Health care law: The court gave Liberty University in Virginia a chance to argue in a lower court two claims that were not considered in June when the justices upheld President Obama's health care law. University lawyers say it is unconstitutional for the government to require large employers to provide health insurance to their full-time workers or pay a tax. Liberty's lawyers also say the "forced funding of abortion" under the federal law violates the school's right to religious liberty. The justices issued a brief order allowing the university to raise these claims before the 4th Circuit Court of Appeals.
Employment discrimination: The justices heard arguments about who counts as a supervisor under a federal employment discrimination law. The case was brought by Maetta Vance, who was the only black employee in the catering department of Ball State University in Muncie, Ind. She said another worker there had subjected her to racial taunts and veiled threats. The Civil Rights Act of 1964 allows some kinds of lawsuits only if the challenged conduct was by a supervisor.
