In re McClusker v. St. Rose of Lima Parish School, Roman Catholic Diocese of Brooklyn

Case Status

Closed

Case Description

EEOC (direct).

This case involves a private Catholic school's decision to fire a teacher because she was pregnant.

On Nov. 21, 2005, the Reproductive Rights Project filed a complaint with the Equal Employment Opportunities Commission (EEOC) on behalf of Michelle McCusker. Ms. McCusker, who is single, was formerly employed as a pre-kindergarten teacher at St. Rose of Lima Parish School in Queens. She was fired by the private Catholic school when she told her employer that she was pregnant and intended to carry the pregnancy to term. The complaint alleges that St. Rose of Lima and the Brooklyn Diocese illegally discriminated against Ms. McCusker on the basis of sex and pregnancy when it fired her.

On Dec. 13, 2005, RRP and client Michelle McCusker met with an attorney and an investigator with the EEOC as part of the EEOC's preliminary investigation of the complaint. The defendants have filed papers resisting the EEOC's jurisdiction over the case because the school is a religious entity. On July 19, 2006, RRP filed a reply, arguing that the EEOC clearly has jurisdiction over charges of pregnancy discrimination by a school against a lay teacher, even if the school is religious.

The EEOC has since issued a Letter of Determination, finding probable cause that discrimination had occurred. As of July 2007, the NYCLU is in conciliation discussions with the respondents.

Attorneys involved in this case inlcude RRP Director Galen Sherwin.

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