Churches and other religious organizations often operate on principles of trust, faith, service, and community. They also employ large numbers of people, including pastors, ministry directors, teachers, childcare workers, administrative employees, counselors, worship staff, youth workers, and other ministry professionals.
Like any workplace, religious workplaces can experience sexual harassment and other forms of inappropriate conduct. However, sexual harassment in a church or religious organization can involve unique power dynamics. A person accused of misconduct may not only be a supervisor or employer representative but also a pastor, spiritual leader, or highly respected member of the congregation.
For an employee, reporting inappropriate behavior in that environment can feel particularly difficult. An employee may fear losing their job, being excluded from the community, damaging their reputation, or facing retaliation after making a complaint.
California law provides important protections against workplace harassment, discrimination, and retaliation. The California Civil Rights Department (CRD) states that California’s Fair Employment and Housing Act (FEHA) prohibits employment discrimination and retaliation based on protected characteristics, including sex, gender, religion, sexual orientation, and gender identity. California also prohibits workplace harassment based on protected characteristics.
At the same time, religious organizations can raise special legal questions. California’s FEHA definition of “employer” contains an exclusion for a religious association or corporation not organized for private profit, and constitutional principles can also affect certain employment relationships involving ministers and religious duties.
Because of these complexities, employees dealing with sexual harassment in a church workplace should consider obtaining advice about the specific facts of their situation.
Power Structures in Church Settings
Sexual harassment can occur in many areas of a religious organization. It is not limited to allegations involving senior clergy.
A pastor may supervise administrative staff. A youth pastor may supervise employees or volunteers working with young people. A ministry director may control schedules, assignments, evaluations, or advancement opportunities. A church administrator may have authority over another employee’s working conditions.
These relationships can create significant power imbalances.
For example, consider a situation involving a youth pastor accused of sexual harassment. If the youth pastor has supervisory authority over another employee, the employee may be concerned that rejecting unwanted attention or reporting the conduct could affect their position.
Similar concerns may arise when allegations involve a senior pastor, ministry leader, teacher, childcare director, worship leader, or other influential individual.
The phrase church youth group sexual harassment can also encompass situations involving employees who work around youth programs. The legal analysis will depend on the particular facts. It may matter whether the alleged conduct involved an employee, supervisor, volunteer, contractor, or another individual; whether the conduct occurred during work activities; and what the organization knew or should have known.
Religious status does not mean that workplace misconduct should be ignored. California law recognizes a public policy against discrimination in employment based on characteristics including sex and religious creed.
However, the precise legal protections available to an employee of a church or other religious organization can be complicated. California’s FEHA excludes certain nonprofit religious associations and corporations from its definition of “employer.” In addition, constitutional doctrines can limit the application of employment-discrimination laws to certain ministerial employment relationships.
This means an employee should not assume that a case is automatically covered, or automatically excluded, simply because the employer is a church.
Reporting Sexual Abuse in Churches
Reporting sexual harassment in a religious workplace can be challenging. Employees may worry that making a complaint will be viewed as an attack on the church, its leadership, or its religious mission.
Employees may also worry about retaliation.
California’s CRD explains that retaliation for asserting employment rights under applicable civil rights laws can be unlawful. Protected activity can include opposing discrimination or harassment and participating in an investigation. An employee does not necessarily have to use specific legal terminology when reporting a concern.
When possible, employees should consider preserving relevant evidence. Depending on the circumstances, that could include:
- Emails, text messages, and other communications.
- Employment policies and employee handbooks.
- Schedules and work assignments.
- Performance evaluations.
- Records of complaints made to supervisors or church leadership.
- Names and contact information for potential witnesses.
- Notes documenting dates, locations, and descriptions of incidents.
- Documentation concerning any employment action taken after a complaint.
The employee should also review the organization’s harassment and reporting policies. A church may have procedures identifying a supervisor, human resources representative, executive director, elder board, denominational authority, or another person responsible for receiving complaints.
If the person accused of harassment is the employee’s supervisor, however, reporting to that person would obviously be inappropriate. Employees should review the organization’s alternative reporting procedures or seek legal advice about other available options.
California employers that are covered by the applicable FEHA requirements have obligations concerning harassment prevention. The CRD states that employers with five or more employees generally have training obligations concerning sexual harassment prevention, while harassment protections can apply more broadly than the general five-employee threshold.
An organization’s response to a complaint may become important later. Questions can include whether management received notice of the alleged conduct, what the organization did after learning about it, whether an investigation occurred, and whether appropriate corrective action was taken.
Retaliation should also be documented. If an employee experiences termination, demotion, reduced hours, undesirable assignments, exclusion from workplace activities, threats, or other adverse treatment after making a protected complaint, an attorney can evaluate whether the conduct may constitute unlawful retaliation.
Not every negative workplace event after a complaint is necessarily illegal. The circumstances and applicable law matter. That is one reason early legal guidance can be useful.
If alleged conduct involves sexual assault, violence, threats, or another potential crime, the situation may also involve legal issues outside employment law. The CRD advises individuals who experience sexual assault, sexual violence, or other criminal conduct to contact law enforcement.
How an Attorney Can Streamline Your Legal Case
Sexual harassment claims involving churches and religious organizations can require careful analysis. An employment attorney can help determine which laws potentially apply and identify the evidence needed to evaluate a claim.
One important question is whether the organization and the employee fall within the coverage of a particular California employment law.
The FEHA generally applies to employers with five or more employees, but California’s statutory definition of “employer” excludes a religious association or corporation not organized for private profit. Certain employment relationships involving religious duties may also implicate the constitutional “ministerial exception.”
Consequently, the employee’s actual job duties can be important. A position primarily involving religious teaching or ministerial functions may raise different legal questions from a position involving purely administrative, custodial, or other secular responsibilities.
An attorney can also help identify whether the facts support potential claims involving sexual harassment, discrimination, retaliation, wrongful termination, or other employment violations.
California law recognizes harassment as a distinct workplace issue. The Legislature has stated that harassment can create a hostile, offensive, oppressive, or intimidating work environment when conduct sufficiently affects the employee’s workplace experience and ability to perform their job.
Evidence can be particularly important in harassment cases. An attorney can help organize communications, employment records, witness information, internal complaints, personnel documents, and evidence concerning the organization’s response.
Timing is another important consideration.
The California CRD currently states that an employment discrimination complaint generally must be submitted within three years from the date of the last alleged harm. In employment cases, a person who wants to pursue a lawsuit under FEHA generally must first file with the CRD and obtain an immediate Right-to-Sue notice before filing the lawsuit.
Other legal claims may have different deadlines. Therefore, employees should not assume that the three-year period applies to every possible claim.
An attorney can also help an employee communicate with the employer. Depending on the circumstances, counsel may assist with submitting a complaint, responding to an internal investigation, preserving evidence, negotiating a resolution, or evaluating whether litigation is appropriate.
The potential remedies in an applicable FEHA case can include lost wages, reinstatement or hiring, out-of-pocket expenses, emotional-distress damages, punitive damages in appropriate circumstances, and attorney’s fees and costs.
Conclusion
Sexual harassment in a religious workplace can be particularly complicated because employment relationships may overlap with spiritual authority, community relationships, and religious responsibilities.
California provides significant protections against workplace harassment and retaliation, but the protections applicable to employees of religious organizations require careful analysis. Religious organizations may fall within statutory exemptions, and certain ministerial positions can raise constitutional questions that do not arise in ordinary employment relationships.
For that reason, employees should focus on the specific facts of their employment relationship rather than assuming that the religious nature of the organization automatically determines their legal rights.
If you have experienced sexual harassment, discrimination, or retaliation while working for a California church or other religious organization, consider preserving relevant evidence and learning about your potential legal options as soon as possible. An experienced California employment attorney can review the nature of your position, the conduct involved, how the organization responded, and the deadlines that may apply to your potential claims.
Understanding your rights is an important first step toward making an informed decision about what to do next.
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