Court dismisses discrimination lawsuit against Christian Brothers High School

A discrimination lawsuit filed by a former principal against Christian Brothers High School was dismissed in court on Tuesday after a federal court judge said the principal could not be considered a regular employee of a religious institution and therefore was not protected from anti-discrimination laws.

U.S. District Judge John A. Mendez ruled that the suit is barred by the “ministerial exception” established under the religion clauses of the First Amendment to the United States Constitution.

“Ministerial exception prohibits a court from second-guessing the reasons for employment and administration decisions, whether religious, nonreligious, valid or pretextual,” read court documents.

Chris Orr, who was hired in 2017 and was removed from his position on Oct. 11, 2019 with little explanation, filed the federal civil lawsuit against the school’s board of directors for wrongful termination and retaliation in January 2020 under the Fair Employment and Housing Act..

Orr called the federal court decision shameful.

“I am a principal, I am not a minister,” Orr said. “Christian Brothers knows I am not a minister.”

A Supreme Court decision’s impact on this case

The decision is part of a much larger debate on how religious institutions can hire and fire employees.

Last year, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in a 7-2 decision that the religious nature of workers’ duties could “exclude employees of religious institutions from the protections of anti-discrimination laws,” according to a Bloomberg report. The ruling made it so that “ministerial exemption” means that religious ministers are not protected by civil rights laws in their workplace. The decision received national attention, as concern grew that churches and religious institutions could fire preachers for their race, for example.

According to a deposition in the Sacramento case, the school made the argument that Orr conducted religious work.

Orr refuted that, saying his job was being an academic leader on campus. As a school principal, he said he is able to change English and math curriculum, but not religious curriculum.

Orr’s attorney, Johnny Griffin, said in a statement he was disappointed in the ruling.

“We disagree with a number of factual and legal conclusions made by the Court,” Griffin said. “In particular, we disagree with the Court’s conclusion that Mr. Orr is a ‘minister’ and that therefore Christian Brothers cannot be subjected to the scrutiny of the courts. Mr. Orr served as a principal, not a minister. Mr. Orr is committed to having his day in court so that a jury can reach the substance of his claims of racial discrimination and harassment against Christian Brothers.”

Griffin said he plans to appeal the ruling to the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeal as the next step in the process of getting in front of a jury.

Claims of retaliation

According to court documents obtained by The Sacramento Bee, Orr contended his firing stemmed from a survey he completed while serving as principal that was critical of Lorcan Barnes, the school’s former president.

“When I got the survey, I was nervous,” Orr told The Bee. “My remarks were critical and positive. I wrote that I am in fear of retaliation, that this is an unhealthy and hostile work environment that I am in.”

Barnes subsequently notified Orr that 2019-2020 would be his last year at Christian Brothers.

But Orr said once he spoke with the board of trustees about his concerns of discrimination and harassment, Barnes terminated him effective immediately.

In the court documents, Orr said he was critical of the way Barnes determined tuition assistance levels for students, using the real estate website Zillow to assess the values of applicants’ homes. Orr also said during those admissions meetings, he heard Barnes comment about how many cars were parked outside of students’ homes, and if students had large homes, Barnes would recommend giving them less tuition assistance.

“I asked why we were doing it this way, and I was told that this is the way the school has always done it,” Orr said. “That’s code for don’t ask any more questions.”

On one occasion, Orr said a student was already admitted and attending Christian Brothers as a freshman. A third party committee the school uses to help make recommendations proposed the school award the student a full tuition waiver worth $15,000. But Barnes overruled the committee and awarded the student $10,000.

Later, when scholarship funds began to run low, Barnes revoked some of that money, Orr said, upon hearing that the student was underperforming, Orr said.

“He once said he was going to reduce (the student’s) tuition assistance to incentivize him to leave our school,” Orr said.

In a statement in response to the court ruling, the school said it was pleased with the decision.

“As shared by school officials at the time of the filing, ‘CBHS is proud of its history of diversity and inclusion and has never made an employment decision, admissions decision, or financial aid decision based upon race.’

Added school President Crystal LeRoy: “We are grateful to have this lawsuit behind us and will continue our 145-year tradition of excellent, Lasallian Catholic education in Sacramento.”

Orr was the first Black principal of Christian Brothers, an institution with Sacramento roots dating back to 1876. The high school is one of two co-educational four-year Catholic high schools in Sacramento. Following its Lasallian and Catholic traditions, the school serves a diverse range of students who come from different socioeconomic backgrounds.

This story was originally published January 13, 2021 at 2:38 PM.