In a widely awaited for decision, the Supreme Court in a 6-3 opinion authored by Justice Roberts held that a Tennessee law which prohibits certain medical treatments (puberty blockers and hormones) for transgender minors,...more
6/19/2025
/ Bostock v Clayton County Georgia ,
Civil Rights Act ,
Compensation & Benefits ,
Constitutional Challenges ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Employee Benefits ,
Employer Group Health Plans ,
Equal Protection ,
Fourteenth Amendment ,
Gender Identity ,
Health Insurance ,
Healthcare ,
Judicial Authority ,
LGBTQ ,
Minor Children ,
Patient Access ,
SCOTUS ,
Sex Discrimination ,
State Legislatures ,
Tennessee ,
Title VII ,
Transgender ,
United States v Skrmetti
In a move with potentially significant implications for entities subject to the Affordable Care Act, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has reversed course and now contends that Section 1557 of the Affordable...more
3/13/2025
/ Affordable Care Act ,
Bostock v Clayton County Georgia ,
Civil Rights Act ,
Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) ,
Disability Discrimination ,
Employee Benefits ,
Executive Orders ,
Gender Discrimination ,
Gender Dysphoria ,
Gender Expression ,
Gender Identity ,
Health Insurance ,
Healthcare ,
LGBTQ ,
New Guidance ,
Patient Access ,
Rehabilitation Act ,
Section 1557 ,
Statutory Interpretation ,
Transgender ,
Trump Administration
Following through on a campaign theme focused on transgender issues and access to gender-affirming health care, on Friday, January 28, President Trump signed an Executive Order, titled “Protecting Children from Chemical and...more
2/12/2025
/ Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) ,
Equal Access ,
Executive Orders ,
Gender Expression ,
Gender Identity ,
Health Insurance ,
Healthcare ,
Healthcare Reform ,
Insurance Reform ,
LGBTQ ,
Medicaid ,
Medicare ,
Patient Access ,
Section 1557 ,
Transgender
The first complaint was filed in what is expected to be a wave of litigation alleging breach of fiduciary duty in selecting and monitoring welfare plan vendors. While the facts of this particular case may make it somewhat...more
2/26/2024
/ 401k ,
Breach of Duty ,
Consolidated Appropriations Act (CAA) ,
Drug Pricing ,
Employee Benefits ,
Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) ,
Fiduciary Duty ,
Fiduciary Rule ,
Health and Welfare Plans ,
Health Insurance ,
Johnson & Johnson ,
Pharmacy Benefit Manager (PBM) ,
Prescription Drugs ,
Putative Class Actions ,
Retirement Plan
Seyfarth Synopsis: A Federal Court has temporarily enjoined the Trump administration from putting into effect its recent rule that strips the Affordable Care Act of its gender identity protections....more
8/20/2020
/ Affordable Care Act ,
Civil Rights Act ,
Covered Entities ,
Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) ,
Final Rules ,
Gender Identity ,
Health Care Providers ,
Health Insurance ,
Section 1557 ,
Sexual Orientation Discrimination ,
Title IX ,
Title VII ,
Transgender
This is the one hundred and nineteenth issue in our series of alerts for employers on selected topics on health care reform. ...more
Seyfarth Synopsis: The Eighth Circuit upheld dismissal of Title VII claims challenging an employee benefit plan’s blanket transgender exclusion because the exclusion impacted the employee’s transgender son, not the employee....more
5/31/2017
/ Affordable Care Act ,
Article III ,
Civil Rights Act ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Employee Benefits ,
Employer Group Health Plans ,
Gender Discrimination ,
Health Insurance ,
LGBTQ ,
Standing ,
Title VII ,
TPAs ,
Transgender
Seyfarth Synopsis: A Court ruled that under the Affordable Care Act, an ERISA governed plan exclusion cannot unequivocally bar emergency medical care related to injuries sustained in a fireworks explosion.
Recently, a...more
Seyfarth Synopsis: Currently before the Supreme Court are two petitions regarding the thorny legal question of which organizations can qualify for ERISA’s Church-plan exemption. If the Supreme Court grants certiorari and...more
10/12/2016
/ Anti-Discrimination Policies ,
Benefit Plan Sponsors ,
Church Plans ,
Churches ,
Employee Benefits ,
Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) ,
Exemptions ,
First Amendment ,
Health Insurance ,
Healthcare ,
Hospitals ,
Petition for Writ of Certiorari ,
Religious Institutions ,
SCOTUS
The Obama administration continues to use its executive authority to expand societal inclusion of transgender individuals. On September 3, the Department of Health and Human Services issued proposed rules under Section 1557...more
9/16/2015
/ Affordable Care Act ,
Burwell v Hobby Lobby ,
Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) ,
Employer Group Health Plans ,
Gender Discrimination ,
Health Insurance ,
Healthcare ,
Hobby Lobby ,
LGBTQ ,
Obama Administration ,
Public Health Insurance Marketplace ,
SCOTUS ,
Sexual Orientation ,
Sexual Orientation Discrimination ,
Transgender