Takeaway: A former art teacher and officer administrator at a Los Angeles Catholic school was not barred by the ministerial exception from bringing an age discrimination claim against the school where her job duties were secular in nature. A former art teacher and officer administrator at a Catholic school could go forward with her age discrimination claim against the school, a California appeals court recently ruled. The plaintiff’s job duties were secular in nature, and the school failed to show that the ministerial exception applied in this case, the appellate court concluded. The ministerial exception holds that religious institutions can’t be sued for discrimination against employees who qualify as "ministers." The plaintiff was employed for about 40 years by a Los Angeles Catholic school, which offers a faith-based education to students from kindergarten through eighth grade. When she first started at the school, she worked as a part-time secretary or office administrator. Her job duties included answering phones, filing, photocopying, maintaining student records and communicating with parents. In 1999, the plaintiff began working as a part-time art teacher at the school in addition to performing her office administration duties. In this role, she taught studio art and art history […]
