Ohio Teacher Awarded $171,000 After Firing Over Artificial Insemination.

[elleng]

Source: nyt/reuters

A Catholic school teacher fired by the Cincinnati Archdiocese after becoming pregnant by artificial insemination was awarded $171,000 in damages on Monday by a federal court jury that ruled her dismissal violated U.S. anti-discrimination laws.

The U.S. District Court jury in Cincinnati awarded Christa Dias $71,000 in lost wages and emotional distress damages and ordered the archdiocese to pay her $100,000 in punitive damages.

The jurors did not find liable the two Catholic grade schools where Dias taught computer programming, which were also named as defendants in the case.

In 2010, the archdiocese fired Dias on the grounds that she had violated terms of a contract that she signed promising to adhere to Catholic morality, which it said barred the use of artificial insemination.

Robert Klingler, the attorney for Dias, argued that the archdiocese fired her for being pregnant out of wedlock, which constituted a violation of federal law that bars employers from dismissing workers for being pregnant.

"The jury decided that federal law trumps contract law," Klingler said. "You can't sign away your rights to be protected."



Read more: http://www.nytimes.com/reuters/2013/06/03/us/03reuters-usa-catholic-court.html?hp

[In_The_Wind]

1. Excellent!

[Swede Atlanta]

2. Love it....

I have no problem with religious institutions having their own policies provided they don't conflict with state or federal law....

That may not give them much latitude but then they have to understand they exist and function in a civil society not beholden to their religious beliefs.

Perhaps they should return to the arts of praying.....that may not be subject to any law

[Dawson Leery]

3. Excellent!

[msanthrope]

4. Every sperm is sacred, afterall.....

[NYC_SKP]

5. K/R. (nt)

[freshwest]

6. Great news:

"The jury decided that federal law trumps contract law," Klingler said. "You can't sign away your rights to be protected."

[Nanjing to Seoul]

7. Man's law supercedes God's Law. EXCELLENT!!! I love what the lawyer said about rights

I smell an instant appeal though.

[Rowdyboy]

8. Nice little severance package...should be enough to keep her going until she gets another job

plus maybe some left over for a college fund for the baby.

[christx30]

9. Now it's time for those schools

to only hire Catholics. "Are you a Catholic? Check 'yes' or 'no'. If you check 'no', do not finish application. Say 3 Hail Marys and go forth and sin no more."
Oh... wait... discrimination based on religion is also against Federal law.

[freedom fighter jh]

14. +1

I am not Catholic, and I do believe in a woman's right to choose to have a baby.

But parents need to have a place to go to for an education that promotes their values. A teacher is a role model. The school has the right to require that even in her appearance she model its values for the kids.

[msanthrope]

17. Indeed. Had they fired the male worker who used artificial insemmination as a means of

conceiving his child, they might be able to make all sorts of arguments about their values.

But equal protection under law trumps their hypocrisy, and their homophobia.

[joeglow3]

23. Red Herring much?

Can you show me a case where they knew a male worker was using artificial insemmination and did nothing about it?

[dbackjon]

26. Wow - so if a school wanted to teach white supremecy

And fired a teacher for contact with an "inferior" race, you'd be ok with that?

[freedom fighter jh]

27. Did I say anything remotely like that?

No.

From what I can see, it seems Catholic schools want people in role model positions to at least not openly flout their values. The schools and the parents who send their kids there have a right to put their kids into an environment that will promote their values.

Let me draw a parallel to freedom of religion. Would you agree with me that freedom of religion is generally a good thing, and that the framers of our Constitution were wise to guarantee it? What about a religion that practices ritual sacrifice of human being? I just picked the worst example of something a religion could do and used it to bludgeon the whole idea of freedom of religion. Does that convince you that freedom of religion is not a good idea?

This issue has nothing to do with racial mixing. Sure, you can make up an example like that and say the reasoning, taken to its ridiculous extreme, does not apply. Maybe that's because you've taken it to its ridiculous extreme.

Catholics don't support the idea of intentionally having a baby outside of wedlock. This is what they want to teach their kids, and they want their teachers to back it up by example. They have a right to hold and promote these values.

[LanternWaste]

28. Yes. You did as a matter of fact.

"Did I say anything remotely like that?"

Yes. You did as a matter of fact. "But parents need to have a place to go to for an education that promotes their values..."

All things being equal, your statement would need additional qualifiers to prevent the statement you responded to from fitting well within the example given to you. As it stands, it is most certainly not taking anything to a "ridiculous extreme". It is however, simply adding one additional example, accurate within the parameters given by you...

[Bandit]

30. Are you suggesting that a pregnant women's appearance is to be considered bad values?

If that is what you are saying then I question your "values"...

[freedom fighter jh]

31. I'm saying the Catholic church's values are that there should not be sex before marriage.

Nor should babies be conceived by artificial means.

An unmarried pregnant woman stands in defiance of that. (Yes, there are exceptions, like rape. That's not what we're talking about.) Parents want their kids' role models to be people who support those values.

I am trying to support respect for the values of others. I believe in some things; other people believe in different things.

[rhett o rick]

10. I would hope someone got fired. nm

[Cha]

11. Good for Christa Dias.. thanks elleng!

[ReRe]

12. Boy, there's allot of good news today...

Thanks elleng. And thank God we're getting other good news today, too. I was about to crack with all the bad news!

[telclaven]

13. I am very troubled by this

Can now a teacher fired for being a member of racist groups now sue to get backpay/job back?

Can a card-carrying member of the NRA sue for not being hired by Brady Campaign?

This opens a large can of worms, I'm not entirely sure everyone will like where it leads. Blowback is a real concern and I wonder if folks might regret this.

I dunno. Glad I'm not the lawyers or judges involved.

[Gormy Cuss]

18. Are those protected classes under Federal law?

Federal law disallows the firing of an employee simply on the basis of pregnancy. That's why the jury decided in her favor.

[telclaven]

19. I don't know

I don't know how this will all shake out.

Just an uneasy feeling.

[msanthrope]

21. Your concern is noted. Please feel free to share more of your concerns, and enjoy your stay. nt

[telclaven]

22. My other concerns

Scouting troops being disbanded in my area because some folks can't stand jumping into the 21st Century, so now I can't go through Boy Scouts with my son.

The militarization of police and the use of less lethal weapons as a means of coersion and punishment instead of the firearm alternative it was supposed to be.

The secret kill list and how drone warfare is being implemented to completely bypass the War Powers Act and the Constitution.

The pent up feelings of frustration, anger, and outrage that seem to be rising. I am hoping we avoid an explosion of violence like the Arab Spring here in America.

The TSA.

Homeland Security placing everything within 100 miles of the US Border outside the bounds of the Constitution.

I have many concerns.

What does 'enjoy your stay' mean? Thus far I have.

[sir pball]

25. I have a niece on the way, so I might as well practice spoonfeeding..

The following characteristics are considered "Protected Classes" and persons cannot be discriminated against based on these characteristics:
Race – Federal: Civil Rights Act of 1964
Color – Federal: Civil Rights Act of 1964
Religion – Federal: Civil Rights Act of 1964
National origin – Federal: Civil Rights Act of 1964
Age (40 and over) – Federal: Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967
Sex – Federal: Equal Pay Act of 1963 & Civil Rights Act of 1964
Familial status - Federal: Civil Rights Act of 1968 Title VIII (Housing, cannot discriminate for having children, exception for senior housing)
Disability status – Federal: Vocational Rehabilitation and Other Rehabilitation Services of 1973 & Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990
Veteran status – Federal Vietnam Era Veterans Readjustment Assistance Act of 1974
Genetic information – Federal: Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Protected_class

I'll give the benefit of the doubt here and allow that you really might not have known what Federal protected classes are. This will "shake out" perfectly wonderfully.

[tanyev]

15. Good thing the Virgin Mary wasn't teaching at a Catholic school when she got pregnant.

[mahatmakanejeeves]

16. Good luck collecting.

Expect an automatic appeal.

[sheshe2]

20. K&R!

[Katashi_itto]

24. I think it was to little an amount. But it's awesome she got the award

[Dreamer Tatum]

29. Excellent indeed. nt