MINNEAPOLIS (OSV News) — The Minnesota Supreme Court heard oral arguments Sept. 1 in a case brought by a former employee of a Catholic school in the state who said their employment contract was not renewed after they stated their intention to undergo a gender transition.
Reyzl Grace MoChridhe sued Academy of Holy Angels and the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis in 2024, alleging that those institutions violated state protections for sex and sexual orientation or gender identity when they declined to renew MoChridhe’s employment contract. However, the Catholic institutions argued the Minnesota Human Rights Act has exceptions that aim to protect church autonomy, and they are free to hire individuals who adhere to their policies.
Catholic principles
Luke Goodrich, vice president and senior counsel at Becket, who argued on behalf of the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis, told OSV News Sept. 4, the bishops in Minnesota previously “issued guiding principles for Catholic schools on human sexuality and gender identity” in 2020.
Those principles state Catholic schools in the state “will relate to each student in a way that is respectful of and consistent with each student’s God-given sexual identity and biological sex.”
The bishops also re-issued their bullying prevention policies with that document.
Religious exemptions
Goodrich said MoChridhe, who identified as a biological male when hired in 2021, later announced their intention to undergo a gender transition, prompting the school to not renew the employment contract in 2022.
Laws like Minnesota’s, he said, “have religious exemptions. They allow religious groups to hire and fire on the basis of religion.”
Jess Braverman, legal director at Gender Justice, which represented MoChridhe in the case, argued in a Sept. 1 statement, “Secular employees with religious employers should not be left vulnerable to discrimination simply because their identity, family, or personal decisions conflict with their employer’s religious beliefs.”
In a Sept. 1 statement issued through Gender Justice, MoChridhe said, “When I lost my job, I lost more than a paycheck.”
“I lost a community I cared about and work that was intensely meaningful,” MoChridhe said. “My students wanted me there, and my colleagues wanted me there, but I was still terminated just for being honest and seeking the care that I needed. No one should have to choose between making a living and living a lie.”
Goodrich argued that MoChridhe was aware of the guiding principles upon employment.
A decision in the case is expected in early 2027.
