Opinion ID: 2191676
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 7

Heading: The Burden on the Exercise of Religious Beliefs

Text: Hill-Murray argues that the application of the MLRA would result in significant interference with the school's religious autonomy that would compel the school to negotiate and compromise its doctrinal positions. The MLRA requires the parties to endeavor in good faith to reach an agreement with respect to rates of pay, rules or working conditions in any place of employment. Minn.Stat. § 179.06, subd. 1 (1990). Conditions of employment are not defined within the Act. Hill-Murray asserts that negotiations about conditions of employment will lead to negotiations about religion. This assertion is remote and an insufficient basis to exempt Hill-Murray from the regulatory laws of the state. Conditions of employment are specified in the more recently enacted Public Employment Labor Relations Act (PELRA). Minn. Stat. ch. 179A (1990). PERLA states, in relevant part: Terms and conditions of employment means the hours of employment, the compensation therefor including fringe benefits except retirement contributions or benefits other than employer payment of, or contributions to, premiums for group insurance coverage of retired employees or severance pay, and the employer's personnel policies affecting the working conditions of the employees. In the case of professional employees the term does not mean educational policies of a school district. Minn.Stat. § 179A.03, subd. 19 (1990). Negotiable terms and conditions of employment are limited to exclude matters of inherent managerial policy. See Minn.Stat. § 179A.07, subd. 1. We hold that matters of religious doctrine and practice at a religiously affiliated school are intrinsically inherent matters of managerial policy and therefore nonnegotiable. Terms and conditions of employment, such as those specified in PELRA and those specified in the Hill-Murray Faculty and Staff Handbook are not doctrinally related and are negotiable. Negotiations under the limits of the MLRA do not possess the tendency to undermine Hill-Murray's religious authority. Hill-Murray retains the power to hire employees who meet their religious expectations, to require compliance with religious doctrine, and to remove any person who fails to follow the religious standards set forth. While Hill-Murray may have demonstrated that the application of the MLRA interferes with their authority as an employer, they have not established that this minimal interference excessively burdens their religious beliefs.