ALBANY - The state's top court has unanimously directed the State Division of Human Rights to address a complaint filed against the Catholic Diocese of Buffalo by a priest who said he fell victim to a racial slur, xenophobia, and a hostile work environment.
In a 7-0 decision, the Court of Appeals ruled that the DHR made an "error of law" when it dismissed the Nov. 9, 2020, complaint lodged by the Rev. Victor O. Ibhawa, who at the time was the parish administrator of Blessed Trinity Church on Leroy Avenue. The state agency had determined that it lacked jurisdiction to investigate the complaint because of a First Amendment-related "ministerial exception" that prevents government from interfering with a religious entity's decision-making over employees in religious roles.
The Court of Appeals sharply disagreed, ruling that the ministerial exception is an affirmative defense - a legal argument that can be used to excuse a defendant's legal liability in a civil or criminal case - as opposed to a jurisdictional bar to DHR hearing the case. In doing so, the Court of Appeals reversed a 4-0 lower court decision by the Appellate Division of State Supreme Court's Fourth Department that sided with DHR.
"In reaching that conclusion, we express no view on whether any of the diocese's defenses are meritorious," stated Associate Judge Caitlin Halligan, who authored the Nov. 26 decision, remitting the matter back to DHR.
Chief Judge Rowan Wilson and Associate Judges Jenny Rivera, Michael Garcia, Anthony Cannataro, Madeline Singas and Shirley Troutman concurred.
Ibhawa claimed that on April 21, 2020, he was subjected to racial slurs from an employee and xenophobic remarks from a parishioner. When he reported the incident to Diocesan officials, he said they did not investigate the matter and questioned his decision to fire the employee who uttered the slur while making "highly insulting and offensive remarks" about "foreign priests," Halligan stated.
"At a subsequent meeting," Halligan stated, "two diocesan officials offered to buy Ibhawa a plane ticket to Nigeria and told him that 'the Bishop could remove his faculties.' Shortly afterwards, the Diocese informed Ibhawa that his employment had been terminated."
Ibhawa appealed DHR's dismissal in State Supreme Court in Erie County. Justice E. Jeannette Ogden sided with DHR and diocese stating religious exception applied but questioned why it would keep DHR from investigating Ibhawa’s hostile work environment accusations.
"If he had been an employee of Walmart or Xerox," Buffalo attorney Donna Milling argued before high court alongside co-counsel Rosanne Johnson representing Ibhawa; she remarked they would have processed his claim based on these allegations potentially imposing sanctions against employer for such discrimination."
DHR senior attorney Aaron M. Woskoff argued on behalf state agency while Buffalo attorneys Erin Torcello & Kathleen McGraw represented diocese during proceedings.
"The Diocese of Buffalo is pleased New York Court Appeals has remanded case back New York State Division Human Rights looking forward future ruling this matter," Joseph Martone spokesperson Diocese Buffalo commented regarding development outcome direction taken judicial review process involved handling respective concerns raised therein contextually addressed accordingly within procedural framework established governing oversight mechanisms operationalized effectively ensuring adherence principles equitable justice served impartially fairly consistently throughout entire deliberative evaluative adjudicatory phases undertaken systematically comprehensively exhaustively without prejudice bias undue influence external interference compromising integrity objectivity transparency accountability maintained preserved safeguarded perpetuated sustainably enduringly reliably dependably predictably assuredly conclusively determinatively decisively unequivocally authoritatively conclusory 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