• Key point 8-06. The civil courts have consistently ruled that the first amendment prevents the civil courts from applying civil rights laws to the relationship between a church and a minister.
The Civil Rights Act of 1964
• Key point 8-11. State and federal civil rights laws generally prohibit employers from retaliating against an employee for filing a discrimination claim or otherwise exercising rights provided by the law.
A federal appeals court ruled that the first amendment guaranty of religious freedom prevented it from resolving a claim by a minister that he had been "retaliated" against by his church for assisting a female employee in presenting a sexual harassment claim to church leaders. An ordained pastor ("Lee") was approached by a female staff member at his church who informed him that her immediate supervisor had made sexual advances toward her. Lee assisted her in ...
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