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A federal court in Colorado today put a temporary halt on the implementation of the Obama administration鈥檚 contraceptive coverage rule, with respect to one company. The contraceptive coverage rule requires insurance plans to cover contraception and stop routinely discriminating against women. The decision, if upheld, could pave the way for businesses to use their owners鈥� religion as an excuse to discriminate.

Here鈥檚 what happened, in a nutshell: Hercules Industries is a manufacturer of heating, ventilation, and air conditioning products that employs 265 workers. It argued that the contraceptive coverage regulation violated the company鈥檚 religious liberty because its owners are opposed to the use of birth control. Two similar lawsuits have been filed by other businesses, one in Michigan and one in Missouri.

Businesses exist to make money through commercial activity. By definition, their purpose is profit, not religious exercise. And for decades, the Supreme Court has recognized that entering into commercial activity means accepting that your faith cannot be imposed on those you employ. But Hercules Industries seeks to upend that common-sense rule. In its place, it proposes a theory that would let a business owner鈥檚 beliefs trump protections designed to safeguard workers 鈥� a radical break from our laws as we know them.

First and foremost, the court鈥檚 acceptance of Hercules Industries鈥� arguments undermines the health and equality of the 265 employees (and their spouses and dependents) who will now 鈥� temporarily 鈥� be denied the health care benefits that medical experts have determined are essential for women鈥檚 welfare. In a Hercules Industries world, your boss could also decide that you shouldn鈥檛 have health insurance for vaccinations or blood transfusions 鈥� despite the presence of laws to ensure that you have coverage for such care. And it doesn鈥檛 stop there.

Federal laws exist to protect Americans from numerous harms. Occupational safety and health standards safeguard workers from dangerous workplaces. Civil rights laws prevent business from discriminating against you because of your race or gender. Equal pay laws prohibit companies from paying women less simply because they are women. These protections could be at risk from the next Hercules Industries, and have, in fact, been challenged in the past by restaurants and schools claiming that religion gives them a right to discriminate. That would mean an America where any one of us is subject to the dictates of our boss鈥� religion.

As the Department of Justice explained 鈥淸t]he government is aware of no case in which a for-profit, secular employer with Hercules Industries鈥� characteristics prevailed鈥� on this sort of claim. U.S. District Court Judge John Kane鈥檚 decision parts ways with basic precedent and our nation鈥檚 fundamental approach to religion and equality.

Luckily, this was just one decision, and a temporary one at that. The courts that have heard cases on similar previous laws 鈥� such as the high courts of both California and New York 鈥� have rejected these claims. We trust other courts will follow their lead.

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