Paul Millus Authors, "Hot off the Presses: Cutting Employee Hours to Avoid Health Care Costs of Obamacare May Violate ERISA"

On February 9, 2016 Federal District Court Judge Alvin Hellerstein (S.D.N.Y.) denied Dave & Buster's motion to dismiss a class action complaint which alleged D&B slashed employees' hours to avoid increased health care costs stemming from Obamacare, holding the employees have a case under the ERISA. The employees, who had their hours reduced below the threshold for the company health plan, apparently adequately argued this alleged act "[interfered] with the attainment" of a benefit entitlement prohibited by ERISA. So just when we heard that Obamacare would ultimately fail over time because of its impact on worker's wages as employers cut them to get under the Obamacare limits-this case may give employers pause for concern.