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Judge kills religious bias suit against church school system

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March 4th, 2015 by Ric Hanson

SIOUX CITY, Iowa (AP) – A religious discrimination lawsuit filed against Sioux City’s Bishop Heelan Catholic school system has been dismissed. The Sioux City Journal reports that in a ruling filed last week, U.S. Magistrate Judge Jon Scoles said David Newbrough couldn’t proceed on his claim that the system fired him because he wasn’t Roman Catholic. Newbrough was the system’s chief financial officer.

The lawsuit also said he was relieved of his duties as a volunteer basketball scorekeeper at Heelan High School in retaliation for filing a claim with the Iowa Civil Rights Commission. The judge says the system’s actions were protected under a federal law exemption that lets religious organizations discriminate on religious grounds in their employment practices.