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California 9th Circuit Rejects Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association Petition To Strike Down CalSAVERS


The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals has rejected the Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association's petition for a rehearing before the full court of its unsuccessful bid to strike down the California Secure Choice Retirement Savings Program.
 
 


California 9th Circuit Rejects Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association Petition To Strike Down CalSAVERS


The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals has rejected the Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association's petition for a rehearing before the full court of its unsuccessful bid to strike down the California Secure Choice Retirement Savings Program.
 
A three-judge panel on June 15 denied the petition, noting that no judge requested a so-called en banc rehearing. The decision lets stand the Ninth Circuit's May 6 determination that the CalSavers program for private-sector workers is not governed or pre-empted by ERISA, the federal law on employee benefits. CalSavers was created in 2017.
 
Federal appeals cases are heard by panels of three judges, and appellants can request a rehearing by the full court. In the case of the Ninth Circuit, an en banc hearing involves 11 of its 29 active judges including the chief judge. The process is regularly used for unusually important or complex cases.
 
Having failed in its request for a rehearing, the Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association's remaining option would be to appeal the decision to the U.S. Supreme Court. As of press time, the association had not made any public statements as to its intentions.
 
The CalSavers board discussed the litigation during a 20-minute closed session at its June 22 board meeting, but took no action, according to board meeting minutes.
 
Separately, CalSavers on June 30, 2021, passed a milepost: California companies with 50 or more workers were required to register to facilitate enrolment by that date if they do not already sponsor a retirement savings plan. The next milestone occurs on June 30, 2022, when companies with five or more workers must register. The deadline for companies with 100 or more workers to register was September 30, 2020.
 
More than 200,000 accounts, representing 11,000 employers, were enrolled in CalSavers as of June 30, with combined assets of $87 million.
 
 

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