SCOTUS Issues Eleventh Hour Stay Against Enforcement of Contraceptive Mandate

Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor signed an order last night that temporarily prevents the U.S. government from enforcing the contraceptive mandate against the Catholic organizations that filed a lawsuit earlier this year.



This is the same case in which the Christian Brothers Employee Benefit Trust is a plaintiff. The Order gives the Obama Administration until 10:00 Friday morning (Jan. 3) to file a response with the Court. At that time the Court will likely issue either a retraining order that could remain in place until the case makes its way through the courts, or it could lift the injunction and allow penalties to start accruing against the plaintiffs if they do not comply with the mandate while the case moves through the courts.

The Becket Fund for Religious Liberty, which represents the Little Sisters of the Poor in the law suit, has an announcement on its website reporting on the last minute stay by the Supreme Court.

Stay tuned.

Addendum to earlier post on the EBSA Form 700

Earlier today we posted on the EBSA Form 700 requirement for non-profit employers seeking an accommodation from the contraception mandate. Note that employers must also be aware of state laws that could affect the coverage options that are available to them. Some states do not allow fully insured plans to not cover contraception, and others require you to file a form with the state in addition to the federal form. Below is a snapshot from the website where we found this information, and the link is below the picture so you can read more.

See UnitedHealthcare article from December 4, 2012, "Nonprofits Need to Self-Certify for ACA Contraceptive Exemption" at http://broker.uhc.com/articleView-12786.