US Judge Supports Catholic Employers That Contested The Law Governing Abortion

Colorado: A federal agency was ordered by a U.S. judge to refrain from implementing a regulation that President Joe Biden’s administration had created, which required companies to provide accommodations for workers who have abortions or undergo specific reproductive treatments, even if those workers were members of a national Catholic employers’ association.

Lawsuit Against The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission

The Colorado-based Catholic Benefits Association and the North Dakota-based Catholic Diocese filed a lawsuit against the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission to contest the rule that was announced in April. Late on Monday, North Dakota-based U.S. District Judge Daniel Traynor granted the preliminary injunction that the organizations were requesting. The Pregnant Workers Fairness Act, a federal statute passed by Congress in 2022 with support from significant business organizations and bipartisanship, was the basis for the drafting of the rule.

Employers are required by law to modify employment responsibilities or provide time off to employees who have limits resulting from pregnancy, childbirth, or related medical issues. The plaintiffs contended that both the Religious Freedom Restoration Act, a federal statute, and the First Amendment of the United States Constitution guaranteed protections for religious freedom were broken by the rule. 

Violation Of Religious Views

The plaintiffs were likely to succeed because the new rules require people to violate their deeply held religious views, thus the judge decided to grant the order. Traynor further decided that the association’s members cannot be punished by the EEOC for not allowing transgender employees to use restrooms that correspond with their gender identity or for refusing to utilize pronouns. According to the agency’s guidelines, these behaviors might constitute sex discrimination.

Catholic Employers Of The Association 

7,100 Catholic parishes and 1,380 Catholic employers are among the association’s members. While some employers are Catholic-owned enterprises, the majority are Catholic organizations such as charities or schools. As long as the judge is still deliberating over the matter, Traynor’s injunction is expected to stay in place. Employers who practice religion, such as charities or churches, are exempt from the EEOC rule. However, Traynor concluded that the exception was insufficient since it was unclear when it is applicable and because it did not extend to regular for-profit Catholic enterprises.

Judge Supported These Employers

The judge ruled that these employers had a right to protections based on their religious conscience. According to Traynor, none of the members of the Catholic Benefits Association were fully secular as they were all dedicated to provide no benefits or services that went against Catholic principles. In his opening remarks, Traynor a Republican appointee of former President Trump who is now running for president stated that religious believers in America were living in a dangerous period. The judge chastised Biden’s administration for allegedly restricting religious freedom through a series of unlawful and unconstitutional administrative acts.