A 23-year-old unmarried teacher claims she was recently asked to resign from her job at a Catholic school after revealing that she is pregnant. Emily Prigge was in her first year of teaching fifth grade at St. Felix School in Wabasha when she found out she's expecting a baby.
Prigge, now 15 weeks into her pregnancy, said she told the school principal about it last month.
"She said that I made the right decision in not having an abortion because that is what the Catholic church wants," Prigge said.
On Feb. 6, Prigge said, the principal and priest called a meeting with her where they asked for her resignation effective immediately.
A school official Tuesday said no comment would be issued on the case. A spokeswoman for the Diocese of Winona also said she could not comment due to data privacy rules.
At the start of her employment, Prigge signed a Catholic Christian Witness Statement, agreeing to be a good example as a Christian in both her personal and academic life.
Prigge, who is Catholic, said she was told she didn't follow the terms of the statement because she had premarital sex.
Prigge said she believes it was wrong for the administration to seek her resignation and is looking into whether she can take any legal action.
Prigge, of Lake City, said her family remains supportive, as do other clergy she's talked with and many of the teachers she worked with at St. Felix.
Minnesota is an employment "at will" employment state, meaning an employer can fire any employee as long as that reason is not illegal.
In Prigge's case, it's not possible to speculate whether she was wrongfully terminated, in part because "the case law is all over the place," said Elaine Hanson, enforcement supervisor at the Minnesota Department of Human Rights.
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