Opponents of a new Maryland law that requires very large employers to spend a portion of their payroll on employee health insurance Friday asked a federal judge for summary judgment against enforcement of the mandate.
Lawyers for the Retail Industry Leaders Association, Arlington, Va., argued before U.S. District Judge J. Frederick Motz in Baltimore that the law violates the U.S. Constitution's Equal Protection Clause and is preempted by the federal Employee Retirement Income Security Act.
"Maryland's mandated health benefit statute is unlawful," says RILA President Sandy Kennedy. "The court should take this opportunity to overturn Maryland's law."
RILA arguments on the motion were made in court by Eugene Scalia, a lawyer in the Washington office of the law firm of Gibson, Dunn and Crutcher.
Steve Cannon, RILA's outside general counsel, says the group believes the Maryland law runs counter to ERISA by establishing a separate set of rules for Maryland.
