San Mateo to move ahead with health care mandate
The San Mateo County Blue Ribbon Task Force Finance Committee is moving forward with a recommendation to mandate a per-employee-per-hour minimum spending requirement to cover county health care costs. If passed, the mandate will first be levied on all businesses in the unincorporated areas of the county, with the ultimate goal of all cities in the county adopting the ordinance. The recommendation has no exemptions or considerations for small businesses or independent operators, so mom-and-pop eateries to moderate family restaurants to large chains would all be required to pay into the program.
The Blue Ribbon Task Force is modeling its mandate on a similar ordinance passed by San Francisco City and County in 2006. The San Francisco law imposed a minimum spending amount that increases annually and a fee structure that is restricted only in the first three years. Because the ordinance passed, the rate has increased each year by the maximum allowed, 5 percent. Beginning this year, the 5 percent cap is removed and will no longer contain the increases, so future annual increases can be considerably higher and have greater financial effect on businesses.
San Francisco’s health care ordinance is in direct conflict with the federal Employee Retirement Income Security Act. The California Restaurant Association supported the Golden Gate Restaurant Association’s lawsuit against San Francisco City and County based on this conflict.
ERISA is the authority that sets the standards for health plans in private industry, making the San Francisco law a violation of ERISA and thus illegal. The lawsuit has been heard by the federal court and the appellate court and is now under review with the U.S. Solicitor General for U.S. Supreme Court consideration. For more information on the lawsuit, go online at www.ggra.org.
As the case moves through the legal process, the CRA continues to oppose the illegal mandate being copied and enacted in San Mateo County and other jurisdictions. We need your help in the fight. Contact your county supervisor to voice your opposition to the mandate. For more information, contact Johnnise Foster Downs at 916.431.2774 or jdowns@calrest.org.