Can A Gay Teacher Work In A Catholic School? Lonnie Billard Files Discrimination Suit After Being Fired

A gay substitute teacher sued a Roman Catholic school in North Carolina Wednesday after they fired him for announcing his wedding to a man on Facebook in 2014. Lonnie Billard claimed Charlotte Catholic High School, and the Diocese of Charlotte, discriminated against him because of his sexual orientation in a federal lawsuit.

The lawsuit argued the school’s action goes against the federal Title VII law: “Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 is a federal law that prohibits employers from discriminating against employees on the basis of sex, race, color, national origin, and religion. It generally applies to employers with 15 or more employees, including federal, state, and local governments.”

Also, under the school's non-discrimination policy, it was noted that they, too, do not discriminate against student and staff. “Schools and Schools of Religion in the Diocese of Charlotte, mindful of their primary mission as effective instruments of the educational ministry of the Church, and witnesses to the love of Christ for all persons, shall not discriminate on the basis of race, color, sex, age, national or ethnic origin in the employment of personnel and the administration of educational policies, admissions policies, loan programs, athletic and other school administered programs,” it reads.

The former teacher said he wants back pay and benefits, punitive damage, compensatory damages for emotional distress and a court order blocking the school and Catholic leaders from taking similar punitive actions in the future, the Charlotte Observer reported Wednesday.

Before Wednesday’s complaint, filed by the state’s office of the American Civil Liberties Union, Billard had also filed a discrimination complaint with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission in May 2015. The lawsuit stated the agency said Billard had a right to sue last Nov. 30.

Billard told the Observer that despite what had happened, he still would like to work for the school as a substitute teacher again. “I was absolutely stunned by what the school did. I didn’t expect it,” Billard told the Observer. “But the more I thought about it, I realized I had done nothing wrong. I loved being a teacher. I loved being in the classroom. Me being a teacher and Rich (Donham) being a part of my life were all intertwined.”

Last year March, a North Carolina law passed, known as House Bill 2, which limited protections for LGBT people. It excludes gender identity and sexual orientation from statewide antidiscrimination protections; and requires transgender people to use restrooms in schools and many public buildings that correspond to the sex on their birth certificates, as opposed to their gender identity.