A case that could have profound implications for teachers at parochial schools in Ohio, and across the country, was argued before the United States Supreme Court earlier this month. The case pits the First Amendment's protections for religious freedom against the protections workers are given under federal workplace discrimination laws.

A tenured fourth grade teacher at a Midwestern parochial school took a leave of absence after she was diagnosed with narcolepsy. During her disability leave, her doctor certified that she was ready to return to work. The school asked the woman to resign her teaching position, and she threatened to sue for disability discrimination under the Americans with Disabilities Act. The school reportedly does not dispute that it fired the teacher in retaliation for threatening to sue.

The school maintains that as a religious institution it is immune from federal lawsuits under a legal concept known as the "ministerial exception." The school claims that the school-teacher taught a religion course at the elementary school, which requires her to resolve all disputes within the church. The school says the parochial school teacher does not have a right to involve U.S. courts.

Justice Sotomayor asked whether the exception also should apply to a hypothetical teacher who reports sexual abuse to the government. She asked whether or not society should have the right to say certain conduct is wrong even when it occurs in a religious institution.

Justice Anthony Kennedy was also direct in asking why the teacher was "fired simply for asking for a hearing." He asked the school's attorney would not the hearing have been able to determine whether the firing based for a religious reason. Justice Antonin Scalia reportedly chimed in by saying, "I think your point is that it's - it's none of the business of the government to decide what the substantial interest of the church is."

The justices reportedly seemed to be seeking how the ministerial exception should be defined. Justice Samuel Alito reportedly stated the First Amendment principle of the separation of church and state is intended, in part, to keep the government out of the religious freedom of an institution to choose its own ministers. An attorney for the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission argued that applying general employment law principles to parochial schools as employers does not amount to choosing the institution's ministers.

The teacher's attorney argued that the religious institution should not be able to hide under the ministerial exception when it "enters the public arena." He suggested the religious organization's decision to set up the school necessarily requires the institution to become involved in government rules, including rules prohibiting workplace disability discrimination.

A decision in the case, known as Hosanna-Tabor Evangelical Lutheran Church and School v. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, is not expected until next year.

Source: NPR, "Supreme Court Considers Disabilities Act Dispute," Nina Totenberg, Oct. 5, 2011