Renaker Hasselman Scott, together with Professor Norman Stein, filed a friend-of-the-court brief (amicus curiae brief) on behalf of seven law professors in The ERISA Industry Committee v. City of Seattle, pending before the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals. The case concerns the ERISA Industry Committee’s challenge to a Seattle ordinance that requires large hotel employers and ancillary businesses to make “healthcare expenditures” on behalf of employees. The expenditures can consist of payments to a third party, such as an insurer, for the purpose of providing healthcare services; or to the employer’s own healthcare plan; or directly to the employees. Rejecting ERIC’s argument that the ordinance is preempted by ERISA, the district court dismissed the complaint with prejudice. The law professors’ brief urges the Ninth Circuit to affirm the district court’s ruling.
Read the brief here.