Joe Holland Case

Meet Joe Holland 

Joey Holland is the principal owner of Joe Holland Chevrolet, a faith-based, family-owned and operated car dealership with over 150 employees in South Charleston, West Virginia. Joey Holland is committing to running his business according to his Christian faith. For example, the dealership closes on Sundays, and the dealership’s website states that its purpose is “to glorify and honor God by being faithful stewards for all that is entrusted to us.”

One of Joey Holland’s religious convictions is the sacred nature of human life, including life yet to be born. In a statement in 2013, Holland said:

“I am a believing and practicing born-again Christian. I am resolved, as a matter of religious belief, to conduct all aspects of my life, including the management of [Joe] Holland Chevrolet, in accordance with God’s Word. One of my sincerely held religious beliefs is that all innocent human life is sacred to its Creator and that it is profoundly immoral to procure, facilitate, fund, or endorse any form of abortion.”

U.S. Government Forces Organizations to Violate Religious Beliefs—Or Pay a Steep Price 

After the passage of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (also known as “Obamacare”), the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services issued a mandate requiring organizations to provide employees with insurance coverage for FDA-approved contraceptives, including some abortion-inducing drugs.

The mandate applied to organizations with more than fifty employees, and those with fewer than fifty employees that provided group health insurance. The mandate only exempts churches, church denominations, and church auxiliaries.

Joe Holland’s religious convictions about the sanctity of human life—convictions grounded in his Christian faith—forbid him from participating in abortion in any way, including in the provision of abortion-inducing drugs to employees as required by the Abortion Pill Mandate. However, according to the mandate, Joe Holland Chevrolet would be required to pay over $15,000 per day (more than $5.4 million each year) in fines for failing to provide the abortion-inducing drugs.

Legal Action

In 2013, Joe Holland Chevrolet, represented by First Liberty Institute, the Family Policy Council of West Virginia, and Robinson & McElwee, PLLC filed a lawsuit against the federal government challenging the Abortion Pill Mandate.

In June 2014, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled on the issue in a separate but similar case—Burwell v. Hobby Lobby Stores, Inc. In a 5-4 victory for religious freedom, the Court declared that the federal government could not force faith-based for-profit businesses—like Joe Holland Chevrolet—to comply with the mandate against their religious beliefs.

Following the Supreme Court’s ruling on the issue, a U.S. District Court entered a final judgment on May 29, 2015 in favor of Joe Holland and Joe Holland Chevrolet. The ruling protected Joe Holland and his dealership from being forced to either provide coverage for abortion-inducing drugs to employees or pay crippling fines.

“The Court’s ruling reaffirms the constitutional principle that every American is free to live and work according to their beliefs, without fear of punishment by their government,” said Jeff Mateer, First Liberty Institute General Counsel. “The government should never coerce faith-based, for-profit businessmen to violate their religious beliefs.”