Minnesota Supreme Court agrees to review appeals court decision in trans librarian's lawsuit
Minnesota's highest court has agreed to review a lower court's decision that removed the Twin Cities archdiocese from a trans librarian's lawsuit over her firing from a Catholic high school.
In her lawsuit against the Academy of Holy Angels and the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minnesota, filed in 2024, the woman alleged the school violated the Minnesota Human Rights Act when it didn't renew her contract after she told the principal she was transgender.
The archdiocese moved for and was granted a dismissal, and the Court of Appeals affirmed the decision, saying adjudicating the case "would violate the religious protections of the First Amendment" because the allegations "would interfere with an internal church decision that affects the Archdiocese's faith-based mission to educate young people in the Catholic faith and would foster excessive governmental entanglement with religion."
Gender Justice, which represents the woman in the lawsuit, called that ruling an "overly broad interpretation of the Federal Constitution."
On Wednesday, the Minnesota Supreme Court agreed to take up the case after a petition from the librarian. No date has been set for the hearing.
"Decades of precedent from courts across the country, including the United States Supreme Court, confirm that the Constitution protects the freedom of religious schools to choose employees who are faithful to their core religious principles," the archdiocese said in a statement. "We're glad that two Minnesota courts have already upheld this freedom, and we expect the Minnesota Supreme Court will do the same."
In a statement, Gender Justice said there is a "critical question" to be answered in this case.
"This case is about whether Minnesota's civil rights laws can be rendered meaningless for thousands of workers simply because their employer claims a religious objection," said legal director Jess Braverman. "It sets a dangerous precedent that undermines the rights of LGBTQ+ people, people of minority faiths, and anyone who doesn't conform to an employer's religious views."
