Court Rejects Ministerial Exception Defense Raised By Catholic School

In Coulee Catholic Schools v. Labor and Industry Review Commission, (WI Ct. App., April 17, 2008), a Wisconsin state court of appeals held that the "ministerial exception" does not preclude a first-grade teacher at a Catholic elementary school from bringing an age discrimination case. While the First Amendment precludes adjudication of claims under the Wisconsin Fair Employment Act if an employee's duties are ministerial, here teacher Wendy Ostlund’s duties were not primarily religious. The fact that a teacher is to model and support particular religious values is not enough to make her duties ministerial. Today's LaCrosse Tribune reports on the decision.