The Ohio Supreme Court dismissed a case in which LifeWise Academy argued that the Ohio Civil Rights Commission (OCRC) could not investigate a complaint from a former LifeWise employee, because LifeWise is a religious organization.
LifeWise Academy, based in Hilliard, offers off-campus Bible study for children during the school day, typically during electives or lunchtime.
LifeWise argued in the Ohio Supreme Court case that as a religious organization, it had a constitutional right to determine who taught faith. LifeWise claimed that the Ohio Constitution gives LifeWise “the clear legal right to finality when it applies its own ecclesiastical standards, without interference by a secular government.”
The Ohio Supreme Court issued a decision on Wednesday, saying that the case is moot, which means the underlying issue was resolved.
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The case stemmed from an OCRC complaint filed by former LifeWise employee Rachel Snell, who accused LifeWise of telling to her falsify her timesheets to make it look like she worked fewer hours than she did.
Snell later told WOSU that LifeWise lied in its court filings when it claimed that she made "unholy" social media posts.
In the filings, LifeWise alleged that Snell was “engaged in continuous, unrepentant behavior that constituted misconduct under LifeWise’s employee handbook" and that she was “insubordinate.”
Snell said none of that is true.
"There has to be truth and if there's not truth, that's a really big indicator that there's a problem in any Christian organization," Snell said.
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Snell said that she still believes LifeWise Academy was dishonest, but that her lawyer suggested that she withdraw her original complaint to the OCRC in order to sue the organization directly. That led to the Supreme Court ruling the case moot.
"I'm almost thankful that this happened to open my eyes a little bit, because I had been really fooled by LifeWise and thought that my personal goal of serving the children in my community was what LifeWise was aligned with," Snell said. "And then I realized, 'oh wow LifeWise is aligned with making money for LifeWise.'"
LifeWise Academy did not respond to WOSU's request for comment on Thursday.
Snell said she intends to seek punitive damages from LifeWise, in part because she wants to give some of the money to ministries that she believes better serve the community.
Snell criticized LifeWise for charging high fees to communities and not providing enough support to its programs. She has also said she wants LifeWise to do official government background checks on its volunteers and teachers.
