Gay former music teacher and theater director Brett Klaus has filed a federal lawsuit in the Southern District of Illinois and in the Illinois Circuit Court in Madison County against Marquette Catholic High School (his former employer) in Alton, Illinois.
According to the complaint filed Jan. 7, in addition to Klaus’s duties as a teacher, he was also responsible for directing or supporting school productions and events and for one summer, as the volunteer unpaid leader of the musical theater summer camp that the school’s students attended.
Prior to filing the lawsuits, Klaus reported this alleged discrimination with the Illinois Department of Human Rights (IDHR) Oct. 9, 2024, that was also cross-filed by the IDHR with the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC). The IDHR sent Klaus a right to sue letter which he received on or about Oct. 27, 2025. On Dec. 31, 2025, Klaus asked the EEOC to also issue a notice of right to sue. They granted his request shortly thereafter.
The lawsuits allege that school administrators failed to intervene after years of anti-LGBTQ+ harassment and mistreatment that Klaus said was waged against him by students and staff members. Klaus’ lawsuit said they violated Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the Americans with Disabilities Act and the Illinois Human Rights Act.
Since Klaus worked at a religious private school, the lawsuit doesn’t state that Marquette administrators violated any non-discrimination laws because the case would be dismissed. This is due to a recent U.S. Supreme Court ruling that stated religious private schools and organizations have a right to hire and fire people based on the employer’s religious beliefs under the First Amendment.
Klaus, whose mother Ruth Klaus also previously taught in the drama department at Marquette for almost 30 years, was hired by Marquette in May 2019 and, according to the lawsuit, “successfully performed his job duties and achieved notable programmatic accomplishments, including directing major school musical and theater productions, leading music programs and performances, and contributing to school-wide events and programming that received positive feedback from students, families and the school community.”
The lawsuit alleges that despite these accomplishments, Marquette leadership discriminated against Klaus because he was gay and retaliated against him by not renewing his contract on April 17, 2024. Klaus is being represented by attorney Mark D. Schoon, of St. Louis. He has asked for a jury trial in both cases.
Klaus stated in the lawsuit that there is pervasive anti-LGBTQ+ sentiment in the school that, for him, began during the hiring process where leadership questioned his sexual orientation and a contract he was required to sign that stated he was prohibited from “living a lifestyle inconsistent with Roman Catholic Doctrine” which he acknowledged and understood.
Some complaints Klaus submitted to the school over the years concerned a number of students and staff who allegedly engaged in anti-gay and anti-trans “harassment and intimidation” against him and his music and theater program students. Some of these alleged actions included his vehicle being vandalized twice, anti-gay pranks, a colleague using the word “gay” as a slur against Klaus during a faculty gathering and a senior administrator calling Klaus “fucking evil.”
The lawsuit also states that, after Klaus reported these alleged actions, administrators and colleagues retaliated against him by reducing his class load and responsibilities and gave him a schedule that “undermined rehearsals and productions” and resulted in “effectively undermining his professional role and authority.”
Additionally, in the fall of 2023, Klaus was diagnosed with Bipolar II Disorder and, according to the court filing, immediately informed Marquette’s Principal Tim Harmon. A couple of months later, Klaus also told Harmon that “He was adjusting to new medication that was disrupting his sleep and contributing to tardiness. Defendant [Harmon] did not engage in the interactive process or provide reasonable accommodation.”
Klaus alleges that after he informed Harmon of his Bipolar II Disorder, the retaliation against him escalated without warning. During that time, Klaus alleges in the lawsuit that he “received no written warnings, no performance improvement plan and no progressive discipline. Defendant refused to provide documentation supporting the decision despite claiming documentation existed. Defendant had already signaled Klaus’s removal to students before informing Klaus. Defendant continued to permit Klaus to teach and perform duties even after the non-renewal decision and on information and belief similarly situated non-LGBTQ employees were not terminated or non-renewed for comparable issues.”
Klaus wants the court to require Marquette to rehire him or give him “front pay” and benefits. Additionally, in both lawsuits Klaus wants to be awarded unspecified compensatory damages and punitive damages.
According to New Ways Ministry, there have been 121 reported employees of Catholic institutions who have had offers rescinded, their jobs threatened, forced to resign or have been fired due to their LGBTQ+ status or due to their support for LGBTQ+ people and issues since 2007. Of those 121 people, 5 have taken place in Illinois.