The U.S. Supreme Court says the Constitution bars lawsuits brought on behalf of “ministers” against their churches that claim termination in violation of employment discrimination laws, reversing a decision that had held a religious teacher was retaliated against for suing the church under the Americans with Disabilities Act.

The case involves a church school teacher who was designated a commissioned minister, and in addition to teaching secular subjects, taught a religion class, led her students in daily prayer and devotional exercises, and took her students to a weekly school-wide chapel service. The teacher developed narcolepsy, and the church took steps to terminate her for damage she had done to her “working relationship” with the church school by “threatening to take legal action” after she threatened to sue under the ADA. The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission sued the church on her behalf, alleging she had been fired in retaliation for threatening to file an ADA lawsuit.

The Supreme Court disagrees with a Sixth Circuit holding that the teacher did not qualify as a “minister” under the First Amendment’s exception of religion from congressional laws, saying that the Sixth Circuit failed to see any relevance in the fact that she was a commissioned minister, “gave too much weight” to the fact that lay teachers at the school performed the same religious duties as the claimant did, and “placed too much emphasis” on her performance of secular duties. “Although the amount of time an employee spends on particular activities is relevant in assessing that employee’s status, that factor cannot be considered in isolation, without regard to the other considerations discussed,” the Court says. Hosanna Tabor Evangelical Lutheran v. EEOC