Beware the Ministerial Exemption
Combatting unfair labor practices in the church
Even if you don’t know all the details, you’ve been affected by the FLSA. The FLSA, or Fair Labor Standard Act does the following:
The Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) establishes minimum wage, overtime pay, recordkeeping, and youth employment standards affecting employees in the private sector and in Federal, State, and local governments. Covered nonexempt workers are entitled to a minimum wage of not less than $7.25 per hour effective July 24, 2009. Overtime pay at a rate not less than one and one-half times the regular rate of pay is required after 40 hours of work in a workweek.1
Labor Day can be a day to acknowledge what laws like the FLSA do to protect worker rights. Although I don’t know many people celebrating the dismally low minimum wage of $7.25.
When I went digging into the FLSA what I was most surprised by is how basic it is. It the type of law that seems to be concerned with the worst case scenarios, rather that full flourishing of all people. For example, “A minimum wage of not less than $4.25 an hour is permitted for employees under 20 years of age during their first 90 consecutive calendar days of employment with an employer.”2 Or that “the FLSA does not limit the number of hours in a day or days in a week an employee may be required or scheduled to work, including overtime hours.”3
So you know, not perfect. But it does establish at least some type of guidelines for what fair labor might look like.
Now let me tell you about the ministerial exemption. All of these guidelines? None of them apply to clergy and not even necessarily other employees of religious organizations.4 The ministerial exemption is the legal idea (please I’m not a lawyer so hold this all loosely) that the state shouldn’t interfere with the governance of religious institutions. We’re on our own, because maybe God will tell us that people actually only need $6 an hour.
As a pastor I have little legal protections for my work. Discrimination in religious leadership is standard. Don’t want to hire a woman to be a pastor? That’s your religious right. Don’t want to hire a woman in a secular job? That’s discrimination.
I wonder if a low bar all churches should strive to clear is to still adhere to the FLSA even if it doesn’t officially apply to us. We should respect overtime rules. We should keep good employment records. We should pay fairly and transparently.
I wonder what our labor practices in the church would look like if we required overtime pay for clergy who worked more than 40 hours a week. My part-time clergy self would be grateful. There’s sometimes a sense that half-time clergy should be working 25 hours a week, based on a full-time 50 hour work week. Those five hours matter significantly when I’m getting paid by the hour for some of my other jobs. Our standard of work affects us all.
There’s a whole other slew of clergy labor practices I want to change and Labor Day is a great day to reflect on them. What would you adapt in your context? How can we not abuse our exemption? What does it really mean to honor the dignity of our work?
It reminds me of when people say, well, you can’t really be part-time. Ministry is an all encompassing vocation. Sure, but I can still limit the hours of ministerial work I do each week. I can seek to be paid fairly for the work I do. I can make sure that my spiritual vocation isn’t abused in service of exploitative labor. I can do so, in solidarity with all workers who deserve fair pay, rest, and leisure.
Don’t forget about Labor Sunday
We may be a day too late, but it’s never a bad time to remember the history of not only Labor Day, but Labor Sunday. Read up to hear how churches were once hosts to union organizers the day before Labor Day. Maybe plan ahead for next year?
What I’m reading
For those interested in the morbid, check out Smoke Gets in Your Eyes & Other Lessons from the Crematory by Caitlin Doughty. As someone who also interfaces professionally with death, Doughty’s blend of reverence and nonchalance hits a sweet spot for what is a terribly difficult topic. Do avoid if you’re squeamish and don’t want graphic descriptions of dead bodies. Probably don’t read while you’re eating, either.
What life looks like
Air show plane trails
https://www.dol.gov/agencies/whd/flsa
https://www.dol.gov/sites/dolgov/files/WHD/legacy/files/Digital_Reference_Guide_FLSA.pdf
Ibid.
https://shermanhoward.com/publications/dol-says-ministerial-exception-applies-to-flsa-claims/