Fratello v. Archdiocese of N.Y.

• Decision Date: 14 July 2017
• Docket Number: Docket No. 16-1271,August Term, 2016
• Citation: 863 F.3d 190
• Parties: Joanne FRATELLO, Plaintiff-Appellant, v. ARCHDIOCESE OF NEW YORK, St. Anthony's Shrine Church, and St. Anthony's School, Defendants-Appellees.
• Court: U.S. Court of Appeals — Second Circuit

863 F.3d 190

Joanne FRATELLO, Plaintiff-Appellant,

v.ARCHDIOCESE OF NEW YORK, St. Anthony's Shrine Church, and St. Anthony's School, Defendants-Appellees.^*

Docket No. 16-1271

August Term, 2016

United States Court of Appeals, Second Circuit.

Argued: March 7, 2017

Decided: July 14, 2017

Michael David Diederich, Jr. , Stony Point, NY, for Plaintiff-Appellant.

Eric C. Rassbach (Lori Halstead Windham, Daniel H. Blomberg; James P. McCabe, Roderick J. Cassidy, Archdiocese of New York, New York, NY; Kenneth A. Novikoff, Barry I. Levy, Rivkin Radler LLP, Uniondale, NY, on the brief), The Becket Fund for Religious Liberty, Washington, D.C., for Defendants-Appellees.

Leslie Griffin, UNLV William S. Boyd School of Law, Las Vegas, NV (on the brief), for amici curiae Call to Action, DignityUSA, FutureChurch, The National Coalition of American Nuns, New Ways Ministry, and Voice of the Faithful.

Stephen Bergstein, Bergstein & Ullrich, LLP, New Paltz, NY (on the brief), for amicus curiae National Employment Lawyers Association/New York.

Victoria Dorfman, Todd Geremia, Lauren Pardee Ruben, Jones Day, New York, NY (on the brief), for amici curiae Douglas Laycock, Michael W. McConnell, Thomas C. Berg, Carl H. Esbeck, Richard W. Garnett, Paul Horwitz, and John D. Inazu.

Paul J. Zidlicky, Sidley Austin LLP, Washington, D.C. (on the brief), for amici curiae Carmelite Sisters of the Most Sacred Heart of Los Angeles and Sisters of the Presentation of the Blessed Virgin Mary.

Erik W. Stanley, Jeremiah Galus, Alliance Defending Freedom, Scottsdale, AZ (on the brief), for amicus curiae Orthodox Church in America.

Before: Sack and Lohier, Circuit Judges, and Woods, District Judge.^**

Sack, Circuit Judge:

Plaintiff-appellant Joanne Fratello, former principal of a Roman Catholic school, alleges that she was terminated from that position on the basis of unlawful gender discrimination and retaliation. The defendants—the school, the church, and the archdiocese—moved for summary judgment on the ground that these claims are barred by the "ministerial exception," a doctrine that precludes, on First Amendment grounds, employment-discrimination claims by "ministers" against the religious organizations that employ or formerly employed them. The United States District Court for the Southern District of New York (Cathy Seibel, Judge ) awarded the defendants summary judgment on that basis. The sole question on appeal is whether Fratello is a "minister" within the meaning of the exception, a conclusion that would preclude her employment-discrimination claims against the defendants.

Although we have previously recognized a ministerial exception for employment-discrimination claims, this is our first occasion to address the doctrine since the Supreme Court's unanimous decision in Hosanna-Tabor Evangelical Lutheran Church & School v. EEOC , 565 U.S. 171, 188, 132 S.Ct. 694, 181 L.Ed.2d 650 (2012) (recognizing a ministerial exception for employment-discrimination claims). In light of that decision, we conclude that in determining whether the ministerial exception bars an employment-discrimination claim against a religious organization, the only question is whether the employee qualifies as a "minister" within the meaning of the exception. See id . at 190-91, 132 S.Ct. 694. In this regard, Hosanna-Tabor instructs us to assess a broad array of relevant "considerations," including but not limited to (1) the employee's "formal title," (2) "the substance reflected in that title," (3) the employee's "use of th[e] title," and (4) "the important religious functions she performed." Id . at 192, 132 S.Ct. 694.

Applying these principles here, we conclude that the ministerial exception bars Fratello's employment-discrimination claims because in her role as principal she was a minister within the meaning of the exception. Although her formal title was not inherently religious, we think that the record clearly establishes that she held herself out as a spiritual leader of the school, and that she performed many significant religious functions to advance its religious mission. She was thus a "minister" for purposes of the exception.

BACKGROUND

Fratello was employed by St. Anthony's School (the "School"), a Roman Catholic elementary school located in Nanuet, New York. She served as the School's principal from 2007 until 2011, when the School declined to renew her contract. She claims employment discrimination by the School, St. Anthony's Shrine Church (the "Church"), and the Archdiocese of New York (the "Archdiocese"), alleging that her employment was terminated on the basis of gender discrimination and in retaliation for her reporting the alleged discrimination, in violation of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, 42 U.S.C. § 2000e et seq ., and New York State Executive Law § 296. The defendants argue as an affirmative defense that the ministerial exception bars these claims.

A. Mission of Archdiocese Schools

The Archdiocese is a constituent entity of the Roman Catholic Church covering ten counties in southern New York.¹ It is led by an Archbishop, currently Timothy Cardinal Dolan. According to the Administrative Manual for its schools (the "Manual"), the Archdiocese has for more than two centuries provided elementary schools for "ethnically and economically diverse student population[s] in urban and suburban settings." Manual, Chapter I: Goals, Mission and Aim of Catholic Education in the Archdiocese , at App'x at 121.

The Manual sets forth the principles on which the School and others within the Archdiocese are to operate.² According to the Manual, the "foundation and mission" of these schools is "formation in the faith, for the lived experience of Gospel values and for the preservation of Catholic culture." Id ., at App'x at 122. They seek to train students "to be disciples of Jesus Christ who will live [by] their faith and provide intelligent, creative, and generous service to the human community."Id ., at App'x at 121.³ The schools are told to advance their mission through, among other things, the "explicit study of the Catholic faith." Id ., at App'x at 121; see also id . ¶ 104, at App'x at 123 ("Gospel teaching ... is the fundamental element in the educative process...."). Indeed, religion is taught in Archdiocese schools at every grade level, through eighth grade, as a distinct class treated administratively in the same manner as those on other academic subjects.

The Manual states that the Cardinal Archbishop is "[u]ltimate[ly] responsib [le]" for meeting these goals. Id . ¶200, at App'x at 125. He "delegates responsibility for representing him in administrative and educational matters to the Secretary for Education and the Superintendent of Schools." Id . Specific local schools are entrusted to the Parish Pastor, who "delegates the immediate direction of the school and its instructional program to the principal." Id . ¶300, at App'x at 128.

B. Principal's Role

The Manual begins with a cover letter from Edward Cardinal Egan (the late former Archbishop) to principals of Archdiocese schools. It describes "principals in the [Archdiocese] schools" as "having accepted the vocation and challenge of leadership in Catholic education." Cover Letter from Edward Cardinal Egan (Dec. 2006), at App'x at 110. It further states that (1) the "principals ... are providing splendid leadership to [ ] teachers and staff and excellent academic and spiritual formation to [ ] students"; and (2) principals "must fulfill" "administrative tasks ... providing the structure needed to carry out the vital work of Catholic education ... infused with the Catholic Faith and values that are so needed by the young people who come to [Archdiocese schools]." Id .

The Manual also explicates the principal's job description: "The principal is the Catholic leader and the administrative head of the school [who] is responsible for the effective operation of the school as an educational institution within the total [P]arish educational program." Manual ¶ 320, at App'x at 132.⁴ The principal provides "Catholic leadership" by:

[1] cooperat[ing] with the [P]astor in recruiting and maintaining a staff committed to the goals of a Catholic school; [2] cooperat[ing] with the [P]astor in his religious ministry to the students; [3] ensur[ing] adherence to the curriculum guidelines, Guidelines for Catechesis , 1998; [4] monitor[ing] the acquisition of catechetical certification for teachers of religion[;] [5] direct[ing] the implementation of the religious education program[;] ... [6] commit[ing] to the mission of evangelization[;] [7] involv[ing] the staff in formulating plans that enable the school to meet its religious goals; [8] provid[ing] opportunities for student, faculty, and parent participation in liturgical and paraliturgical services; [9] intitiat[ing] programs that inculcate an attitude and foster the practice of service to others; [10] motivat[ing] the students to take an active part in the life of the [P]arish; [11] promot[ing] in faculty, students, and parents the concept of the school as a community of faith; [12] provid[ing] opportunities for the practice of this concept; [and 13] cooperat[ing] with the [P]arish council by attending council meetings and by keeping the council informed of school matters.

Id . ¶ 322, at App'x at 133. In fulfilling these duties, the principal is to provide "essential" instruction to new teachers on the "Catholic identity of the school," id . ¶430, at App'x at 154, and ensure that all teachers understand that "[t]he Church puts its trust in them" to provide "faith education" and help students "integrat[e] ... the Gospel" into daily life, id . ¶ 106, at App'x at 123.

The Manual further instructs that the principal should implement the "Catholic Values Infusion Program[,] ... a very conscious and collaborative way for the principal to fulfill the mission of transmitting Catholic values, culture and traditions to each succeeding generation, to fulfill the essential purpose of a...