A federal judge today ruled that Maryland’s Fair Share Health Care Act, also known as the Wal-Mart bill, violates the federal Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA). Download the opinion here. The Maryland Chamber is pleased with the court’s decision. The Fair Share Health Care Act is the type of law intended to by preempted by ERISA. ERISA exists to create a consistent regulatory scheme for employer-provided benefits, rather than a tangle of state laws impacting employer benefits.

The Maryland Chamber raised the ERISA issue on January 3, prior to the legislature overriding the Governor’s veto of the bill. The Retail Industry Leaders Association (RILA) initiated a legal challenge to the Maryland law on February 7, 2006. On March 17, the Maryland Chamber filed an amicus brief in support of the RILA suit.