Taft partner Matthew Secrist was quoted in a Law360 article, “State Abortion Laws Raise ERISA Preemption Questions,” published on Oct. 26. 

The article focuses on how new state laws regulating abortion, which followed the U.S. Supreme Court’s Dobbs decision, might be on a collision course with the Employee Retirement Income Security Act.

ERISA was enacted with a preemption provision to ensure employers with a nationwide footprint could enact benefits programs without worrying about a patchwork of state laws. But there are exceptions, including state laws on insurance, banking, securities, and any “generally applicable criminal law” of a state. 

Secrist noted a big question for benefits lawyers is how courts may interpret abortion-related aiding and abetting statutes. To read the full article, click here (note: subscription required). 

Secrist leads Taft’s Post-Roe v. Wade Task Force, which guides companies on the varying legal and business implications of the Dobbs decision. He focuses his practice on employee benefits and executive compensation matters. He is experienced in a wide range of employee benefits matters, including tax-qualified retirement plans (401(k) plans, pension plans, employee stock ownership plans (ESOPs), etc.), nonqualified deferred compensation plans and arrangements, welfare benefit plans, COBRA, HIPAA, and Affordable Care Act issues.