"[T]he groups supporting Saint Peter's Healthcare System -- which lost at the district court level -- have encouraged the Third Circuit not to overlook the unique organizational structure employed by the Roman Catholic Church or the critical role that health care plays in the church's ministry. Groups supporting the hospital workers have argued for a narrow church plan exemption that wouldn't apply to large hospitals, saying that a broader exemption would violate the First Amendment's Establishment Clause by extending special benefits to religious groups and burdening third parties such as hospital workers in the process." [(Kaplan v. Saint Peter's Healthcare Sys., No. 13-2941 (D.N.J. Mar. 31, 2014; interloc. appeal to 3d Cir. granted Sept. 19, 2014)]  MORE >>