LifeWise asks court to stop state investigation of ex-employee's discrimination claim

HILLIARD, Ohio (WCMH) -- Religious instruction organization LifeWise Academy has asked the Ohio Supreme Court to stop an investigation into the labor concerns of a former employee.

Rachel Snell, former teacher and volunteer for LifeWise, filed an age-based labor discrimination claim with the Ohio Civil Rights Commission in January after she alleges she was forced to resign for refusing to falsify her hours. Hilliard-based LifeWise denies these claims and is arguing that the state does not have the right to investigate it.

"The legal action was filed against the state to prevent governmental overreach and encroachment on religious matters," a LifeWise spokesperson said.

LifeWise is claiming the "ministerial exception," a legal defense that says the government cannot interfere with a ministry's right to choose who spreads the gospel. The ministerial exception applies to religious organizations who have fired a "minister," used loosely.

LifeWise references this exception in its hiring documents, which say the organization is able to discriminate based on religion in its hiring. LifeWise said that as an educator, Snell served the role of "minister" because she was trusted to share its religious message.

Snell believes LifeWise's insistence that it is neither a church nor a religious school disqualifies it from the legal exception.

"There is no ministerial exception for defamation of character," Snell said. "There is also no ministerial exception for the other issue, which is asking employees to falsify their time."

Snell worked at LifeWise Tri-County North -- a chapter based in Lewisburg, west of Dayton -- until December, when she alleged LifeWise pushed her out in favor of a younger employee who would work for free. Snell provided more than 200 pages of supporting documents to LifeWise, the OCRC and NBC4.

Snell presented texts with the younger employee, who said she did not always clock her hours. She also offered texts from her manager, who implied that working without pay is just part of being a teacher.

“She said, 'These things are all your responsibility, no matter how long it takes.' And I said, 'Well, then I will put a timesheet in for them, because I'm not going to falsify my time.'" Snell said. "And she got angry because I would not agree to just work for free."

The following week, Snell was issued a progressive discipline notice alleging she represented LifeWise politically and had failed to uphold the standard of holiness in her social media posts and a letter to the CEO. Snell said she still has no idea what they were talking about.

After consulting with her attorney, Snell asked for evidence of the allegations. She said she thought she was being discriminated against, especially as another employee was posting politically on social media without repercussion. LifeWise placed her on administrative leave to investigate her claims.

“LifeWise takes personnel matters seriously and has addressed the circumstances surrounding Ms. Snell’s former employment in accordance with our internal policies and applicable laws," a LifeWise spokesperson said.

During the investigation, Snell offered to finish the semester and then "graciously step away from the classroom teaching," which she said she meant as an opportunity to reduce hours. She said at the time, she calculated about 29.2% of her time in a 12-hour workweek was spent teaching for LifeWise, with the rest spent doing prep or administrative work.

LifeWise accepted her offer to step away as a resignation, which went into effect Dec. 16. According to emails dated before and after Dec. 16 accessed by NBC4, Snell and her lawyer insisted to LifeWise that she did not resign. Snell said LifeWise denied mediation initially but requested it after the OCRC filing, and Snell and her lawyer attended mediation in May.

"They called my attorney the day beforehand and asked him how much money I wanted. He was like, 'I don't really think you realize that she doesn't really care about the money,'” Snell said.

Instead, Snell wanted LifeWise to rewrite financial policies she thought had led to her situation.

"Jesus did say, turn the other cheek, and I absolutely did. They fired me," Snell said. "I turned the other cheek and I let myself be their victim. But Jesus didn't then say, turn the other cheek and then let them slap somebody else."

LifeWise filed the ministerial exception plea on June 5, in which it alleged Snell was insubordinate, worked outside her responsibilities and made unfounded claims against her manager.

It is disputed whether Snell was a teacher or a "Lead Teacher," which comes with more responsibilities. NBC4 accessed Snell's hiring letter and discipline notice, both of which labeled her as simply a teacher. However, public LifeWise Tri-County North documents identify her as Lead Teacher, including a still-active social media post. Snell offered text and emailed proof that she was completing these responsibilities under the direction of her supervisor.

NBC4 cannot verify LifeWise's internal policies regarding the allegations against Snell's supervisor, but was able to independently verify the employee posted politically while identifying herself as a LifeWise employee.

Federal courts have maintained an inclusive definition of what constitutes a ministry, but the Ohio Supreme Court will need to determine if LifeWise qualifies. The Court has not yet taken any action on the case.

The OCRC is being represented by Attorney General Dave Yost, whose office said it did not have a comment.