The Nationwide Affiliation of Social Employees (NASW) in August 2021, together with 26 different organizations dedicated to civil rights, filed an amicus temporary within the New Jersey Supreme Court docket in assist of Victoria Crisitello.
Crisitello was an elementary college artwork instructor who was terminated by her employer, a Catholic elementary college, after she turned pregnant whereas single.
The varsity argued that regardless of Cristello’s precise job duties as an artwork instructor, the “ministerial exception” to office civil rights legal guidelines underneath the New Jersey Regulation In opposition to Discrimination utilized.
Cristello didn’t educate faith or non secular texts or counsel her college students in prayer or different non secular actions. Within the amicus temporary, NASW argued the Catholic college’s utility of the ministerial exception was overbroad and would offer a roadmap for the greater than 600 New Jersey colleges with non secular affiliations to evade office civil rights legal guidelines.
The New Jersey Supreme Court docket on August 14, 2023 issued a call agreeing with the Catholic college and upholding the non secular tenets exception to the New Jersey Regulation In opposition to Discrimination. This enlargement of the ministerial exception dangers threatening the civil rights of 1000’s of New Jersey staff.
NASW advocates for efficient enforcement of anti-discrimination legal guidelines and laws that prohibit discrimination within the office.
Girls, individuals of shade, older staff, staff with disabilities, LGBTQ staff, immigrant staff, and people with a number of and intertwining identities, proceed to face employment discrimination at alarming charges, regardless of many years of civil rights protections.
Any curbing of those protections severely harms these communities. It was our hope that the court docket would perceive that these teams could be in danger for additional discrimination within the office by means of this unwarranted enlargement of the ministerial exception.
