9th Circuit Court of Appeals: Seminarians not covered by overtime laws
By APTuesday, March 16, 2010
Appeals court: OT laws don’t cover seminarians
SEATTLE — The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals has ruled that seminarians are not covered by overtime laws.
The appeals court on Tuesday upheld a lower court ruling in the case of Cesar Rosas, a Catholic seminarian in Mexico who was assigned to a ministry training program in Washington state.
He sued the Corporation of the Catholic Archbishop of Seattle, saying that during his training he performed maintenance work for the church and assisted with Mass. He contends he should be compensated according to Washington’s minimum wage law for what he says were multiple overtime hours.
The appeals court agreed with the District Court’s decision that the claim fit within the “ministerial exception” to employment laws on issues such as compensation. The judges note that the First Amendment requires such an exception, on grounds that such laws might interfere with religious institutions’ employment decisions concerning their ministers.
