07/19/2006
Victory for NFIB's Legal Foundation
Washington, D.C.—The state's largest small-business advocacy organization today praised a ruling by a Federal District Judge in Baltimore that struck down Maryland's Fair Share Health Care legislation which requires large employers to increase spending for employee health care.
"This is good news," said Ellen Valentino, state director of the National Federation of Independent Business. "We believe the real aim of this legislation was to establish a precedent that would ultimately subject Maryland small-business owners to a payroll tax and require all Maryland small-business owners to pay for health insurance for full-time and part-time employees. In fact, many of the groups that supported the Fair Share bill also supported legislation that would require all small businesses to provide health insurance to their workers. Our members tell us they would like to provide insurance, but they can't afford it."
NFIB's Legal Foundation filed an amicus brief in the case, brought by the Retail Industry Leaders Association, asking the United States District Court for the District of Maryland to declare the law void because it is preempted by the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA), which governs standards for private health and pension plans. The Supreme Court has repeatedly said states may not attempt to compel a certain level of employee benefits, nor may states pass laws that interfere with the uniform national administration of benefit plans.
"We are pleased the court found Maryland law to be in violation of ERISA," said Elizabeth Gaudio, senior executive counsel of NFIB's Legal Foundation. "This has always been about forcing small-business owners to provide health insurance. However, the law did nothing to address the issue of access to affordable health care. Businesses that do not provide insurance do so for a reason; they can't afford to buy health insurance."
