Emergency Stay has Been Granted to the City: Employer Mandated Health Care is Now in Effect

January 9, 2008. The 9th Circuit Court of Appeals today issued an emergency stay granting San Francisco the right to implement the employer mandate during the City's appeal. The City is appealing the District Court decision which concluded the employer mandate is illegal. The GGRA opposed the stay motion. The hearing was held on January 3 in Pasadena before Senior Circuit Judge Alfred Goodwin, and Circuit Judges Stephen Reinhardt and William Fletcher. The judges allowed the stay as they considered the "irreparable harm" to the City if the employer mandate was not allowed to be implemented during the appeals process. The GGRA will study the opinion and consider an appeal of the emergency stay order. The decision on the stay is independent from the rest of the appeals process.

Beginning on the date listed in the stay order, businesses with 50 to 99 employees will need to spend $1.17 per hour on healthcare for each employee working 10 or more hours per week. Businesses with 100 or more employees will need to spend $1.76 per hour for employees working 10 or more hours per week.

Beginning on April 1, unless altered in the order, businesses with 20 to 49 employees will need to spend $1.17 per hour on employees working 10 or more hours per week.

For more information, go to www.ggra.org