Ohio Teacher Reportedly Fired from Catholic School for Mentioning Her Partner in an Obituary

[Newsjock]

Source: The Stranger

As I've written in the past, employees of religious institutions in Washington state and elsewhere are often exempt from state and federal anti-discrimination laws, which means they can be fired at will for things like getting pregnant or contracting HIV.

Or, as Slog tipper Stephen points out, for mentioning their same-sex partner in an obituary:

Students and others are rallying behind a teacher who they say was fired from a Catholic school in Clintonville after listing her female partner’s name in her mother’s obituary.
A petition posted yesterday on change.org seeks the reinstatement of Bishop Watterson High School physical-education teacher Carla Hale. It has gained about 2,600 signatures.
... According to a contract between the Roman Catholic Diocese of Columbus and the Central Ohio Association of Catholic Educators, teachers can be terminated for “immorality” or “serious unethical conduct.” Messages left for a diocese spokesman were not immediately returned this morning.

Read more: http://slog.thestranger.com/slog/archives/2013/04/16/ohio-teacher-reportedly-fired-from-catholic-school-for-mentioning-her-partner-in-an-obituary

[Doremus]

1. Another Ohio embarrassment. nt

[virgogal]

2. She worked for a Catholic school--she should have known better. That said,I walked

away from the church 40 years ago and also attended the wedding of 2 longtime gay friends in September,2004.

She'll get another job with a more tolerant employer.

[flobee1]

3. teachers can be terminated for “immorality” or “serious unethical conduct.”

but pedophile priests get relocated?


the church is an embarrassment!

[Botany]

4. The school has known she was gay for 19 years but fired her after an ....

.... anonymous later from "a concerned parent" to the Diocese.

http://www.dispatch.com/content/stories/local/2013/04/17/backers-rally-for-fired-gay-teacher.html

The teacher was much liked and did her job well. I do a lot of work right next to Watterson High
School and the school does produce very good students and has much to be proud of this is not
one of the things they should be proud of.

[Brickbat]

5. Gosh, they're sure making a lot of assumptions, aren't they?

I thought being gay was OK, as long as you weren't having sex. Who says Carla Hale and her partner are having sex?