Our Lady of Guadalupe School v. Morrissey-Berru and St. James School v. Biel, both involving Catholic schools within the Archdiocese of Los Angeles.
Agnes Morrissey-Berru had sued for age discrimination after her contract was not renewed, and Kristen Biel had sued under the Americans With Disabilities Act because she was discharged after she sought a leave of absence to be treated for breast cancer.
She has since died.The high court ruled that because the teachers’ duties included religious instruction, they were subject to a “ministerial exception” that the court had established in a previous case, Hosanna-Tabor Evangelical Lutheran Church and School v.