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.
