Plan Design and Considerations Based on Section 1557 of the ACA and the Civil Rights Act of 1964
Employers that sponsor group health plans have many regulations to consider in their plan design choices, including nondiscrimination regulations. One of the newest sources of nondiscrimination rules is Section 1557 of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA). Employers also have to consider overarching laws and regulations that impact both their employment practices and their group health plans, such as the Civil Rights Act of 1964.
In recent years disparate treatment on the basis of sex, particularly gender identity and sexual orientation, has been a hotbed of discussion and litigation. Adding additional confusion has been shifts in interpretations and enforcement of Section 1557 between the last three presidential administrations.
Employers should be sure to consider the impact of both Section 1557, and the Civil Rights Act of 1964 as they make benefit plan design choices, as well as in developing overall employment practices.
Civil Rights Act of 1964 and Bostock v. Clayton County
The Civil Rights Act of 1964 is an important law that is both a civil rights and labor law and on its basic level outlaws discrimination on the basis or race, color, religion, sex, or national origin. More specifically under Title VII, which governs equal employment opportunity, it is unlawful for an employer to fail or refuse to hire or to discharge any individual, or otherwise to discriminate against any individual with respect to his compensation, terms, conditions, or privileges of employment for any of the basis of race, color, religion, sex, or national origin.
The heart of the most recent Supreme Court ruling on Title VII in Bostock v. Clayton County was an employee’s “sex” included an employee’s sexual orientation or gender identity, therefore, protecting an employee from termination …