In upholding that ruling, the 6th Circuit said Alyce Conlon’s formal title and religious function shield IVCF from liability under the ministerial exception.
As a result, the 6th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals refused to reinstate Alyce Conlon’s employment-based suit against InterVarsity Christian Fellowship/USA (IVCF) because the job she lost had ministerial responsibilities.
Conlon contended that IVCF illegally put her on leave and then fired her because she and her husband were having marital difficulties but didn’t discipline or terminate at least two male employees who divorced their wives.
IVCF policy “encourages employees to seek appropriate help to move toward reconciliation” when there are marriage problems and reserves the right “to consider the impact of any separation/divorce on colleagues, students, faculty and donors,” the decision said.
According to court documents, Conlon began to work for the organization in Grand Rapids, Michigan, in 1986 and was terminated in 2011 after she disclosed her marital problems to a supervisor.
The suit alleged violations of Title VII and Michigan’s civil rights law.
A lower-court judge dismissed the case.
