The 6th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled in a case involving a religious school in Michigan that parochial school teachers who teach predominately secular subjects are not covered by the ministerial exception and therefore federal anti-discrimination law applies to them. You can see the full ruling here (PDF).

In the case, EEOC v. Hosanna-Tabor Evangelical Lutheran Church and School, Cheryl Perich filed suit against the church school, which is located in Redford, Michigan, for violating the Americans with Disabilities Act when they fired her after she became sick with a mysterious illness in 2004.

After several months on disability, an accurate diagnosis was made and Perich was able to return to work without restrictions after her condition was stabilized by a regime of medication. But the school at that point urged her to resign and, when she refused, fired her.

Perich filed a complaint with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, which ruled in her favor and authorized a lawsuit against the school. The district court granted summary judgment in favor of the school, but the appeals court has now overturned that ruling and remanded the case back to the lower court for a full trial on the merits.

Michigan has seen several similar cases recently. One case in state court involves a teacher at a Catholic school in Lansing, but the teacher has been consistently losing based on the ministerial exception. This 6th circuit ruling may well have an impact on that case, or at least prompt the plaintiff to file in federal court instead.

There is another case involving the Ave Maria School of Law, formerly of Ann Arbor but now located near Naples, Florida. In that case, a law professor filed a wrongful termination suit and the school also invoked the ministerial exception. Again, this new ruling could have a clear impact on that case.