A legal challenge to a Seattle law requiring large hotels to give workers either health insurance coverage or enhanced compensation caught the attention of the US Supreme Court, which on Tuesday asked the solicitor general to file a brief in the case.
The ERISA Industry Committee, a trade group representing large employers with ERISA-governed benefit plans, argues that the Seattle law’s direct payment option—which mandates cash payments to workers who don’t receive specified health coverage—creates a health plan governed by the Employee Retirement Income Security Act and therefore interferes with the federal statute.
The US Court of Appeals for the ...