Lawsuit: Teacher at West Knox Christian school ousted over 'out-of-wedlock pregnancy'

A teacher who lost her job at a West Knox County Christian school after getting pregnant while unwed is testing the bounds of a landmark U.S. Supreme Court decision that said employment autonomy by religious employers trumps employment discrimination protections for employees.

Tabatha Hutson is suing Concord Christian School in U.S. District Court on claims of pregnancy and sex discrimination after school officials opted not to renew her teaching contract at the end of the 2017 school year when they discovered she was pregnant but unmarried.

'Ministerial exception'

The school’s attorney, Clint Woodfin, contends the K-12 Baptist-based school on Kingston Pike had the right under a legally ground-breaking U.S. Supreme Court’s 2012 ruling that recognized a “ministerial exception” to employment discrimination laws.

“It is affirmatively averred that the plaintiff's claim is barred by the ministerial exception for religious institutions as outlined by the United States Supreme Court,” Woodfin wrote in a response to Hutson’s lawsuit.

Hutson’s attorney, James Friauf, counters Hutson wasn’t a “minister” or a teacher “called” into her position via the Baptist faith. She’s a Catholic hired in 2011 at Concord to be a kindergarten teacher, not a Sunday School leader, Friauf wrote.

“Concord told Ms. Hutson she was selected for the job of kindergarten teacher at CCS because of her familiarity with the curriculum CCS already had in place,” Friauf wrote.

Chief Justice John Roberts authored the landmark 2012 ruling that broadened the First Amendment’s reach to include religious liberty in employment decisions by religious employers.

“The Establishment Clause prevents the government from appointing ministers and the Free Exercise Clause prevents it from interfering with the freedom of religious groups to select their own,” Roberts wrote.

Who qualifies?

But the decision did not define what it means to be a “minister” subject to the exception. The court instead opined that each case would have to be judged based on the individual facts at play.

The 2012 case involved a teacher at a Lutheran school in Michigan who sued the school. She also taught religious courses. She said she was fired when she claimed the school discriminated against her based on a medical condition – narcolepsy. She sued.

The school countered she was fired for violating church tenets against filing lawsuits and was a “called” minister who completed religious training as part of her employment.

The high court ruled churches and religious organizations should be free to hire and fire its leaders without government intervention.

Friauf contends in the lawsuit against Concord Christian School that Hutson was not a “minister” under the landmark ruling but a teacher who lost her job solely because she was a pregnant single woman.

'Solely due to her pregnancy'

Friauf wrote Concord’s principal, Leigh Ledet, and administrative assistant, Haley Cottrell, met with Hutson in May 2017 when Hutson was 11 weeks pregnant. Ledet, he wrote, noticed the baby bump.

“Ledet replied that Concord was not renewing Ms. Hutson’s teaching contract for the 2017- 2018 academic year due to her out-of-wedlock pregnancy," the lawsuit stated. “Ledet assured Ms. Hutson that work performance played no part in Concord’s decision to terminate Ms. Hutson’s employment; it was solely due to her pregnancy.”

Woodfin denies that Ledet specifically cited Hutson’s “out of-wedlock pregnancy” as cause but admitted the school opted not to renew her contract.

Ledet told Hutson she could “ ‘return to the school once things settled down,’ i.e., once Ms. Hutson married her partner and gave birth to her child. In the meantime, advised Ledet, Ms. Hutson could ‘straighten racks at SteinMart,’” Friauf contended.

Woodfin also denied that remark in his answer on behalf of Concord.

The father of Hutson's child served as a volunteer Sunday School teacher for Concord but was not removed from his duties, Hutson’s lawsuit stated.

Hutson is seeking $2 million in compensatory and punitive damages. Concord wants the lawsuit tossed out.