Washington, DC — On Wednesday, the Supreme Court issued two rulings that favored religious employers. One of the rulings was in regards to employment law, while the other was a highly anticipated ruling regarding Obamacare regulations.
The Trump administration expanded exemptions under Obamacare for religious employers. Pennsylvania had sued over the Trump administration move. The Little Sisters of the Poor was a national charity at the heart of the case. The ruling allows religious-affiliated groups to opt-out of providing coverage for contraception to employees.
Various lower court rulings had gone against the administration’s decision to expand the exemptions, but the Supreme Court ruled in favor of the Trump administration and the charity. The Supreme Court voted 7-2 in favor of the broadened ruling. Justice Ginsburg argued that the ruling was moved too far in favor of religious claims and would hurt women.
In a separate ruling, the Supreme Court ruled in favor of religious employers regarding employment claims. In another 7-2 ruling, the ministerial exception was upheld and expanded. According to Fox News:
The decision expanded on a previous ruling from 2012 which said that religious organizations have a “ministerial exception” from employment discrimination lawsuits, but it was unclear exactly who qualifies as a “minister.”
In his opinion, Justice Alito wrote the following, “The religious education and formation of students is the very reason for the existence of most private religious schools, and therefore the selection and supervision of the teachers upon whom the schools rely to do this work lie at the core of their mission.”
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