CHURCH STATE NEWSFLASH!!!
February 7, 2001

CALIFORNIA APPEALS COURT RULING DEPRIVES CHURCHES OF THE RIGHT TO HIRE MEMBERS OF THEIR OWN FAITH

In a startling ruling from the California Court of Appeals in Silo v.
Catholic Healthcare West Medical Foundation, the Court held that a religious
institution can be held liable for religious discrimination under state law.
Before this, courts have held that churches and other religious institutions
are exempt from the state's employment discrimination laws because of a
specific exemption contained in the state's Fair Employment and Housing Act.

In Silo, the court acknowledged the statutory exemption, but found that
there is a public policy against religious discrimination in the California
Constitution, and that the plaintiff can and did sue under this public
policy theory.

What this decision means is that courts can compel churches, religious
schools, hospitals and social service agencies to hire people who do not
share the same faith. It also means that such institutions cannot discipline
employees for violating faith principles, even where those principles are
clearly stated in the employee manual.

It is unclear how far the courts will take this. It is unlikely, for
example, that courts will order churches to reinstate clergy who are fired
for religious reasons. Will this decision mean that Catholic schools can be
compelled to hire Protestant teachers, Adventist schools compelled to hire
Catholic teachers, or Jewish schools compelled to hire Christian teachers?
It might. We just don't know how far the courts will take it. But now you
see the problem.

The Silo case involved a file clerk in the medical records department who
was fired ostensibly for proselytizing. The jury found that the hospital
engaged in religious discrimination.

The U.S. Supreme Court ruled in a 1987 case that under Federal law,
religious organizations are completely exempt from laws prohibiting
religious discrimination, no matter what the job. That case involved a
janitor at a Mormon owned gymnasium who was fired because he was not an
active member of the Mormon church.

Silo breaks new law, then, and subjects churches and religious organizations
to new liability for religious discrimination. With unlimited damages
possible in California law, smaller non-denominational schools could be
particularly hard hit, and even bankrupted by a single judgment.

You are encouraged to forward this to those who may be interested. Please do 
not post on the world wide web without prior permission. 

Director, Alan J. Reinach, Esq., ajreinach@msn.com; 805-497-9457 ext.398. 
Associate Director Bradford Newton, bradnewton@earthlink.com; 916-446-2552. 
For assistance with a religious liberty problem, contact any of the above 
persons. [We serve five western states, including Arizona, California, 
Nevada, Utah and Hawaii. For problems outside our area, we can refer to 
someone more local.]