Legal California's state-run retirement savings program not preempted by ERISA - 9th Circuit
Daniel Wiessner
4 minute read
A gavel and a block is pictured at the George Glazer Gallery antique store in this illustration picture taken in Manhattan, New York City, U.S., August 18, 2020. REUTERS/Andrew Kelly/Illustration
A U.S. appeals court on Thursday said California's state-run individual retirement account program for workers is not governed or preempted by the federal law on employee benefits, even if its mandatory contributions are "irritating or even burdensome" to some employers.
A unanimous three-judge panel of the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals said the CalSavers program created in 2017 is not an "employee benefit plan" under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 because it is maintained by the state and does not require private employers to establish their own retirement plans.