Court backs Iowa diocese in discrimination lawsuit

March 05, 2015

A federal court has granted a legal victory to the Diocese of Sioux City, Iowa, after the former CFO of the city’s Catholic school system contended he lost his job because of religious discrimination.

The position once held by David Newbrough, a non-Catholic, was downgraded from CFO to controller after the school system experienced a deficit, and a Catholic was hired to fill the new position. A separate marketing position, held by a Catholic employee, was also eliminated in an attempt to reduce the deficit.

The court ruled that Newbrough could not proceed with his lawsuit because a federal law exempting religious organizations from religious-discrimination legislation extends also to non-religious positions such as CFO.

 

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Further information:

• Religious discrimination lawsuit vs. Heelan dismissed (Sioux City Journal)
• Full text of ruling