North Carolina Catholic school didn’t violate the law by firing gay teacher, appeals court rules
A Roman Catholic high school in Charlotte, North Carolina, did not violate federal civil rights law by firing a gay teacher after he announced that he would marry his same-sex partner, a federal appeals court ruled Wednesday, overturning a lower court ruling.
Lonnie Billard, a longtime teacher at Charlotte Catholic High School, shared a post on Facebook in 2014, shortly after the state legalized same-sex marriage, saying that he and his partner were engaged. He was fired several weeks later. Billard then sued the school for sex discrimination under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act, and a district court judge ruled in his favor in 2021.
Wednesday’s decision by the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, however, reversed that ruling, finding that the religious high school’s termination of Billard “falls under the ministerial exception to Title VII.”
“We conclude that the school entrusted Billard with ‘vital religious duties,’ making him a ‘messenger’ of its faith and placing him within the ministerial exception,” the ruling, written by Judge Pamela Harris, states.
Title VII prohibits employment discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex and national origin, and in the 2020 landmark Supreme Court case Bostock v. Clayton County, Georgia, the high court ruled that workplace sex discrimination includes discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity. However, the Supreme Court has upheld that nondiscrimination laws are subject to a carve out, known as a “ministerial exception,” which permits religious organizations from being subjected to government interference in the hiring and firing of people in religious roles.
The Becket Fund for Religious Liberty, which represented the school and the Roman Catholic Diocese of Charlotte, applauded the ruling.
“The Supreme Court has been crystal clear on this issue: Catholic schools have the freedom to choose teachers who fully support Catholic teaching,” Luke Goodrich, Becket’s vice president and senior counsel, said in a statement. “This is a victory for people of all faiths who cherish the freedom to pass on their faith to the next generation.”
The American Civil Liberties Union, the ACLU of North Carolina and Tin Fulton Walker & Owen, which represented the plaintiff, issued a statement that referenced the Bostock decision and its protection for LGBTQ workers.
“This is a heartbreaking decision for our client who wanted nothing more than the freedom to perform his duties as an educator without hiding who he is or who he loves,” the statement said. “While today’s decision is narrowly tailored to Mr. Billard and the facts of his employment, it nonetheless threatens to encroach on that principle by widening the loopholes employers may use to fire people like Mr. Billard for openly discriminatory reasons.”
Billard and his lawyers have 14 days to request a rehearing by the 4th Circuit or 90 days to appeal to the Supreme Court. The ACLU declined to comment on whether they would make a rehearing request or appeal.
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This article was originally published on NBCNews.com
