On December 14, 2020, the AAUP authored and filed an amicus brief in the Supreme Judicial Court of Massachusetts in support of a lower court decision holding that plaintiff-appellee Professor Margaret DeWeese-Boyd is NOT a “minister” and thus was protected by Massachusetts anti-discrimination laws. Professor DeWeese-Boyd had sued Gordon College alleging that it violated Massachusetts discrimination law when it denied her a promotion due to her activity on LGBTQ issues. Defendant-Appellant Gordon College, a religiously affiliated institution, argued that it was exempt from employment discrimination law because it claimed DeWeese-Boyd was a “minister” within the First Amendment “ministerial exception.” The amicus brief used the AAUP’s well-established principles and standards guidance to the Massachusetts Supreme Court in applying the “ministerial exception” in the context of higher education institutions.
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