Opinion ID: 391211
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: a similar case: mississippi college

Text: 15 This case is quite similar to E.E.O.C. v. Mississippi College, 626 F.2d 477 (5th Cir. 1980). The parties assert and we recognize that there are three major areas of factual distinctions between this case and Mississippi College. The first concerns the nature of the institutions. We noted in Mississippi College that the evidence presented to the district court makes it readily apparent that the character and purposes of the college are pervasively sectarian. Id. at 487. The character and purposes of the Seminary are wholly sectarian. This factual distinction is pertinent not only to the applicability of Mississippi College, but also to the test for excessive governmental entanglement. See Part III A, infra. The Seminary's role is vital to the Southern Baptist Church. No one would argue that excessive intrusion into the process of calling ministers to serve a local church is constitutionally permissible. The Convention's hiring of faculty and other personnel to train ministers for local churches is equally central to the religious mission and entitled to no less protection under the first amendment. 16 The second distinction is that the subpoena challenged in Mississippi College imposed a broader compliance burden than do the EEO-6 reports required here. The subpoena demanded a list of all staff showing name, race, sex, religion, job description, pay, and educational level. Information pertaining to faculty recruiting and promotions, and access to all applications for faculty and administrative positions during the period in issue were also required. See id. at 480 n. 3. The requirements of the EEO-6 report, set out above, reveal that the report compels much less detail than the subpoena. Unless the Seminary experiences frequent faculty turnover, the report is less burdensome though it must be filed every two years. 17 The final area of factual difference between this case and Mississippi College is the context in which the government's requests for information was made. In Mississippi College, a dissatisfied employee had filed a charge with the EEOC, alleging sex discrimination. The EEOC investigated the charge and issued the subpoena in the course of that investigation. Id. at 480. Here there is no charge of discrimination; the EEOC seeks merely to gather statistical information from educational institutions.