A short presentation on Burwell Vs Hobby Lobby case. For the subject Business law

1. Harison Xavier
Corporate BBA + MBA 2018

2. Burwell Vs Hobby Lobby

3. Introduction
Burwell v. Hobby Lobby is a landmark decision in
United States corporate law by the United States
Supreme Court allowing closely held for-profit
corporations to be exempt from a regulation its owners
religiously object to, according to the provisions of the
Religious Freedom Restoration Act (RFRA).
It is the first time that the court has recognized a for-
profit corporation's claim of religious belief, but it is
limited to closely held corporations.

4. Plaintiff
Hobby Lobby Stores, Inc., formerly called Hobby Lobby Creative Centers, is a
private for-profit corporation which owns a chain of American arts and crafts stores
that are managed by corporate employees.
It is founded by self-made billionaire David Green and owned by the Evangelical
Christian Green family with about 21,000 employees.
It provided health insurance covering the contraceptives Plan-B and Ella until it
dropped its coverage in 2012, the year it filed its lawsuit.

5. Respondent (Petitioner)
The case was previously titled Sebelius v.
Hobby Lobby.
Sylvia Mathews Burwell
Sylvia Burwell was substituted as petitioner
when she was approved by the United States
Senate as the Secretary of Health and Human
Services after being nominated by President
Barack Obama.

6. ❖ The plaintiffs believed that life began at conception which they equated to
fertilization.
❖ Objected to their businesses providing health insurance coverage to their
female employees of four FDA-approved contraceptives that the plaintiffs
believed prevented implantation of a fertilized egg.
The plaintiffs believed these forms of contraception constituted an
abortion/murder.
❖ Emergency contraceptive pills
❖ Intrauterine devices (IUDs)
The Case

7. ❖ Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (Obamacare)
The law provides numerous rights and protections that make health coverage
more fair and easy to understand, along with subsidies to make it more
affordable.
The law also expands the Medicaid program to cover more people with low
incomes.
❖ Religious Freedom Restoration Act
Prohibits any agency, department, or official of the United States or any State
(the government) from substantially burdening a person's exercise of religion
even if the burden results from a rule of general applicability.
Laws Applied

8. ❖ First Amendment to the United States Constitution
Prevents the government from making laws which regulate an establishment of
religion, prohibit the free exercise of religion, or abridge the freedom of speech,
the freedom of the press, the right to peaceably assemble, or the right to petition
the government for redress of grievances.

9. ❖ In September 2012, Hobby Lobby filed a lawsuit in the United States District Court against
enforcement of the contraception rule based on the RFRA and the Free Exercise Clause of the
First Amendment.
❖ On November 19, 2012, U.S. District Judge denied Hobby Lobby's request for a preliminary
injunction.
❖ In March 2013, the United States Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit granted a hearing of the
case.
❖ In June, the appeals court ruled that Hobby Lobby Stores, Inc. is a person who has religious
freedom.
❖ The court ordered the government to stop enforcement of the contraception rule on Hobby Lobby
and sent the case back to the district court, which granted preliminary injunction in July.
❖ In September, the government appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court.
Lower Court History

10. For closely held for-profit organisations, the Court's majority directly struck down
the contraceptive mandate, a regulation adopted by the US Department of Health
and Human Services (HHS) under the Affordable Care Act (ACA) requiring
employers to cover certain contraceptives for their female employees, by a 5–4
vote.
The ruling is considered to be part of the political controversy regarding the
Affordable Care Act and freedoms in the United States.
U.S. Supreme Court

11. Conclusion
The court ruled in favour of Hobby Lobby Inc.
As applied to closely held for-profit corporations, the Health and Human
Services (HHS) regulations imposing the contraceptive mandate violate the
Religious Freedom Restoration Act (RFRA).
HHS's contraceptive mandate substantially burdens the exercise of religion
under the RFRA.
The Court assumes that guaranteeing cost-free access to the four challenged
contraceptive methods is a compelling governmental interest, but the Government
has failed to show that the mandate is the least restrictive means of furthering that
interest.