The Court of Appeals of Indiana held that a pastor could not sue the church that formerly employed him for wages and vacation pay, concluding that the lawsuit would require the court to inquire into intrachurch matters, which the court reasoned is forbidden by the First Amendment. In Steven Matthies v. The First Presbyterian Church of Greensburg Indiana, Inc., No. 16A01-1409-PL-380 (Ind. Ct. App. Apr. 8, 2015), Pastor Steven Matthies sought to enforce part of a three-year contract that he argued entitled him to salary and vacation pay after his employment ended.
Continue reading “Ind. Ct. App.: First Amendment blocks pastor’s wage claim against former employer-congregation”
Tag: Ministerial Exception
Seventh Circuit dismisses appeal, allowing Catholic teacher’s in vitro fertilization suit to go forward
This post is being published on both Law Meets Gospel and Indiana Education Law Blog.
The Roman Catholic Diocese of Fort Wayne–South Bend’s appeal from an order denying summary judgment in a lawsuit brought by a former teacher suing the diocese for firing her because she became pregnant through in vitro fertilization was dismissed by a decision. In the unanimous decision written by Judge Diane S. Sykes, the Seventh Circuit held that the appeal was filed too early because the summary-judgment order was not final. Continue reading “Seventh Circuit dismisses appeal, allowing Catholic teacher’s in vitro fertilization suit to go forward”
Teacher Files Suit after Roman Catholic School Fires Her for IVF Treatment
CNN reports that a teacher who was fired after receiving fertility treatments has sued the St. Vincent de Paul and the Diocese of Fort Wayne–South Bend. This could be a test of the United States Supreme Court’s recent decision Hosanna-Tabor Evangelical Lutheran Church and School v. EEOC, which held that a teacher could not sue after being fired for threatening to bring suit against the school against church teachings because the teacher fell within the definition of minister.
Indianapolis TV station WRTV has coverage here.
The Huffington Post has a very good story here.
The Indiana Law Blog posts the complaint here.