United States Supreme Court Hears Zubik v. Burwell Consolidated Cases on the HHS Contraceptive Mandate

Romeoville, Ill., March 29, 2016 - On March 23, 2016, the United States Supreme Court heard arguments on Zubik v. Burwell, the consolidated cases which include Little Sisters of the Poor Home for the Aged v. Burwell, as to whether the United States Health and Human Services (HHS) contraceptive mandate and its accommodation violate the Religious Freedom Restoration Act (RFRA) by forcing religious nonprofits to act in violation of their sincerely held religious beliefs.

Christian Brothers Services (CBS) and the Christian Brothers Employee Benefit Trust (CBEBT) entered into litigation on behalf of our members who opposed the Affordable Care Act (ACA) mandate on preventative benefits, which included the employer making available a wide range of contraceptives to their beneficiaries at no cost. Providing contraceptives would go against the tenets of the Catholic faith, and thus an anathema to our member organizations, as well as CBS as the third party administrator.

The initial litigation was a class action lawsuit with our member, Little Sisters of the Poor as lead plaintiff, and originally filed in the Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals in Denver, Colorado, in 2012. Over the course of the last three and a half years, our case ended up before the U.S. Supreme Court as one of six different cases consolidated to form Zubik v. Burwell. The other five cases are as follows:

It was decided by all plaintiffs that the Little Sisters of the Poor (LSOP) would be the public face of our appeal at the Supreme Court. The LSOP are represented by attorneys from the Becket Fund (becketfund.org) with Paul Clement as the lead. Also representing the plaintiffs is Noel Francisco, an attorney with the Alliance Defending Freedom (adflegal.org). Handling the case for the federal government is Donald Verrilli, Solicitor General of the United States.

The oral argument before the Supreme Court was held at 10 a.m. on Wednesday, March 23, 2016. The Justices were scheduled to hold a conference on this case on Friday, March 25, 2016, and take a vote to decide the outcome. The case is over; but, the decision most likely won’t be published until the latter part of June.

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About Christian Brothers Services
Founded in 1960 and headquartered in Romeoville, Illinois, Christian Brothers Services is a nonprofit, Catholic organization that administers cooperative programs in the areas of health, retirement, property/casualty, and technology as well as financial, administrative and Catholic school consulting to church congregations, organizations and dioceses internationally.

About Catholic School Management
Founded in 1973, NCEA Financial Consulting Services focused exclusively on finance and development consulting services for Catholic school and diocesan administrators. In 1979 demand for a broader scope of services resulted in the creation of Catholic School Management (CSM). In 2014, Christian Brothers Services acquired CSM's growing operations, making CBS the national leader in consultative guidance for Catholic schools. CSM's team of experts represents more than 500 years of experience in the education field with a focus on strategy, planning and leadership.

About BMT
Founded in 1972 and headquartered in Tarrytown, New York, Brenner, McDonagh & Tortolani, Inc., BMT Management and Financial Consultants was acquired by Christian Brothers Services in 2017. Providing premier consulting services to 280 religious institutes and many sponsored ministries in need of assistance, BMT offers the management of daily operations, including accounting and financial management, benefits eligibility management, human resources, investment consulting and real estate planning and sustainability studies.

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