Opinion ID: 2778691
Heading Depth: 4
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Dividing the Catholic Church Argument

Text: in Zubik/Persico The appellees in Zubik/Persico argue that a second substantial burden is imposed on their religious exercise in that the contraceptive coverage regulatory scheme improperly partitions the Catholic Church by making the Dioceses eligible for the exemption, while the Catholic nonprofits can only qualify for the accommodation, even though all the Catholic entities share the same religious beliefs. The District Court agreed with the appellees and concluded that the contraceptive mandate “would cause a division between the Dioceses and their nonprofit, religious affiliated/related spiritual/charitable/educational organizations which fulfill portions of Dioceses’ mission. Further, any nonprofit, religious affiliated/related organizations expelled from the Dioceses’ health insurance plans would require significant 46 restructuring of the plans which would adversely affect the benefits received from pooling resources.” (J.A. 76 (citation omitted).) We conclude that the inclusion of houses of worship in the exemption and religious nonprofits in the accommodation does not impose a substantial burden on the Zubik/Persico appellees. The definition of a “religious employer” who receives an exemption from the contraceptive coverage requirement under the regulations is based on longstanding Internal Revenue Code provisions. See 45 C.F.R. § 147.131(a) (citing 26 U.S.C. § 6033(a)(3)(A)(i), (iii)). “[R]eligious employers, defined as in the cited regulation, have long enjoyed advantages (notably tax advantages) over other entities, without these advantages being thought to violate the establishment clause.” Notre Dame, 743 F.3d at 560 (citation omitted) (citing Walz v. Tax Comm’n of N.Y., 397 U.S. 664, 666, 672-73 (1970)). The Departments chose this definition from the Internal Revenue Code to categorize the entities subject to the exemption and the accommodation because that provision was a bright line that was already statutorily codified and frequently applied: “The Departments believe that the simplified and clarified definition of religious employer continues to respect the religious interests of houses of worship and their integrated auxiliaries in a way that does not undermine the governmental interests furthered by the contraceptive coverage requirement.” 78 Fed. Reg. at 39,874; see also Coverage of Certain Preventive Services Under the Affordable Care Act, 78 Fed. Reg. 8456, 8461 (proposed Feb. 6, 2013) (codified at 26 C.F.R. pt. 54; 29 C.F.R. pt. 2590, and 45 C.F.R. pts. 147, 148, & 156) (“[T]his definition was intended to focus the religious employer exemption on ‘the unique relationship between a house of worship and its 47 employees in ministerial positions.’” (quoting Group Health Plans and Health Insurance Issuers Relating to Coverage of Preventive Services Under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, 76 Fed. Reg. 46,621, 46,623 (Aug. 3, 2011) (codified at 26 C.F.R. pt. 54; 29 C.F.R. pt. 2590; and 45 C.F.R. pt. 147))). Furthermore, we are not persuaded that the challenged accommodation poses any burden on the exempted appellees’ religious exercise, particularly a burden that would require the appellees to “expel” the religious nonprofit organizations from the Dioceses’ health insurance plans. See, e.g., Roman Catholic Archdiocese of N.Y. v. Sebelius, 987 F. Supp. 2d 232, 252 (E.D.N.Y. 2013) (“First, it is not at all clear why the Diocesan plaintiffs would have to ‘expel’ their non-exempt affiliates from their health plans. . . . Second, even if the law did pressure the Diocesan plaintiffs to ‘expel’ their affiliates, plaintiffs do not state that the Diocesan plaintiffs’ religious beliefs require them to have all their affiliate organizations on a single health plan, such that ‘expelling’ the non-exempt affiliates would be an act forbidden by their religion.”). Thus, we cannot agree that the different treatment afforded to the Catholic Church as a house worship versus the Catholic nonprofit organizations imposes a substantial burden in violation of RFRA.