I don't know why more people aren't writing about this...
There's a case pending before the Supreme Court now and the frum organizations are on the wrong side here.
In Hosanna-Tabor v. EEOC, the Supreme Court is considering whether a parochial school has the right to fire employees at will. Traditionally, religious organizations have been given a lot of latitude when it comes to compliance with employment and discrimination laws, primarily because of the First Amendment issue. This concept, that religious groups are exempt from compliance is called the Ministerial Exemption and it was originally a relatively benign concept. However, it has grown and grown over the past several decades and is now being horribly misused by some organizations. For example, although it was originally intended to apply solely to ministers, priests, rabbis and others in high leadership positions, it has now been expanded to apply to many lower-level employees as well, including mashgichim, bookkeepers, teachers, etc.
In the original case, Ms. Perich, a parochial school teacher, was fired after she became ill and needed to take time off, in violation of the Americans with Disabilities Act. This case is about whether she is important enough religiously to the school to be deemed a ministerial employee and if she is, she may not sue the school for violation of her rights. It is generally expected that the Court will also provide some limitation or guidance on the contours of the ministerial exemption and when it should/should not be used.
The frum organizations have filed amicus briefs siding with the school, essentially arguing that the secular courts should not get involved in religious matters. From here. At first glance this might seem like a simple defense of their consitutional rights, but really this is a terrible idea and potentially affects so many people.
Assuming that the Court rules in accordances with the wishes of these religious organizations, here are some examples of employees who would have no legal recourse if employed by frum schools and other religiously- affiliated organizations:
* A female teacher making less money than her male counterpart in a religious school.
* A mashgiach who is making less than minimum wage.
* A teacher who is fired after reporting her suspicions of child abuse. See here for an example.
* A secretary who is fired after her religious employer finds out she is married to a black person.
* A music- teacher who is fired after donating her own private money to an organization not approved by the school.
* A principal whose contract is terminated after he alerts the authorities about fraud committed by the school's financial aid department.
* A female teacher who is fired after she takes maternity leave.
All of these people would be completely without any legal protections. Of course, they could go to beis din. Yeah, that might work out for them.
This situation is an example of where the average frum Joe is either unaware of the issue to begin with or is mistakenly under the impression that the frum organizations are working in his very best interest, whereas in fact they are just looking out for their bottom line, like all organizations do.
Limiting people's protections to those outside the secular legal system is dangerous to many, many potential victims. If you are a teacher and your family depends on your paycheck to pay the grocery and electric bills, are you going to report a principal's sexual abuse of a student if you know that you might likely be fired and be left with only a beis din to hear your case?