NEW YORK — A federal judge here this week threw out a “fair share” health care law passed last year by Suffolk County, N.Y., that required certain large retailers to provide a minimum level of health insurance for their workers. Judge Arthur D. Spatt ruled that the Suffolk County law, which dictated that large food retailers pay the county a fee if their employees did not receive a minimum amount of health-care coverage from the company, was superceded by the federal Employee Retirement Income Security Act, known as ERISA. The law had been challenged by the Retail Industry Leaders Association. It marks the second defeat for such laws after Maryland’s Fair Share Health Care Act was also ruled by a federal judge to violate ERISA. Several other states and municipalities have similar legislation pending.
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