Ministerial Exception-Sex Discrimination

By: WISCONSIN LAW JOURNAL STAFF//July 17, 2023//

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7^th Circuit Court of Appeals

Case Name: Michelle Fitzgerald v. Roncalli High School, Inc.

Case No.: 22-2954

Officials: Flaum, Brennan, and St. Eve, Circuit Judges

Focus: Ministerial Exception-Sex Discrimination

Michelle Fitzgerald worked for Roncalli High School—a Catholic high school run by the Archdiocese of Indianapolis—for fourteen years. After providing Fitzgerald years of exceptional performance reviews, the school declined to renew her one-year employment contract because it contended her same-sex marriage was contrary to the school’s religious mission. Fitzgerald sued the school and Archdiocese for sex discrimination, and the defendants raised the ministerial exception as a defense. The Seventh Circuit ruled that precedent makes clear that Fitzgerald was a minister at Roncalli and that the ministerial exception bars this suit. The district court properly granted summary judgment for the defendants.

Affirmed

Decided 07/13/23

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