Ninth Circuit Finds 1st Amendment's Ministerial Exception Bars Employment Related Claims Against Religious Organization

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On 12/30/24, in Markel v. Union of Orthodox Jewish Congregations of America, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals held that the First Amendment's Ministerial Exception barred a mashgiach (minister, or key employee) from bringing employment-related claims against his employer, where the employer was a non for profit corporation serving the kosher certification program for the Orthodox Jewish community in the United States.  The Court held that the employee's employment-related claims were barred, as the Ministerial Exception precludes the application of "laws governing the employment relationship between a religious institution and certain key employees":

https://cdn.ca9.uscourts.gov/datastore/opinions/2024/12/30/23-55088.pdf

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