Judge bars penalties for now for Colo. employer

A federal judge has issued a preliminary injunction barring penalties against a Colorado business whose health coverage for employees doesn’t cover contraception or abortion pills.

The Barack Obama administration’s health care legislation requires group health plans to offer women no-cost preventive care coverage for items including contraception.

The heating and air conditioning business Hercules Industries Inc. is run by a family whose Roman Catholic beliefs condemn contraception, but it doesn’t qualify as a religious employer exempt from offering the coverage.

Hercules Industries sought relief in court.

On Friday, U.S. District Court Judge John Kane issued a preliminary injunction keeping the government from penalizing Hercules Industries for its health plan while the company’s lawsuit proceeds. Kane notes that his order doesn’t keep the government from enforcing the mandate against anyone else.