ministerial-exception

21 cases — ← All topics

Case Title Lower Court Docketed Status Flags Tags Question Presented
25-807 Will McRaney v. The North American Mission Board of the Southern Baptist Convention, Incorporated Fifth Circuit 2026-01-08 Pending Amici (1)Response Waived church-autonomy civil-law-claims internal-affairs ministerial-exception religious-institution self-governance Does the church autonomy doctrine apply to, and foreclose, civil law claims which are not disputes about the internal affairs or self-governance of a …
24-1204 Yaakov Markel v. Union of Orthodox Jewish Congregations of America, a Corporation, et al. Ninth Circuit 2025-05-27 Denied Response Waived contract-breach employment-law first-amendment ministerial-exception overtime-compensation religious-institutions Whether religious institutions can invoke the Ministerial Exception to breach contracts and avoid liability for employment claims
23A1067 Catholic Charities Bureau, Inc., et al. v. Wisconsin Labor & Industry Review Commission, et al. Wisconsin 2024-05-30 Presumed Complete first-amendment free-exercise ministerial-exception religious-exemption statutory-interpretation unemployment-compensation Whether a state court can constitutionally determine whether a religious organization is 'operated primarily for religious purposes' by evaluating its…
23-703 Liberty University, Inc. v. Laura Barbour Bowes, as Executor of the Estate of Eva Palmer Fourth Circuit 2023-12-29 Denied constitutional-law defense-to-liability employment-discrimination first-amendment immunity ministerial-exception religious-autonomy religious-institutions religious-organizations Whether the First Amendment ministerial exception provides religious organizations with immunity from employment discrimination suits, or merely a def…
23-550 Laura Barbour Bowes, as Executor of the Estate of Eva Palmer v. Liberty University, Inc. Fourth Circuit 2023-11-21 Denied age-discrimination direct-evidence employment-law fourth-circuit-standard mcdonnell-douglas ministerial-exception prima-facie-case summary-judgment Whether a statement by a university dean and a designation by a professor's department chair constitute direct evidence of age discrimination
23A356 Laura Barbour Bowes, as Executor of the Estate of Eva Palmer v. Liberty University, Inc. Fourth Circuit 2023-10-19 Presumed Complete burden-shifting circuit-split employment-discrimination McDonnell-Douglas ministerial-exception prima-facie-case Whether the Fourth Circuit improperly conflates the prima facie stage of the McDonnell Douglas burden-shifting framework with the employer's legitimat…
22-824 The Synod of Bishops of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia, et al. v. Alexander Belya Second Circuit 2023-03-01 Denied Amici (8)Relisted (3) church-autonomy defamation-claims first-amendment immunity internal-disputes judicial-interference liability ministerial-exception religious-leadership religious-liberty Whether the First Amendment's church autonomy doctrine and its 'ministerial exception' should be understood as an immunity from judicial interference …
22-741 Faith Bible Chapel International v. Gregory Tucker Tenth Circuit 2023-02-08 Denied Amici (12)Relisted (4) church-autonomy civil-rights due-process employment-discrimination first-amendment free-speech interlocutory-appeal judicial-immunity ministerial-exception religion-clauses religious-freedom standing Whether the First Amendment's 'ministerial exception' should be understood as an immunity from judicial interference in church employment decisions fa…
21-1416 Christopher Orr v. Christian Brothers High School, Inc., et al. Ninth Circuit 2022-05-04 Denied civil-rights employment-discrimination employment-law first-amendment ministerial-exception racial-discrimination religious-discrimination religious-freedom title-vii Whether the ministerial exception applies to a lay principal who is not a spiritual leader of his religious high school
21-164 Trustees of the New Life In Christ Church v. City of Fredericksburg, Virginia Virginia 2021-08-04 Denied Amici (6)Relisted (10) church-autonomy church-state-separation civil-authority civil-rights establishment-clause first-amendment free-speech ministerial-exception ministerial-exemption property-tax religious-doctrine religious-freedom Whether civil authorities violate the First Amendment when they engage in their own interpretation of church doctrine to overrule a church's determina…
21-144 Seattle's Union Gospel Mission v. Matthew S. Woods Washington 2021-08-03 Denied Amici (17)Relisted (9) civil-rights coreligionist-hiring employment-discrimination first-amendment free-exercise free-exercise-clause ministerial-exception religious-exemption religious-freedom religious-nonprofits standing Whether the First Amendment protects the Mission's right to hire coreligionists
21-145 Gordon College, et al. v. Margaret DeWeese-Boyd Massachusetts 2021-08-03 Denied Amici (10)Relisted (7) academic-disciplines academic-freedom christian-education christian-mission faculty-integration first-amendment good-faith-characterization ministerial-exception religious-colleges religious-organization spiritual-formation Whether professors at religious colleges perform ministerial functions
20-1158 The North American Mission Board of the Southern Baptist Convention, Inc. v. Will McRaney Fifth Circuit 2021-02-23 Denied Amici (6)Response RequestedResponse WaivedRelisted (3) employment employment-tort first-amendment ministerial-exception neutral-principles religion-clauses religious-organization secular-court tort-law Whether a secular court can adjudicate a minister's employment-related tort claims against a religious organization using neutral principles of tort l…
20-9 Bibiji Inderjit Kaur Puri, et al. v. Sopurkh Kaur Khalsa, et al. Ninth Circuit 2020-07-09 Denied Response Waived civil-rights corporate-law de-novo-review due-process ecclesiastical-abstention first-amendment ministerial-exception standing statute-of-limitations summary-judgment May a court of appeals on de novo review refuse to decide a claim predicated on a failure of non-religious corporations to comply with neutral princip…
19-371 Stephen S. Wise Temple v. Julie Su California 2019-09-19 Dismissed Amici (2)Response RequestedResponse Waived employment-discrimination first-amendment first-amendment-free-exercise free-exercise functional-approach hosanna-tabor hosanna-tabor-v-eeoc judicial-interpretation ministerial-exception religious-education religious-institutions transmitting-faith Whether courts should apply a functional approach to the ministerial exception that does not punish religious institutions for employing non-adherents…
19-348 St. James School v. Darryl Biel, as Personal Representative of the Estate of Kristen Biel Ninth Circuit 2019-09-17 Judgment Issued Amici (4) civil-courts civil-rights due-process employment-discrimination establishment-clause first-amendment free-exercise free-speech hosanna-tabor ministerial-exception religion-clauses Whether the Religion Clauses prevent civil courts from adjudicating employment discrimination claims brought by an employee against her religious empl…
19-267 Our Lady of Guadalupe School v. Agnes Morrissey-Berru Ninth Circuit 2019-08-29 Judgment Issued Amici (9)Relisted (2) civil-court-jurisdiction civil-rights due-process employment-discrimination first-amendment first-amendment-religion-clauses free-speech hosanna-tabor hosanna-tabor-precedent ministerial-exception religious-employer religious-employment religious-freedom religious-functions standing Whether the Religion Clauses prevent civil courts from adjudicating employment discrimination claims brought by an employee against her religious empl…
18-1357 Randy Cummings, et al. v. Celina Bussey, et al. Tenth Circuit 2019-04-29 Denied Response Waived 42-usc-1983 clearly-established-law discretionary-function federal-court-interpretation federal-court-review ministerial-exception property-rights qualified-immunity state-law state-law-interpretation state-supreme-court-precedent statutory-interpretation Whether a federal court interpreting a state statute can conclude that it grants the state agency discretion such that the 'ministerial exception' to …
18-1228 Barbara Mrzlak Brundo v. Christ the King Church of Omaha Eighth Circuit 2019-03-21 Denied Response Waived civil-rights defamation due-process employment estate-administration estate-litigation frivolous-litigation judicial-retaliation ministerial-exception probate-court retaliation rule-11-sanctions Whether Rule 11 sanctions paid by petitioner for alleged frivolous complaints should be returned with interest
18-245 Marlon Penn v. New York Methodist Hospital, et al. Second Circuit 2018-08-27 Denied civil-rights employment-discrimination first-amendment free-speech hosanna-tabor ministerial-exception religious-institution title-vii Whether the ministerial exception applies to an avowedly secular hospital that employs an ecumenical chaplain
18-125 Miriam Grussgott v. Milwaukee Jewish Day School, Inc. Seventh Circuit 2018-07-27 Denied Response RequestedResponse WaivedRelisted (2) ada church-governance civil-rights employment-discrimination first-amendment grussgott hosanna-tabor ministerial-exception non-discrimination non-discrimination-policy religious-institution waiver waiver-doctrine Does the definition of 'religious institution' in the ministerial exception require a faith-based institution with a hierarchy of ministers?