299 A.3d 781
N.J.2023Background
- St. Theresa School (a Roman Catholic school) employed Victoria Crisitello as an art teacher/toddler caregiver; employees signed an Archdiocesan Code of Ethics requiring adherence to Catholic teachings, including prohibitions on premarital sex.
- In 2014 Crisitello, who was unmarried, disclosed she was pregnant; weeks later the principal told her she violated the Code of Ethics (premarital sex) and terminated her employment.
- Crisitello sued under New Jersey’s Law Against Discrimination (LAD), alleging pregnancy and marital-status discrimination; the school asserted LAD’s religious-tenets exception and First Amendment protections.
- The trial court granted summary judgment for the school; the Appellate Division reversed, applying the McDonnell Douglas burden-shifting framework and finding triable issues (pretext and disparate treatment) warranting discovery.
- On certification, the New Jersey Supreme Court held the LAD’s religious-tenets provision is an affirmative defense and found St. Theresa’s had established it as undisputed fact; the Court reinstated summary judgment for the school and dismissed the complaint, declining to resolve the First Amendment issues.
Issues
| Issue | Plaintiff's Argument | Defendant's Argument | Held |
|---|---|---|---|
| Whether the LAD’s "religious tenets" provision is an affirmative defense that, if proved, bars an LAD claim | Crisitello: the provision should not automatically defeat claims; it functions only to supply a nondiscriminatory reason under McDonnell Douglas | St. Theresa: the provision is an affirmative defense the employer must plead/prove and, if proven, ends the LAD claim | Court: the provision is an affirmative defense; the employer bears production and persuasion burdens and, if proved and unrebutted, precludes recovery |
| Whether St. Theresa’s termination was motivated solely by religious tenets or was pretext for pregnancy/marital-status discrimination | Crisitello: termination after disclosure of pregnancy and lack of investigation of other staff create triable issues of pretext/disparate treatment | St. Theresa: Crisitello knowingly agreed to the Code; the school consistently relied on Catholic tenets in terminating her; no contrary evidence was presented | Court: undisputed record shows termination was for violating Catholic tenets; Crisitello offered no evidence to rebut that reason, so no genuine factual dispute |
| Applicability of McDonnell Douglas burden-shifting when a religious employer invokes the religious-tenets exception | Crisitello (and Attorney General amici): McDonnell Douglas applies; religious tenets supply the employer’s legitimate nondiscriminatory reason but plaintiff may still prove pretext | St. Theresa: once the religious-tenets defense is pled and proven, McDonnell Douglas is inapplicable because the statutory exception itself defeats the claim | Court: the religious-tenets exception is an affirmative defense that, if proved, makes McDonnell Douglas unnecessary (though Justice Pierre-Louis concurred that McDonnell Douglas could be applied and would likewise fail on pretext) |
| Whether adjudication of this dispute would impermissibly entangle courts in religion (First Amendment) | Crisitello: secular inquiry into pretext is permissible without resolving doctrinal matters | St. Theresa: First Amendment church-autonomy/ministerial-exception bars the suit | Court: did not reach constitutional questions because statutory disposition was dispositive |
Key Cases Cited
- McDonnell Douglas Corp. v. Green, 411 U.S. 792 (1973) (framework for burden-shifting in circumstantial employment-discrimination cases)
- Our Lady of Guadalupe School v. Morrissey-Berru, 140 S. Ct. 2049 (2020) (Supreme Court decision about the ministerial exception and limits on secular review of religious-actor employment decisions)
- Brill v. Guardian Life Ins. Co. of Am., 142 N.J. 520 (1995) (New Jersey summary-judgment standard)
- Meade v. Township of Livingston, 249 N.J. 310 (2021) (application of McDonnell Douglas under the LAD)
- McKelvey v. Pierce, 173 N.J. 26 (2002) (analysis that neutral principles of law can resolve certain church-related disputes without unconstitutional entanglement)
- Zive v. Stanley Roberts, Inc., 182 N.J. 436 (2005) (describing the "rather modest" prima facie burden under McDonnell Douglas)