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What's New in
Colorado PELA?
NEW
EEOC GUIDANCE ON DISCRIMINATION AGAINST CAREGIVERS
EEOC has just issued some new guidance
on discrimination against caregivers. Check it out on
EEOC's website, www.eeoc.gov.
CASE SUMMARY
In Seefried v. Hummel. No. 04CA0960
(Colo.App. 8/4/05), Richard Seefried and James Seefried
were senior and associate pastors at Fort Collins Bible
Church. James Seefried also owned plaintiff company,
CDS, which employed a number of the defendants who were
also church members. Following the termination of defendants
employment at CDS, Richard Seefried was terminated from
the church. The complaint alleged that the church and
its board unlawfully discharged Richard based on this
secular non-church issue. At issue on appeal
was the second claim for relief that
Richard had been employed with the church subject to
an express indefinite contract that contained
reciprocal duties of good faith and fair dealing.
Plaintiffs claimed that the churchs
public meeting regarding Richard as pastor rendered
defendants liable for slander, libel, the intentional
interference with business relationships, and outrageous
conduct.
Defendants did not dispute that the
meeting was held, the statements were made, or that
Richard was terminated as a result of the meeting. The
trial court granted defendants motion to dismiss
for lack of subject matter jurisdiction. The court of
appeals agrees that the statements were issued within
the constitutionally protected context of the First
Amendment because they occurred during a church meeting
concerning the investigation, discipline and discharge
of the pastors. The Court follows the holding
in Van Odol v. Vogt, 908 P.2d 1122 (Colo. 1996), that
the decision to hire or discharge a minister is purely
ecclesiastical, inextricable from religious doctrine
and an expression of the beliefs of the church and the
embodiment of the religion. The appeal is dismissed
in part and the judgment is affirmed.
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