ST. JOSEPH, Minn. (AP) – A Minnesota employer has won a religious exemption to the federal mandate requiring birth control coverage in workplace health insurance.

American Manufacturing Company of St. Joseph received the exemption based on the fact that owner Gregory Hall is an ordained Catholic deacon in Texas who opposes the types of birth control and sterilization specified in the Affordable Care Act.

The Star Tribune reports the law would have required the firm’s insurance to fully cover those procedures for its 40 employees.

In a statement, Hall said he hopes the results will encourage others to "stand up and assert their fundamental and legal rights."

Last June, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that Hobby Lobby and other closely held private businesses with religious objections could opt out of the birth control mandate.