FLORIDA: Christian School Teacher Sues After Being Fired For Pre-Marital Sex

A teacher at a Christian school near Orlando has been fired after administrators did the math on her wedding day and the birth of her baby. She is suing under federal pregnancy discrimination laws.

Jarretta Hamilton, a former fourth-grade teacher at Southland Christian School in St. Cloud, said she approached administrators in April 2009, shortly after her wedding, to tell them she was pregnant and request maternity leave for the coming fall, WKMG-TV, Orlando, reported Wednesday. "That's when the question was posed to her, 'Did you conceive prior to marriage?'" said Edward Gay, Hamilton's lawyer. He said Hamilton told administrators the truth, the baby was conceived about three weeks before the wedding, and she was fired one week later without being allowed to finish the school year. Gay said he received a letter from Southland Christian School administrator Julie Ennis explaining the reasons for the termination. "Jarretta was asked not to return because of a moral issue that was disregarded, namely fornication -- sex outside of marriage," Ennis wrote. "We request that Jarretta withdraw her complaint and consider the testimony of the Lord."

The lawsuit also requests damages for invasion of privacy because parents and students were told why she was fired.