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A Catholic school was within its rights to deny an art teacher a contract renewal after the instructor became pregnant out-of-wedlock, the Supreme Court of New Jersey ruled Monday.
Victoria Crisitello, who had once attended the school as a student, returned as a teacher in 2011 and signed a statement agreeing to the Archdiocese of Newark’s code of ethics for professional employees.
Both the school’s attorney and a public interest law firm representing an Orthodox Jewish coalition hailed the ruling as protecting the rights of religious employers.
In 2014, with the prospect of a full-time art teaching role, Ms. Crisitello told the principal, identified as “Sister Lee” in court papers, that she was pregnant. Shortly after that disclosure, the school informed Ms. Crisitello that her premarital sex violated the ethics code and she could not remain at the school.
Ms. Crisitello sued claiming pregnancy and marital discrimination, both of which are forbidden under the state “Law Against Discrimination.”
In response, the school’s attorneys cited New Jersey’s “religious tenets” exception, which states “it shall not be an unlawful employment practice” for a religious entity to follow the tenets of its faith “in establishing and utilizing criteria for employment.”
A four-judge panel led by Chief Justice Stuart J. Rabner, a former state attorney general, unanimously agreed with the school. Concurring were Justices Anne M. Patterson, Lee A. Solomon and Fabiana Pierre-Louis, as well as Superior Court Judge Michael J. Haas, who is on temporary assignment to the high court.
“The religious tenets exception allowed St. Theresa’s to require its employees, as a condition of employment, to abide by Catholic law, including that they abstain from premarital sex,” Judge Solomon wrote for the court. The plaintiff, “a practicing Catholic and graduate of the St. Theresa School, acknowledged that St. Theresa’s required her to abide by the tenets of the Catholic faith, including that she abstain from premarital sex, as a condition of her employment.”
Attorney Peter Verniero, who represented the school in its appeal, said via email the ruling would help religious groups in the state.
“We are pleased that the Supreme Court upheld the rights of religious employers to act consistent with their religious tenets, and that the Court found that St. Theresa School did so here,” Mr. Verniero said. “Equally important, the court found no evidence of discrimination in this case. This is a significant validation of St. Theresa School’s rights as a religious employer.”
Orthodox Jewish organization Agudath Israel of America intervened in the case saying the principle of “church autonomy” also protects other religious schools including Orthodox Jewish institutions.
“This decision is a victory for all religious schools in the state of New Jersey, but it is especially important for Orthodox Jews,” said Eric Rassbach, vice president and senior counsel of the Becket Fund for Religious Liberty, which represented Agudath Israel. “There are too many examples in history of governments interfering with Jewish schools, or worse. Today the Court did the right thing for Orthodox Jews and all other New Jerseyans by stopping this attempt to drag government into direct control of religious schools.”
Attorney Thomas A. McKinney, who represented Ms. Crisitello in the appeal, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
• Mark A. Kellner can be reached at mkellner@washingtontimes.com.
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