As I've written in the past, employees of religious institutions in Washington state and elsewhere are often exempt from state and federal anti-discrimination laws, which means they can be fired at will for things like getting pregnant or contracting HIV.

Or, as Slog tipper Stephen points out, for mentioning their same-sex partner in an obituary:

Students and others are rallying behind a teacher who they say was fired from a Catholic school in Clintonville after listing her female partner’s name in her mother’s obituary.

A petition posted yesterday on change.org seeks the reinstatement of Bishop Watterson High School physical-education teacher Carla Hale. It has gained about 2,600 signatures.

... According to a contract between the Roman Catholic Diocese of Columbus and the Central Ohio Association of Catholic Educators, teachers can be terminated for “immorality” or “serious unethical conduct.” Messages left for a diocese spokesman were not immediately returned this morning.

Lindsey Perkins of Dublin, a 2001 Watterson graduate, said Hale is a family friend who taught at the school for 19 years and was fired after a parent complained to the diocese about the obit, which was published in The Dispatch.

Following up on The Dispatch's reporting, I tried calling Bishop Watterson High School and the diocese to confirm Hale's termination and get their official explanation for why the 19-year veteran teacher was fired, but was shuffled off to voicemail in both instances. I'll update the post if I hear anything back.

You can sign the change.org petition—which now has over 4,000 supporters, for what it's worth—or feel free to send your own polite inquiries about Hale's reported termination to Bishop Watterson High School administration right here.