A Catholic school was within its legal right to fire an unmarried pregnant teacher who had failed to "abstain from premarital sex," as a condition of her job, New Jersey’s highest court ruled.
Victoria Crisitello was hired by her alma mater, St. Theresa School in Kenilworth, in 2011 as a toddler caregiver before she was also assigned to teach art a year later.
The school asked Crisitello in 2014 if she’d like to teach art full-time. Crisitello, single at the time, said she would need a raise, explaining she was pregnant and teaching full time would be more taxing. But just a few weeks later, Crisitello was fired and told she had violated the school's code of ethics, which barred premarital sex.
Crisitello claimed in state court she was the victim of discrimination based on her marital status and pregnancy while St. Theresa argued its actions were consistent with church teachings.The trial court twice threw out Crisitello's case before it was twice reinstated by the appellate division. The ACLU and New Jersey Office of Attorney General wrote briefs siding with Crisitello.
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The high court on Monday ruled in the school's favor, saying Crisitello twice signed forms agreeing to abide by the school’s code of ethics, which calls for employees to “conduct themselves in a manner that is consistent with the discipline, norms and teachings of the Catholic Church.”
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