Judge OKs California School's Requirement That Employees Have a Pastor for a Reference

A court has ruled in favor of a private Christian school in California that required employees to have a pastor for a reference.

Judge Henry J. Walsh of the Superior Court of California in Ventura County issued a ruling Monday in favor of Little Oaks Private School.

At issue was a suit brought by two former teachers who argued that they were wrongfully fired for failing to provide a letter from a pastor confirming their membership in a church.

Judge Walsh concluded that Little Oaks was covered by the "ministerial exemption" as the two teachers were expected to provide a level of Christian instruction to the students.

"Both were performing ministerial functions at regular and repetitive times, and both were introducing the students to Christianity, albeit at a very basic level," (function(w,q){w[q]=w[q]||[];w[q].push(["_mgc.load"])})(window,"_mgq");

In 2009, Calvary Chapel acquired the once secular private school Little Oaks. In August 2012, they made a requirement of employees that they have a reference from a pastor confirming membership with a church.

Two teachers, both of whom had worked at Little Oaks before the decision on references in 2012, were not offered a contract to teach in 2013 following their failure to provide pastoral letters.

In response to their dismissals, the two teachers filed a lawsuit claiming they had been discriminated against and on March 18 arguments were heard.

"We are grateful that this Court has chosen to protect the liberty of Little Oaks School,"