Author: David B. Weisenfeld, XpertHR Legal Editor  December 16,
2013  The Supreme Court has agreed to decide whether employers
may refuse to provide contraceptive coverage to their employees
on religious grounds. The November 26 announcement that the
Court will hear arguments in Sebelius v. Hobby Lobby Stores and
Conestoga Wood Specialties Corp. v. US Department of Health and
Human Services, means the justices will weigh in on a key
provision of the Affordable Care Act (ACA).  While the Obama
administration has granted a religious exemption to the ACA's
mandatory insurance coverage provision for contraceptives, it
has said commercial corporations may not similarly opt out of
providing such coverage. The cases present distinct but
challenging issues that have divided the nation's courts.  Hobby
Lobby Lobbies for Religious Relief  The Hobby Lobby case raises
the question of whether the Religious Freedom Restoration Act
(RFRA) covers for-profit, secular corporations, thereby allowing
an employer to deny its empl