Hankins v. Lyght

• Citation: 441 F.3d 96
• Decision Date: 16 February 2006
• Docket Number: Docket No. 04-0743-CV.
• Parties: John Paul HANKINS, Plaintiff-Appellant, v. Ernest S. LYGHT and New York Annual Conference of the United Methodist Church, Defendants-Appellees, Stony Brook Community Church, Defendant.
• Court: United States Courts of Appeals. United States Court of Appeals (2nd Circuit)

441 F.3d 96

John Paul HANKINS, Plaintiff-Appellant, v. Ernest S. LYGHT and New York Annual Conference of the United Methodist Church, Defendants-Appellees Stony Brook Community Church, Defendant.

Docket No. 04-0743-CV.

United States Court of Appeals, Second Circuit.

Argued: January 5, 2005.

Decided: February 16, 2006.

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Bruce Miles Sullivan, Stony Brook, New York, for Plaintiff-Appellant.

Frederick K. Brewington, Hempstead, New York, for Defendants-Appellees.

Before: WINTER, SOTOMAYOR, and B.D. PARKER, Circuit Judges.

Judge SOTOMAYOR dissents in a separate opinion.

WINTER, Circuit Judge.

John Paul Hankins appeals from the dismissal by Judge Hurley of his age discrimination action. Hankins was a clergy member ordained by appellee New York Annual Conference of the United Methodist Church ("NYAC"). He was forced into retirement when he attained the age of 70. Appellee Ernest S. Lyght is the Bishop of the NYAC and has the power to appoint clergy to NYAC churches.

Hankins claims that the NYAC's mandatory retirement policy violates the Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967 ("ADEA"), 29 U.S.C. § 621 et seq. We hold that the Religious Freedom Restoration Act of 1993 ("RFRA"), 42 U.S.C. § 2000bb et seq., is constitutional as applied to federal law; it therefore amended the ADEA and governs the merits of the principal issue raised by the parties. We vacate the dismissal of Hankins' complaint and remand for a determination of whether application of the ADEA to Hankins' relationship with the NYAC and Lyght violates the RFRA.

BACKGROUND

We assume the existence of the facts as alleged in the complaint. Hankins was ordained by the NYAC and served as a clergy member from 1962 to July 1, 2003. He turned 70 on November 5, 2002, and was forced into retirement on July 1, 2003, as prescribed by paragraph 356 of the Methodist Book of Discipline.

According to a statement by the Methodist Church's Council of Bishops, the Book of Discipline is neither "sacrosanct" nor "infallible, but . . . is the most current statement of how United Methodists agree to live together" as "an inclusive society without regard to ethnic origin, economic condition, gender, age, or the disabilities of its constituents." The complaint alleges that the Book of Discipline contains "subject matters that are sectarian and ecclesiastical in nature[,] being related to the nature of the Deity and the Trinity, the scriptures, the tenets of the United Methodist Church, the theological grounding of biblical faith, the teachings of John Wesley and/or other religious principles or values (. . . `religious considerations')," as well as "subject matters that are secular, temporal and/or civil in nature[,] not being determined, controlled or influenced by any religious considerations." The complaint further claims that paragraph 356, under which Hankins was mandatorily retired, "is a secular, temporal, and/or civil subject matter, not being determined, controlled or influenced by any religious considerations."

Bishop Lyght told Hankins and other members of the Church that he had the authority to reappoint Hankins as pastor, despite the fact that Hankins is over 70 years old. However, Bishop Lyght also stated that it is his "personal policy (as distinguished from the policy set forth in the Book of Discipline) never to reappoint members of the clergy who have attained age seventy to the church out of which they were retired."

Appellant brought an age discrimination charge to the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission ("EEOC") on March 19, 2003. The EEOC issued a Notice of Right to Sue on April 11, 2003. Appellant also filed a Verified Complaint with the New York Division of Human Rights on June 11, 2003; that Complaint was dismissed for administrative convenience on July 1, 2003. Appellant filed the instant suit on July 3, 2003.

Appellant's complaint claimed that the mandatory retirement policy violated the ADEA, the New York Human Rights Law, and the NYAC's covenant with him (Counts I, II, and IV); and that Bishop Lyght's personal policy against reappointing retired clergy violated the ADEA and Human Rights Law (Count III).¹

Appellees moved to dismiss for lack of subject matter jurisdiction and for failure to state a claim upon which relief could be granted, under Rules 12(b)(1) and (6) respectively. The district court, ruling orally, declined to decide the 12(b)(1) motion, which was apparently based on deficiencies in the EEOC's review of appellant's charge. Instead, the court granted the 12(b)(6) motion based on a "ministerial exception" to the ADEA — a rule adopted by several circuits that civil rights laws cannot govern church employment relationships with ministers without violating the free exercise clause because they substantially burden religious freedom. See, e.g., McClure v. Salvation Army, 460 F.2d 553, 560 (5th Cir.1972) (applying Title VII to church-minister relationship "would result in an encroachment by the State into an area of religious freedom into which it is forbidden to enter" by the Free Exercise Clause). The court dismissed the complaint under Rule 12(b)(6).

DISCUSSION

Appellant argues that the ministerial exception should not insulate a church's nonreligious regulations that discriminate against ministers on the basis of age. Appellees assert that this action is barred by EEOC errors. Alternatively, they continue to rely upon "the ministerial exception," the Free Exercise clause, and the Establishment Clause, claiming that applying the ADEA to the church-minister relationship would substantially burden religion. In that regard, appellees note that "for this very reason" Congress passed the RFRA. We address the alleged EEOC errors before turning to the main issue: whether the RFRA amended the ADEA.

a) Completion of Administrative Proceedings

Appellees argue that the district court lacked jurisdiction because the EEOC issued appellant's Notice of Right to Sue fewer than sixty days after his charge was filed.² We disagree.

Appellant satisfied all statutory requirements for bringing this private action under the ADEA. He filed an age discrimination charge with the EEOC on March 19, 2003; the EEOC issued a Notice of Right to Sue on April 11, 2003. Under 29 U.S.C. § 626(d) and (e), appellant had to file the instant suit more than sixty days after filing his EEOC complaint and within ninety days of his receipt of the EEOC Notice. Hankins complied with both requirements by filing suit on July 3, 2003 — more than 60 days after March 19, and 83 days after April 11. Furthermore, contrary to appellees' arguments, the instant suit was not barred by appellant's June 11, 2003 filing of a Complaint with the New York Division of Human Rights because the Division dismissed the complaint on July 1, 2003, before appellant filed this suit. See 29 U.S.C. § 633(b) (ADEA prohibits bringing suit before 60 days after commencement of state proceedings, "unless such proceedings have been earlier terminated").

Appellees rely for their jurisdictional contention on two Title VII cases: Martini v. Fed. Nat'l Mortgage Ass'n, 178 F.3d 1336 (D.C.Cir.1999), and Rodriguez v. Connection Tech. Inc., 65 F.Supp.2d 107 (E.D.N.Y.1999). These cases inferred from the language of 42 U.S.C. § 2000e-5(f)(1)³ that the EEOC lacks authority to issue right-to-sue notices based on Title VII claims before 180 days after a charge is filed. E.g., Martini, 178 F.3d at 1347 ("[T]he EEOC's power to authorize private suits within 180 days undermines its express statutory duty to investigate every charge filed, as well as Congress's unambiguous policy of encouraging informal resolution of charges up to the 180th day."). We have not decided whether the regulation allowing early issuance of right-to-sue notices, 29 C.F.R. § 1601.28(a)(2), is a permissible construction of Section 2000e-5. We express no opinion on the issue here, although we note that two circuits and several district courts within this circuit have disagreed with Martini and Rodriguez. Sims v. Trus Joist MacMillan, 22 F.3d 1059, 1061-63 (11th Cir.1994) (early issuance of right-to-sue letter by EEOC does not bar a Title VII suit); Saulsbury v. Wismer & Becker, Inc., 644 F.2d 1251, 1257 (9th Cir.1980) (same); Commodari v. Long Island Univ., 89 F.Supp.2d 353, 381-83 (E.D.N.Y.2000) (same); Palumbo v. Lufthansa German Airlines, 1999 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 11412, No. 98 Civ. 5005, 1999 WL 540446, at *2 (S.D.N.Y. July 26, 1999) (same); Figueira v. Black Entm't Television, Inc., 944 F.Supp. 299, 303-08 (S.D.N.Y.1996) (same).

The key fact in the present matter is that the language of 29 U.S.C. § 626, which authorizes suits under the ADEA, differs significantly from that of Section 2000e-5(f)(1). Section 626 provides that "[n]o civil action may be commenced by an individual under this section until 60 days after a charge alleging unlawful discrimination has been filed with the [EEOC]." Id. § 626(d). Appellant complied with this provision by waiting sixty days after filing his EEOC charge before bringing the instant suit. The fact that the EEOC terminated its proceedings prior to the expiration of sixty days was irrelevant to the district court's authority to entertain the case. This is especially so because Section 626, unlike Section 2000e-5, explicitly contemplates early termination of EEOC investigations. Id. § 626(e) ("If a charge filed with the [EEOC] under this chapter is dismissed or the proceedings of the [EEOC] are otherwise terminated by the [EEOC], the [EEOC] shall notify the person aggrieved."). This suit was therefore properly before the district court.

b) The Religious Freedom Restoration Act

In our view, the dispositive issue in this matter concerns the application of the RFRA. The statute's substantive provisions state:

(a) In general. Government shall not substantially burden a person's exercise of religion even if the burden results from a rule of...