Little Sisters of the Poor Saints Peter and Paul Home v. Pennsylvania et al.
United States Supreme Court
140 S.Ct. 2367 (2020)
- Written by Jack Newell, JD
Facts
The Affordable Care Act mandated that employers provide contraceptives to employees via health plans. The agencies administering the Affordable Care Act received a number of comments from religious employers asking that they be exempt from providing contraceptives. The agencies promulgated a rule that stopped the regulation from applying to certain nonprofits. The agencies did so by releasing a document with the proposed rules called “Interim Final Rules with Request for Comment” and accepting comments on the document. Pennsylvania (plaintiff) and other states sued, claiming that the rules were procedurally invalid. This was because the Administrative Procedure Act required that an agency post a document entitled “Notice of Proposed Rulemaking” to the Federal Register and accept comments on it. Little Sisters of the Poor Saints Peter and Paul Home intervened on behalf of the federal agencies, and the case was appealed to the circuit court, which ruled against the agencies. The agencies appealed to the Supreme Court.
Rule of Law
Issue
Holding and Reasoning (Thomas, J.)
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