Burwell v. Hobby Lobby Stores, Inc.

Federal regulations under the Affordable Care Act required closely held corporations, including Hobby Lobby Stores, Inc. (Hobby Lobby) and two others (plaintiffs), to provide health insurance covering certain contraceptive methods that violated the sincerely held religious beliefs of Hobby Lobby's owners; separate HHS regulations already exempted religious nonprofits from this requirement while still ensuring their employees received cost-free contraceptive coverage through an alternative mechanism. Hobby Lobby sued under the Religious Freedom Restoration Act (RFRA), which bars the federal government from substantially burdening religious exercise unless the burden is the least restrictive means of achieving a compelling interest; the district court denied a preliminary injunction, but the Tenth Circuit reversed, and the Supreme Court granted certiorari.