| A federal appeals court on Wednesday said the State of Maryland may not require large retailers (Wal-Mart was the target) to spend 8 percent of their payrolls on health care for employees. In a 2-1 ruling, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit upheld a lower court ruling that said Maryland's law violated the Employee Retirement Income Security Act. (That federal labor law says companies may offer uniform health benefits across the country rather than deal with a variety of state requirements.) "Hopefully this will send a message to other states," said the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC), a group that represents the interests of state lawmakers and advocates free-market policies. According to ALEC, five other states - Indiana, Minnesota, Missouri, Mississippi and New York -- have all filed "Fair Share" bills like the one that became law in Maryland. A Wal-Mart defense group -- Working Families for Wal-Mart -- applauded the appeals court ruling. |
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