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U.S. District Judge Eric Komittee granted summary judgment to a Catholic School and Archdiocese in a lawsuit by an English/Social Studies teacher who was dismissed shortly after he was hired when he revealed he was a gay man who would eventually marry his boyfriend. Butler v. St. Stanislaus Kostka Catholic Academy, 2022 WL 2305567, 2022 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 113040 (E.D.N.Y., June 27, 2022). The court's ruling was premised on the Free Exercise Clause of the 1st Amendment.
Cody Butler, a graduate of Catholic elementary and high schools, applied for a faculty position to teach English and Social Studies at St. Stanislaus Kostka Catholic Academy (St. Stan's) in Queens, within the Brooklyn Archdiocese. His application letter stated that teaching there would be "a way of enacting my faith, to teach in a Catholic setting," and he got the job after an interview in August 2015.
After attending the orientation for new teachers on September 1, however, he wrote an email to the school's principal about the orientation, stating, "I am concerned about my position within the diocese and school. The tones of the speakers were strident at times and I cannot tell if I would be accepted. I am homosexual and plan on marrying my boyfriend eventually, and after being told all day that I have to live church doctrine I feel wounded and unwanted. I want to teach the kids at St. Stan's more than anything, but I put the decision in your hands now rather than at some point down the line. Would I still be a welcome member of the St. Stan's community?"
The principal forwarded the email to the superintendent of the Brooklyn Archdiocese's education programs, and the answer came back "no," so the principal sent Butler a...