Pime v. Loyola University of Chicago

Loyola University of Chicago (Loyola) (defendant) was established as a private university with a Jesuit tradition. Under Loyola’s bylaws, the president and more than one-third of the board of trustees had to be members of the Jesuit order. However, as a result of Loyola’s growth, 93 percent of the academic administrators and 94 percent of the teaching staff were non-Jesuit. About 75 percent of the student population came from a Catholic background. In 1978 the Department of Philosophy faculty, wanting to ensure adequate Jesuit representation in the department, adopted a resolution providing that the three pending vacancies in the Philosophy Department should be filled by Jesuit philosophers. Jerrold Pime (plaintiff), a Jew, had been working in the Philosophy Department as a part-time lecturer. Pime left Loyola after being told that no full-time position would be available to him in the coming years. Pime sued for employment discrimination under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act (Title VII), arguing that he was denied an employment opportunity on the basis of his religion. Loyola argued that its decision was lawful under 42 U.S.C. § 2000e-2(e)(1), which permitted employers to hire and employ employees on the basis of their religion if it was a bona fide occupational qualification reasonably necessary to the normal operation of the enterprise. A district court agreed and granted judgment to Loyola following a bench trial. Pime appealed.