It is not an unlawful employment practice for a bona fide ... religious institution, including ... a school... to prefer an employee, or an applicant for employment, of one religious sect or persuasion over another if: (a) The religious sect or persuasion to which the employee or applicant belongs is the same as that of the ... institution; ... [and] (c) The employment involved is closely connected with or related to the primary purposes of the ... institution....The court held that the exemption allows the school to reject a non-Christian applicant and await a later hiring cycle to fill the position, or to assign the work to an existing Christian employee. A majority of the judges also held that this particular faculty position met the requirement of being closely connected to the school's religious purpose.
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Saturday, February 23, 2019
Christian School May Use Oregon's Religious Exemption To Reject Jewish Faculty Applicant
In King v. Warner Pacific College, (OR App, Feb. 21, 2019), an Oregon state appellate court held that a Christian college's refusal to hire a Jewish applicant for a position as adjunct professor of psychology falls within the religious preference exemption to Oregon's non-discrimination law. ORS 659A.006(4)provides:
Labels:
Christian,
Employment discrimination,
Jewish,
Oregon