Christian Employers Alliance v. U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission
Description: The Christian Employers Alliance is challenging two Biden administration mandates that force religious nonprofit and for-profit employers to pay for or perform gender transition surgeries, procedures, counseling, and treatments in violation of their religious beliefs.
Biden-Harris admin pays $210K after trying to force religious employers to violate their beliefs
BISMARCK, N.D. – The Biden-Harris administration agreed to pay $210,000 in attorneys’ fees and costs to conclude a successful lawsuit brought by Alliance Defending Freedom attorneys representing the Christian Employers Alliance.
The agreement follows a federal district court decision earlier this year that stopped the administration from forcing nonprofit and for-profit religious employers and health care providers to violate their religious beliefs by paying for and performing harmful “gender transition” surgeries, procedures, counseling, and treatments.
“All employers and health care providers, including those in the Christian Employers Alliance, have the constitutionally protected freedom to conduct their business and render treatment in a manner consistent with their deeply held religious beliefs,” said ADF Senior Counsel and Director of Regulatory Practice Matt Bowman. “The employers we represent believe that God purposefully created humans as either male or female, and so it would violate their religious beliefs to pay for or perform life-altering medical procedures or surgeries that seek to change one’s sex. We’re pleased to favorably conclude this lawsuit on behalf of our clients and hold the administration accountable for trying to force unlawful mandates that disrespect people of faith.”
ADF attorneys had asked the federal court to prevent the administration from imposing two mandates against CEA, which the court did, finding that, “CEA’s religious beliefs are substantially burdened by the monetary penalties it faces for refusing to violate its beliefs.”
The lawsuit, Christian Employers Alliance v. U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, filed in October 2021, argued that the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission is misinterpreting and improperly enforcing discrimination based on sex in Title VII to force religious employers to pay for and provide health insurance coverage for such surgeries and procedures. Additionally, the lawsuit challenged the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ reinterpretation of “sex” in federal law to include gender identity, thereby forcing religious healthcare providers who receive federal funding to physically perform or facilitate surgeries and procedures that conflict with their deeply held beliefs.
“We are overjoyed our members will not have to choose between the biblically based employee benefits and quality healthcare they provide, and the threat of federal enforcement and massive costs for practicing their faith,” said Christian Employers Alliance President Shannon Royce.
In light of the court’s permanent injunction and the agreement on attorneys’ fees, ADF attorneys filed a stipulated dismissal of the remaining claims in the case Tuesday.
Alliance Defending Freedom is an alliance-building, non-profit legal organization committed to protecting religious freedom, free speech, parental rights, and the sanctity of life.
# # #
Commentary
Previous News Releases
Legal Documents
Related Resources
ABOUT Matt Bowman
Matt Bowman serves as senior counsel and director of regulatory practice for Alliance Defending Freedom, where he leads the team focusing on the impact of administrative law on religious freedom, the sanctity of life, and family. From 2017 to 2020, Bowman was a senior executive service appointee in the Trump administration, serving the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services as Deputy General Counsel, and then in the Office for Civil Rights. Prior to joining HHS, Bowman was an accomplished litigator at ADF for over ten years. Before joining ADF in 2006, Bowman served as a law clerk for Judges Samuel A. Alito, Jr., and Michael A. Chagares, at the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit, and for Judge John M. Roll at the U.S. District Court for the District of Arizona. Bowman earned his J.D. summa cum laude and was first in his class at Ave Maria School of Law in 2003. He is a member of the bar of the District of Columbia and Michigan and is admitted to practice at the U.S. Supreme Court and multiple federal appellate and district courts.
ABOUT Jacob Reed
Jacob Reed serves as legal counsel for the Center for Christian Ministries with Alliance Defending Freedom. Reed litigates on behalf of churches, Christian ministries, and religious schools to defend their constitutionally protected rights under the First Amendment. Before joining ADF in January of 2021, Reed was an associate attorney at Baker Dublikar in northeast Ohio. Reed earned his law degree summa cum laude from the University of Akron School of Law in 2019. While in law school, Reed was president of the Akron Law Christian Fellowship, was an associate editor on the Akron Law Review, and received certificates in trial advocacy/dispute resolution and constitutional law. He graduated from Kent State University summa cum laude in 2016 with a B.A. in political science–American politics. Reed is admitted to the Ohio and Virginia bars and multiple federal courts.