5 Other Things Employers Should Have to Provide

For too long, employers have insisted on determining for themselves which employee benefits to offer, but President Obama's "2,000-page health law" cuts that conceit off at the pass, writes Allysia Finley in the Wall Street Journal. Now the government decides, and the government wants employees to get free birth control. But that's not enough, Finley sarcastically decrees: "There are still many essential benefits that the government must mandate to make the US the freest country in the world." Such as:

• Gym memberships: Exercise is essential when it comes to health, but pricey fitness club memberships "force us to choose between exercising and buying groceries," Finley writes—and who wants to settle for jogging outside? No, employers should definitely pay for employees to join a gym. "Those that don't are limiting our freedom to exercise."
• Coffee: It has been shown to provide many health benefits, but "some employers—most notably those affiliated with the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints—continue to deny workers this essential benefit." That needs to change, religious liberty be damned.
• Salad: Employers should be forced to provide a free salad bar, despite the fact that it "would primarily benefit healthy eaters (women like myself) and raise prices for workers who subsist on junk (most men)."

Click for Finley's full list. (More birth control stories.)