Religious Freedom Restoration Act Archives

Texas Judge Rules Against ACA Preventive Care Provisions

by McDermott Will & Emery | Oct 11, 2022 | Benefit Controversies, Employee Benefits, Health and Welfare Plans

On September 7, 2022, a US district court judge for the Northern District of Texas issued a ruling that preventive care provisions in the Affordable Care Act (ACA) requiring private insurance plans to cover drugs that prevent HIV infection at no cost to patients violate religious rights.

The ACA requires that private insurers cover certain preventive health services, including STD screenings and HIV pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) prevention drugs. In his ruling, the judge found that that the rights of the employers that brought suit have been violated under the Religious Freedom Restoration Act by the requirement that they sponsor health insurance that covers sexual health services such as PrEP drugs that help prevent the spread of HIV.

It is not yet clear whether enforcement will occur immediately and whether coverage requirements will be blocked for just those who brought suit, for everyone in Texas or nationwide. The US Department of Health and Human (HHS) is expected to appeal the ruling.

4 Discrimination Law Questions Looming as Biden Era Begins

by McDermott Will & Emery | Mar 16, 2021 | Employment, Labor, Privacy and Data Security

President Joe Biden is expected to usher in a decidedly more worker-friendly environment than his predecessor, but whether Congress or the courts embrace similar pro-employee leanings over the next four years is anyone’s guess.

In a recent article for Law360, McDermott partner Daniel Doron weighs in on four top-of-mind questions about bias law that may soon be addressed under the Biden administration.

Access the article.

Third Circuit Upholds Decision Blocking Trump Administration’s Birth Control Rules

by McDermott Will & Emery | Aug 29, 2019 | Benefit Controversies, Employee Benefits, Health and Welfare Plans

A Third Circuit appeals panel upheld the lower court ruling in Commonwealth of Pennsylvania v. President United States of America et al. No. 17-3752. This ruling grants a nationwide preliminary injunction against the religious and moral exemptions for employers to the ACA’s birth control mandate, so employers may want to take a cautious approach toward limiting contraceptive coverage.

Access the full article.

Teal Trujillo, a summer associate in our Chicago office, also contributed to this article.

Federal Appellate Court Finds That Title VII Bans Gender Identity Discrimination

by Brian Mead and Todd Solomon | May 31, 2018 | Employment

The US Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit ruled on March 7, 2018, that workplace discrimination on the basis of gender identity and gender expression violates Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. The language of Title VII does not expressly prohibit discrimination on the basis of gender identity. However, the US EEOC has taken a broad approach to enforcing Title VII’s prohibition on sex discrimination, arguing that it includes both gender identity and sexual orientation.

Access the full article.

Northern District of Texas Blocks Enforcement of the Non-Discrimination Regulations of the ACA

by McDermott Will & Emery | Jan 24, 2017 | Benefit Controversies, Employee Benefits, Health and Welfare Plans

On December 31, 2016, the US District Court for the Northern District of Texas issued an opinion and order in Franciscan Alliance, Inc. et al v. Burwell, which preliminarily enjoins the US Department of Health and Human Services from enforcing, on a nationwide basis, certain portions of the regulations under Section 1557 of the Affordable Care Act that prohibit discrimination based on gender identity and termination of pregnancy. Two similar cases are pending in the US District Court for the District of North Dakota.

Read the full article here.

Closely Held Corporations Can Be Exempt from ACA Contraception Provisions Based on Religious Objections

by Anthony A. Bongiorno | Jul 8, 2014 | Benefit Controversies

The Supreme Court of the United States ruled 5–4 in its highly anticipated Hobby Lobby decision that closely held for-profit corporations do not have to comply with the contraception mandate under the Affordable Care Act if doing so would violate their religious beliefs. The Supreme Court based its decision on the Religious Freedom Restoration Act, which protects “persons” from government actions that substantially burden their exercise of religion, unless those government actions are the least restrictive means of furthering a compelling government interest, and determined that because the contraception mandate is not the least restrictive means available to the government, it cannot apply to closely held for-profit corporations that religiously object to the contraception mandate.

Read the full article.