Labor & Employment Law

Restaurant owners to Supreme Court: Please help us

Golden Gate Restaurant Association has filed an application with US Supreme Court Justice Anthony M. Kennedy (Circuit Justice for the 9th Circuit) asking that the 9th Circuit's decision in Golden Gate Restaurant Assn v. City of San Francisco be postponed. [Docket No. 08A824]

The San Francisco Health Care Security Ordinance requires that covered employers make "required health care expenditures to or on behalf of" certain employees each quarter. "Covered employers" are employers engaging in business within the City that are either a) for profit, with an average of at least twenty employees during a quarter; or b) non-profit, with an average of at least fifty employees during a quarter.

The 9th Circuit held that this ordinance is not preempted by the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA). More specifically, the court concluded that 1) the ordinance does not create an ERISA plan; and 2) the ordinance does not "relate to" ERISA plans within the meaning of ERISA. Golden Gate Restaurant Assn v. City of San Francisco (9th Cir 10/20/2008).

Last week all of the judges in the 9th Circuit decided that they would not allow a rehearing en banc. However, there were eight judges who dissented from that order. [Order, including concurring and dissenting opinions]

We have not seen a copy of the documents filed at the US Supreme Court, and we will post a link as soon as we get one.

My source, with thanks: SSCOTUSblog

Full post as published by Ross' Employment Law Blog on March 18, 2009 (boomark / email).