United States v. Lee, 455 U.S. 252 (1982), was a United States Supreme Court case establishing precedent regarding the limits of the Free Exercise Clause regarding free exercise of religious conscience by employers.
Background The appellant, Amish carpenter shop owner Edwin Lee, sued the Federal Government of the United States following an assessment for unpaid Social Security taxes worth $27,000 over a seven year period, claiming that the imposition of such taxes violated his freedom of conscience. In 1965, United States Congress had previously legislated that members of certain religious groups, including as the Old Order Amish, were exempt from Social Security taxes if they were self-employed. The District Court had found in favor of the appellant.
Ruling Chief Justice Warren Burger delivered the opinion of the Court, with Justices Brennan, White, Marshall, Blackmun, Powell, Rehnquist, and O'Connor, joining, and Justice Stevens separately concurring.
The Court's opinion held that the tax imposed on employers to support the social security system must be uniformly applicable to all, except if the United States Congress explicitly provides otherwise. The Court's majority opinion explained its reasoning:
Use as precedent Lee was cited during oral arguments in Burwell v. Hobby Lobby (2014), a case about how the contraception requirement in the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act affected closely held for-profit corporations.
See also Religious Freedom Restoration Act
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