"Opt Out" Accommodation Under Affordable Care Act Validated After Challenge From Religious Objectors

In what continues to be a controversial and developing area of employment law, a federal appellate court recently validated the Affordable Care Act's (ACA) "opt out" provision, finding that requiring nonprofit employers to opt out did not substantially burden their religious rights. The Second Circuit Court of Appeals held in Catholic Health Care System v. Burwell that an employer's rights under the Religious Freedom Restoration Act (RFRA) were not violated when they exercised the "opt out" accommodation to preclude the employer's payment for contraception services. The ruling is noteworthy for religiously based nonprofit employers and is yet another chapter in the wake of the Supreme Court's 2014 Hobby Lobby ruling on the tension between the ACA and religious exercise.