Crisitello v. St. Theresa Sch.

255 N.J. 200

299 A.3d 781

Victoria CRISITELLO, Plaintiff-Respondent, v. ST. THERESA SCHOOL, Defendant-Appellant.

A-63 September Term 2020

085213

Supreme Court of New Jersey.

Argued April 24, 2023

Decided August 14, 2023

Revised August 14, 2023

Peter G. Verniero, Newark, argued the cause for appellant (Sills Cummis & Gross, and Carella, Byrne, Cecchi, Olstein, Brody & Agnello, attorneys; Peter G. Verniero, Michael S. Carucci, and Christopher H. Westrick, Roseland, of counsel and on the briefs).

Thomas A. McKinney, Morristown, argued the cause for respondent (Castronovo & McKinney, attorneys; Thomas A. McKinney and Edward W. Schroll, of counsel and on the brief).

Mark E. Chopko of the District of Columbia and Pennsylvania bars, admitted pro hac vice, argued the cause for amicus curiae New Jersey Catholic Conference (Stradley Ronon Stevens & Young, and McKernan, McKernan & Godino, attorneys; Mark E. Chopko, Marissa Parker, Robert J. Norcia, Martin McKernan, and James J. Godino, Jr., Camden, of counsel and on the brief).

Eric C. Rassbach (The Becket Fund for Religious Liberty) of the California, Texas, and District of Columbia bars, admitted pro hac vice, argued the cause for amicus curiae Agudath Israel of America (Roselli Griegel Lozier & Lazzaro, attorneys; Eric C. Rassbach, Mark M. Roselli, Hamilton Square, and Daniel D. Benson (The Becket Fund for Religious Liberty) of the Utah and District of Columbia bars, admitted pro hac vice, of counsel and on the brief).

Jeremy Feigenbaum, Solicitor General, argued the cause for amicus curiae Attorney General of New Jersey ( Matthew J. Platkin, Attorney General, attorney; Jeremy Feigenbaum and Alec Schierenbeck, Deputy Solicitor General, of counsel, and Eve Weissman and Nadya Comas, Deputy Attorneys General, on the brief).

Ronald K. Chen argued the cause for amici curiae American Civil Liberties Union of New Jersey and American Civil Liberties Union (Rutgers Constitutional Rights Clinic Center for Law & Justice, attorney; Lindsey Kaley (American Civil Liberties Foundation) of the New York bar, admitted pro hac vice, of counsel and on the brief, and Ronald K. Chen, Jeanne LoCicero (American Civil Liberties Union of New Jersey Foundation), Alexander Shalom (American Civil Liberties Union of New Jersey Foundation), and Daniel Mach (American Civil Liberties Union Foundation) of the New York and District of Columbia bars, admitted pro hac vice, on the brief).

Natalie J. Kraner argued the cause for amici curiae National Women's Law Center, Americans United for Separation of Church and State, The Anti-Defamation League, California Women's Lawyers, The Clearinghouse on Women's Issues, The Feminist Majority Foundation, Gender Justice, GLBTQ Legal Advocates & Defenders, The Kentucky Association of Sexual Assault Programs, KWH Law Center for Social Justice and Change, Interfaith Alliance Foundation, Legal Voice, The National Asian Pacific American Women's Forum, The National Association of Social Workers, The National Association of Women Lawyers, The National Coalition Against Domestic Violence, The National Council of Jewish Women, National Crittenton, The Reproductive Health Access Project, The Sikh Coalition, The Women's Law Center of Maryland, Inc., Transgender Law Center, Ujima, Inc: The National Center on Violence Against Women in the Black Community, Women Employed, Women With A Vision, Inc., The Women's Bar Association of the District of Columbia, The Women's Bar Association of the State of New York, and Women's Law Project (Lowenstein Sandler, attorneys; Natalie J. Kraner, Matthew J. Platkin, Stephanie Ashley, Markiana Julceus, Roseland, Sunu P. Chandy and Laura Narefsky (National Women's Law Center) of the New York bar, admitted pro hac vice, Bradley Girard (Americans United for Separation of Church and State) of the New York and District of Columbia bars, admitted pro hac vice, and Richard B. Katskee (Americans United for Separation of Church and State) of the District of Columbia and Maryland bars, on the brief).

James E. Burden submitted a brief on behalf of amicus curiae New Jersey Association for Justice (Javerbaum Wurgaft Hicks Kahn Wikstrom & Sinins, attorneys; James E. Burden, on the brief).

JUSTICE SOLOMON delivered the opinion of the Court.

The Church of St. Theresa (St. Theresa's) owns and operates the St. Theresa School. St. Theresa's terminated art teacher and toddler room caregiver Victoria Crisitello for violating the terms of her employment agreement. That agreement required employees to abide by the teachings of the Catholic Church and forbade employees from engaging in premarital sex; Crisitello, who was unmarried, had become pregnant. In response to her firing, Crisitello filed a complaint against St. Theresa's alleging employment discrimination in violation of the Law Against Discrimination (LAD), N.J.S.A. 10:5-1 to -49, based on pregnancy and marital status. St. Theresa's countered that its decision to terminate Crisitello was protected by both the First Amendment and the LAD.

In this appeal, we examine whether the Appellate Division properly reversed the trial court's grant of summary judgment and dismissal of the complaint with prejudice in favor of St. Theresa's. In doing so, we must consider the LAD, its "religious tenets" exception, and the McDonnell Douglas ¹ burden-shifting framework. Because we decide this case on narrow, statutory grounds, we decline to rule on the parties' constitutional arguments concerning the First Amendment.

We first hold that the "religious tenets" exception of N.J.S.A. 10:5-12(a) -- "it shall not be an unlawful employment practice" for a religious entity to follow the tenets of its faith "in establishing and utilizing criteria for employment" -- is an affirmative defense available to a religious entity when confronted with a claim of employment discrimination. Second, the uncontroverted fact is that St. Theresa's followed the religious tenets of the Catholic Church in terminating Crisitello. We thus conclude that St. Theresa's was entitled to summary judgment and that the trial court correctly dismissed the complaint with prejudice.

I.

A.

The St. Theresa School is a Roman Catholic elementary school operating within the Archdiocese of Newark. The school uses the official "Archdiocese of Newark Policies on Professional and Ministerial Conduct" (Ministerial Policies), the first section of which contains its Code of Ethics. In part, the Code of Ethics requires employees to "conduct themselves in a manner that is consistent with the discipline, norms[,] and teachings of the Catholic Church." St. Theresa's also has a faculty handbook that explains the importance of teachers "express[ing] a value-centered approach to living" and serving "as positive role models for their students."

In 2011, St. Theresa's hired Crisitello, a former student, to work as a caregiver in the toddler room. When she was hired, Crisitello signed an acknowledgment form which explained: "My signature below indicates that I have received a copy of the Policies on Professional and Ministerial Conduct adopted by the Archdiocese of Newark; and that I have read and understand those Policies, including the Archdiocesan Code of Ethics, and agree to abide by all of the Policies and the Code of Ethics." About a year later, Crisitello was asked to teach art to elementary school students in addition to working in the toddler room. In that role, she taught two days a week and worked one day in the toddler room. In 2014, Sister Lee, the school principal, approached Crisitello about the possibility of her teaching art full time. Crisitello, who was unmarried at the time, told Sister Lee that she wanted a raise if she accepted the new role, explaining that she was pregnant and that it would thus be more taxing to work additional hours.

A few weeks later, Sister Lee met with Crisitello to explain that she had violated the Code of Ethics by engaging in premarital sex and thus could not remain on St. Theresa's staff. Sister Lee offered Crisitello the option of resigning or being terminated. Ultimately, Crisitello was terminated and replaced by a married woman with children.

B.

1.

In April 2014, Crisitello filed a charge against St. Theresa's with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC or Commission), alleging violations of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act. The EEOC directed St. Theresa's to provide its position on the issues charged with supporting documentation. St. Theresa's provided supporting documents and responded that "Crisitello was not terminated because of her pregnancy. She was terminated for violation of the Code of Professional and Ministerial Conduct ... and not following the tenets of the Roman Catholic faith by engaging in sex outside of marriage."

Ultimately, the EEOC was unable to "conclude that the information obtained establishes a violation" of the Civil Rights Act. The Commission noted that its conclusion was not tantamount to a finding of compliance with Title VII and that Crisitello could still file an action in federal district court.

2.

Later that same year, Crisitello filed a complaint against St. Theresa's in New Jersey Superior Court alleging that St. Theresa's violated the LAD by discriminating against her on the basis of pregnancy (count one) and marital status (count two). According to Crisitello's complaint, the school's explanation for her termination -- her violation of the tenets of the Catholic faith -- was "mere pretext."

In early 2015, St. Theresa's moved for summary judgment and dismissal of the complaint, arguing that it lawfully terminated Crisitello's employment. The trial court denied the motion, citing the need for discovery. The parties disputed the scope of discovery, and the court granted Crisitello's request for information related exclusively to St. Theresa's employees who were pregnant during the period of Crisitello's employment, subject to a confidentiality order. The court denied...