Religious organizations and those they employ have anticipated guidance from the U.S. Supreme Court's first opinion addressing the ministerial exception in the employment discrimination context. With its January 11, 2012, decision in Hosanna-Tabor Evangelical Lutheran Church & Sch. v. EEOC, U.S., No. 10-553, the Court clarified that the First Amendment's Establishment and Free Exercise Clauses bar the government from interfering with the "decision of a religious group to fire one of its ministers." The Court recognized the "interest of religious groups in choosing who will preach their beliefs, teach their faith, and carry out their mission." Consequently, the Religion Clauses of the First Amendment give religious organizations the freedom to select their own ministers, and they trump employment discrimination laws.

Cheryl Perich was a teacher at Hosanna-Tabor Evangelical Lutheran Church and School ("Church"), regarded as having been "called" to her vocation by God through a congregation, and titled a commissioned minister. In addition to teaching a curriculum of primarily secular subjects, she spent approximately 45 minutes each day teaching a religion class and leading students in daily prayer or devotional exercises. Perich also took her students to a weekly school-wide chapel service, which she herself led twice per year. In 2004, Perich developed narcolepsy and was unable to work for a period of time. When she expressed interest in returning to work in early 2005, she was informed that her position had been filled. Perich later visited the school and refused to leave, telling the principal that she intended to assert her legal rights. Her employment ultimately was terminated on the basis of "insubordination and disruptive behavior," as well as damage to her working relationship with the school. Perich filed a charge of discrimination against the Church with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission ("EEOC"), alleging that she had been discharged because of a disability, in violation of the Americans with Disabilities Act. Following investigation and the issuance of a "cause" finding, the EEOC initiated a lawsuit against the Church on Perich's behalf.