Garcia v. Salvation Army

918 F.3d 997 (2019) United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit 2019-03-18

civil; Title VII religion-based hostile work environment and retaliation claims (plus ADA) against a church employer; summary judgment for the employer under the religious organization exemption, 42 U.S.C. 2000e-1(a), affirmed (9th Cir.) (result: claimant-lost)

Facts

  1. 1 Covered entity: employer, employment agency, or labor organization not law
    Here in the United States, the Salvation Army operates through 501(c)(3) nonprofit corporations.
  2. 1 Covered entity: employer, employment agency, or labor organization not law
    In 2002, the Corps hired Garcia to work as an assistant to the pastor, a position she held until July 2010, when Arlene and Dionisio Torres became the new pastors.
  3. 1 Covered entity: employer, employment agency, or labor organization not law
    Three days later, Garcia filed an internal grievance of her own against Torres, claiming that she "fe[lt] discriminated against and excluded and isolated" at work ever since leaving the church.
  4. 1 Covered entity: employer, employment agency, or labor organization not law
    In applying the ROE, we determine whether an institution's "purpose and character are primarily religious" by weighing "[a]ll significant religious and secular characteristics."
  5. 1 Covered entity: employer, employment agency, or labor organization not law
    The Salvation Army holds regular religious services.
  6. 1 Covered entity: employer, employment agency, or labor organization not law
    The record establishes that, as a church, the Salvation Army is "clearly" religious.
  7. 1 Covered entity: employer, employment agency, or labor organization not law
    Because the ROE permits religious organizations to discriminate based on religion, retaliation claims based on religious discrimination fail against protected organizations because the practice "opposed" is not "unlawful."
  8. 1 Covered entity: employer, employment agency, or labor organization not law
    Absent prejudice resulting from the Salvation Army's failure to timely raise the defense, however, the ROE forecloses Garcia's Title VII claims for retaliation and hostile work environment.
  9. 2 Protected trait: race, color, religion, sex (including pregnancy/abortion), or national origin satisfied conceded
    In late 2011, Garcia and her husband "left the Church" and stopped attending the Salvation Army's religious services, but Garcia continued her work as social services coordinator.