Golden Gate Association v. City and County of San Francisco (Case No. 07-17372, 9th Cir. March 9, 2009) involves a challenge on ERISA preemption grounds to a San Francisco law requiring all employers in the City to make mandatory contributions toward employee healthcare costs. The 9th Circuit reversed a District Court ruling that the law is preempted by ERISA. In denying Golden Gate's en banc rehearing petition eight Circuit Court Judges dissented from the court's decision not to rehear this matter en banc and issued a long opinion discussing why the majority is wrong. There's also a concurring opinion defending the majority's decision not to rehear the case. This decision creates a circuit split with the 4th Circuit's decision in Retail Industry Leaders v. Fielder case preemption issue holding that a Maryland state law imposing a similar employer mandate (albeit, only on employers of 10,000 or more employees in the state) was preempted by ERISA. Now that the Circuit Court denied rehearing, the matter is ripe for a petition for certiorari to the U.S Supreme Court.
