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The '''ministerial exception''' was adopted by the [[U.S. Supreme Court]] in Hosanna-Tabor, 565 U.S. 171 (2012) and expanded in Our Lady of Guadalupe Sch. v. Morrissey-Berru, 140 S. Ct. 2049 (2020).
As explained by the [[Fourth Circuit]] in May 2024:
{{cquote|[A]lthough "Hosanna-Tabor "clarified that the exception is a non-jurisdictional affirmative defense, 565 U.S. at 195 n.4, neither case cast doubt on the exception's structural basis, or its importance in partitioning civil authorities from religious ones. Indeed, in both decisions, the Supreme Court plainly adopted the structural understanding of the ministerial exception: The First Amendment's Religion Clauses, the Court explained, "bar the government from interfering" with ministerial employment decisions or involving itself in ecclesiastical matters. Hosanna-Tabor, 565 U.S. at 181, 189. That means civil courts like ours are "bound to stay out" of employment disputes involving ministers - those "holding certain important positions with churches and other religious institutions." Our Lady of Guadalupe, 140 S. Ct. at 2060. [footnote 4: The term "minister" is shorthand for somebody who qualifies for the ministerial exception. We are mindful that the title of the exception made it into the case law only "because the individuals involved in pioneering cases were described as 'ministers,'" and not because the title - with its independent religious significance - governs the legal analysis. Our Lady of Guadalupe, 140 S. Ct. at 2060; see also Hosanna-Tabor, 565 U.S. at 202 (Alito, J., concurring); E.E.O.C. v. Roman Cath. Diocese of Raleigh, 213 F.3d 795, 801 (4th Cir. 2000).]
Relying on its structural nature, some courts consider the ministerial exception categorically non-waivable. See Conlon, 777 F.3d at 836; Tomic, 442 F.3d at 1042; see also Tucker v. Faith Bible Chapel Int'l, 36 F.4th 1021, 1052 (10th Cir. 2022) (Bacharach, J., dissenting).<ref>https://becketnewsite.s3.amazonaws.com/20240508135918/Billard-Op.pdf</ref>}}
''[[Billard v. Charlotte Catholic High School]]'', No. 22-1440, 2024 U.S. App. LEXIS 11330, at *22-23 (4th Cir. May 8, 2024) (Harris, J., joined by Niemeyer, J.).
== References ==
{{reflist}}
[[Category:Ministerial exception]]