Washington Gets Suit Over First-in-U.S. Long-Term Care Fund Axed

A legal challenge to a Washington law that will require workers to contribute $.58 of every $100 they earn toward a long-term care insurance fund fell flat when a federal judge in the state said he lacked jurisdiction to hear the case.

The WA Cares Fund, the first state program of its kind slated to fund long-term care benefits through worker premiums, constitutes a tax under state law and can’t be reviewed in federal court under the Tax Injunction Act, Judge Thomas S. Zilly of the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington said.

Taxpayers can challenge the ...