 prohibits employers from “discriminating on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, or national origin.” Since its enactment, Title VII has applied broadly across the American workforce, but its reach has often been contested by religious institutions asserting religious freedom. Addressing this tension, the Supreme Court in 2012 recognized the “ministerial exception” — a constitutional carve-out that bars courts from hearing Title VII claims brought by employees deemed “ministers” of religious institutions. But what began as a narrow safeguard for core religious leaders has become a tool that, if stretched too far, threatens to deny broad categories of employees the civil rights protections Congress guaranteed.
The Supreme Court first recognized the ministerial exception in Hosanna-Tabor Evangelical Lutheran Church and School v. E.E.O.C. The Court held that employment discrimination claims brought by “ministers” would impermissibly intrude on a religious organization’s autonomy in choosing its leaders. The Court declined to adopt a rigid definition of “minister” but highlighted four considerations: (1) the employee’s “formal title,” (2) the “substance reflected in that title,” (3) the employee’s “own use of that title,” and (4) the “important religious functions [the employee] performed.” These factors were meant to distinguish truly ministerial roles, exempt from Title VII,...
When examiners don’t get veterans’ records, bad decisions aren’t a mistake—they’re a systemic failure. In a blistering oversight hearing this week, members of Congress openly questioned whether th...