Employer Mandates and ERISA Preemption: A Critique of Golden Gate Restaurant Association v. San Francisco

Abstract:     
The Ninth Circuit's recent decision in Golden Gate Restaurant Association v. San Francisco saves the employer mandate of the San Francisco ordinance from ERISA preemption by slighting the language of the statute and by misapplying the U.S. Supreme Court's existing case law under ERISA Section 514(a). If (as is likely) the Supreme Court rules upon the ERISA status of employer mandates like San Francisco's by adhering to its past decisions, the Court will strike such mandates as ERISA-preempted. Under current law, the Ninth Circuit's opinion in Golden Gate II is not sustainable.

Number of Pages in PDF File: 32

Keywords: ERISA, preemption, health care, San Francisco

Accepted Paper Series