GLAD joined an amicus (friend of the court) brief with the National Women’s Law Center, along with Americans United for Separation of Church and State, our law firm partner Lowenstein Sandler LLP, and 25 other organizations in Crisitello v. St. Theresa School. The brief, submitted to the New Jersey Supreme Court, is in support of Victoria Crisitello, an unmarried elementary school art teacher at a Catholic school who was fired after she told her employer she was pregnant.

Ms. Crisitello’s employer is claiming that she is a “minister,” and therefore the ministerial exception allows the school to deny her workplace civil rights protections. This case represents continuing efforts by religiously affiliated employers to avoid complying with workplace civil rights.

Full list of amici:

  • 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
  • Lowenstein Sander LLP
  • 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
  • The National Women’s Law Center
  • 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
  • Women’s Law Project

Visit the blog from the National Women’s Law Center to learn more.