Health benefits challenge rejected

By Lyle Denniston
on Mar 30, 2009 at 4:01 pm

For a second time, Supreme Court Justice Anthony M. Kennedy has refused to interfere with a San Francisco local ordinance that sets minimum health benefits for workers.  In a brief order, Kennedy denied an application (08A824) by restaurant operators in the city to delay a Ninth Circuit Court ruling that had upheld the city ordinance on mandated health spending.  The Justice acted without issuing an opinion in Golden Gate Restaurant Association v. San Francisco.

Justice Kennedy refused in February of last year to forbid the city and county to continue enforcing the local ordinance being challenged, then and now, by the Golden Gate group. (Kennedy acted then on application 07A654.  The new application is 08A824.) 

 Since Kennedy last acted, the ordinance has been upheld by the Ninth Circuit, in a ruling Sept. 30 rejecting a claim by the Association that the city-county law is preempted by federal worker benefit law (ERISA). On March 9, the en banc Ninth Circuit denied review, over the dissents of eight of the full Court’s judges.