Title VII Religious Institution Exemption Not Applicable To Harassment Claim

In Kennedy v. Villa St. Catherines, Inc., (D MD, April 30, 2010), a Maryland federal district court held that the exclusion in Title VII of the 1964 Civil Rights Act that permits religious institutions to use religious criteria in their hiring does not prevent a suit under Title VII for religious harassment or for retaliation stemming from opposition to the harassment. In the court's language:

[W]hile 42 U.S.C. § 2000e-1(a) may give religious institutions carte blanche in considering religion in deciding whom to employ, promote, or terminate, it does not follow that it gives them free rein to harass an individual once hired, even on religious grounds.

The lawsuit was filed by a nursing assistant who was a member of the Church of the Brethren and who was employed at a Catholic nursing center. She alleges that her Director created a hostile work environment by repeated complaints about her religiously-motivated long skirts and head covering.