By Karen Freifeld

NEW YORK, Jan 30 (Reuters) - A judge has dismissed a lawsuit brought by an ordained minister fired by a church agency, saying it was unconstitutional for the court to become involved in the employment relationship between a religious institution and one of its ministers.

Rev. Douglas Mills's case was barred by the First Amendment's "ministerial exception," even if the minister also performed secular duties, Justice Charles Ramos of New York State Supreme Court in Manhattan ruled Tuesday.

Under the ministerial exception, religious institutions have been shielded in some situations from anti-discrimination laws.

Ramos applied the exception to Mills's breach of contract claim against the Standing General Commission on Christian Unity and Interreligious Concerns, a New York-based agency of the United Methodist Church.

Mills was hired in 2005 as associate general secretary for the commission. His job was to promote theological dialogue and interfaith relations.

Stephen Sidorak, who became general secretary in 2008, dismissed Mills in 2009, citing insubordination and untrustworthiness, according to the judge's decision.

Mills sued the agency and Sidorak for breach of contract. He said he was terminated without just cause six months after being re-elected to a four-year term.

The agency moved for summary judgment and invoked the "ministerial exception."

Mills said it didn't apply because he wasn't employed as a minister and his employment activities were secular, which the agency disputed, according to the decision.

Ramos agreed and threw out the case.

"Even if Mills performed primarily secular duties, the ministerial exception will apply if his job duties 'reflected a role in conveying the church's message and carrying out its mission,'" the judge said, citing the Supreme Court's 2012 ruling in Hosanna-Tabor Evangelical Lutheran Church & School v. the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.

In Hosanna-Tabor, an employment discrimination case in which a teacher at a Lutheran church and school who was ill was fired, the EEOC sought to bring a claim against the school for violations of the Americans with Disabilities Act.

Allen Roberts, a lawyer for the United Methodist Church agency and Sidorak, said he believed it was the first time Hosanna-Tabor, an employment discrimination case, had been applied to breach of contract claims in New York.

"Justice Ramos understood and appreciated the special nature of the religious organization's employment of Rev. Mills," Roberts said in an interview.

Yomi Owoyinfa, a lawyer for Mills, did not immediately return a call for comment.

The case is W. Douglas Mills v. Standing General Commission on Christian Unity and Interreligious Concerns, New York State Supreme Court, New York County, No. 601640/2009.

For Mills: Obayomi Awoyinfa of the Law Offices of Yomi Awoyina for Mills.

For the defendants: Allen B. Roberts of Epstein Becker Green.

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