NJ Catholic school seeks dismissal of gay marriage bias suit

Lawyers representing Kate Drumgoole (center) are urging judge in discrimination case against Catholic school and Archdiocese, urge judge not to dismiss case. Chris Pedota, The Record of Bergen County via AP, Pool.

by Rob Howard
Associate Editor

Across the country, Catholic schools have dismissed employees when it is discovered that they have had a same-sex marriage. In many cases, the fact that a person was LGBT was well known in the school community, but the schools had not acted on that knowledge.

However, when the employee gets married to a person of the same sex, or it is discovered that they are married, the church controlled schools dismiss them, citing the tenets of the Catholic faith, and the requirement for employees to observe those tenets. Catholic doctrine does not accept same-sex marriages.

However, in some states, state anti-discrimination laws are written broadly, and even though they make exceptions for churches, how the rules apply to schools, hospitals and charitable organization run by the church are not as clear.

Such is the case of Kate Drumgoole, who, according to NorthJersey.com, is, “a former guidance dean and girls’ basketball coach,” for Paramus NY Catholic High School. Drumgoole was dismissed by the school in January after it learned that she was married to another woman. She filed a lawsuit charging the school with unlawful discrimination.

According to the website, “Judge Lisa Perez Friscia ruled in August that the discrimination case filed by Kate Drumgoole should move to the discovery phase, denying the Catholic entities’ request to dismiss the case.”

On Friday, an attorney for the school, and the Archdiocese of Newark, will ask the judge to reconsider the bid to dismiss the lawsuit filed by Drumgoole.

Her attorneys argue that the school is bound by all of the New Jersey Law Against Discrimination (NJLAD). They cite the circulation of other discrimination policies in its faculty handbook, and say that her job did not consist of ministerial duties or religious instruction, and that the termination is therefore illegal.

Christopher Westrick, the attorney representing the school and the archdiocese “had not violated the NJLAD, because they allow religious entities to require employees to subscribe to their tenets,” according to NorthJersey.com.

The website’s coverage continued: “Westrick in his motion for reconsideration focuses specifically on the second prong of the exemption to the NJLAD, saying it does not mention engagement in religious activities.

“’Therefore, it was error for the court to merge discussion of the ministerial exception, rather than independently examine under each prong whether [the archdiocese] was entitled to the religious exemption under NJLAD,’ Westrick wrote.

“Even if Drumgoole wasn’t a ministerial employee, he continues, the case should be dismissed because Drumgoole’s same-sex union violates the tenets of the Catholic faith. Therefore, Westrick wrote, ‘she violated the condition of her employment, conditions which she agreed to in writing and her termination cannot be considered an unlawful employment practice under the NJLAD.’”

Judge Friscia was scheduled to hear oral arguments on Friday. It’s unclear when she might reach a decision.

Copyright 2016 The Gayly – October 14, 2016 @ 4:05 p.m.