Supreme Court To Hear Case Over Religiously Affiliated Hospitals’ ‘Church Plan’ Exemptions
Employees of the three hospitals -- including California-based Dignity Health -- in the case have accused the systems of being big businesses posing as church organizations in order to avoid minimum funding and reporting requirements on employee pension plans.
Reuters:
Supreme Court Takes Christian-Affiliated Hospital Pension Case
The U.S. Supreme Court on Friday agreed to hear appeals by Christian-affiliated hospital systems of lower court rulings that gave the green light to employee lawsuits accusing them of wrongly claiming a religious exemption from federal pension law. New Jersey-based St. Peter's Healthcare System, Illinois-based Advocate Health System and California-based Dignity Health each appealed separate federal appeals courts rulings that refused to throw out the employee lawsuits. The justices agreed to hear all three cases. (Pierson, 12/2)