Gay Man Settles With Milton Catholic School In Discrimination Suit Over Rescinded Job Offer

A Boston man who had a job offer from an all-girls Catholic high school rescinded after administrators learned that he was in a same-sex marriage has settled a lawsuit with the school.

Matthew Barrett, 45, reached a confidential settlement with Fontbonne Academy in Milton nearly five months after a Massachusetts judge in December found the school had discriminated against him.

Barrett told WBUR's Newscast Unit on Monday that he was "happy to move forward" after more than two years of legal proceedings in the high-profile case.

"My whole purpose of this was to help the next guy that gets put in this situation," Barrett said. "Hopefully, they won't get put in this position."

Fontbonne Academy officials pulled their offer to employ Barrett as a food services manager in 2013 after he listed his husband as an emergency contact.

Ben Klein, Barrett's attorney, said the settlement means the December Superior Court ruling against the school will stand, establishing a legal precedent that employers have no religious justification for discriminating on the basis of sexual orientation.

"We hope that today's settlement will really move religious employers toward treating LGBT people with the respect and dignity everyone deserves," Klein told WBUR's Newscast Unit on Monday.

Fontbonne released a statement saying it "expresses deep gratitude to Mr. Barrett for his willingness to come together with us in a spirit of conciliation."

With reporting from The Associated Press and the WBUR Newsroom