Breaking Health Care Wire

And now, some bad news for the GGRA and other opponents of the controversial health care ordinance: the same judges who approved the law in January have been assigned to the big hearing next Thursday: "The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals disclosed Monday that Judges William Fletcher, Alfred Goodwin and Stephen Reinhardt will hear oral arguments April 17 on a lower court ruling that found that the federal Employee Retirement Income Security Act pre-empted the San Francisco law that requires employers to spend a certain amount of money on employees' health care coverage or pay certain fees. Those judges in January allowed the law, being challenged by a San Francisco restaurant trade association, to go into effect pending a final decision by the appeals court. In allowing implementation of the law, Judge William Fletcher wrote that San Francisco has a 'strong likelihood' of prevailing in its argument that ERISA does not pre-empt the ordinance." [Business Insurance]