WASHINGTON, D.C., April 9, 2026 – The ERISA Industry Committee (ERIC) submitted public comments this week to Colorado lawmakers, pushing back against proposed legislation (HB26-1327) that would violate long held federal legislative and judicial precedent allowing employer benefits plans established under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) to design and administer uniform benefits that reflect the needs of their nationwide workforces. In a letter to members of the Colorado House of Representatives Appropriations Committee, ERIC warned that the proposed Colorado law would mandate new minimum spending requirements on ERISA self-insured employer plans across Colorado and that this state overreach violates not only ERISA, but also the Affordable Care Act, which amended ERISA to include national standards for health care benefit eligibility and affordability. If the state standards in the proposed legislation are applied to ERISA self-insured plans, the state would be vulnerable to costly litigation.
“One of the most critical tools employers have to attract and retain talent is offering robust and innovative health care benefits – a hallmark of the private, employer-based system. While we share the desire of Colorado lawmakers to make health care more accessible and affordable, the reality is that this legislation does anything but achieve that goal,” said Dillon Clair, Director of State Advocacy, ERIC. “As families continue to grapple with affordability challenges at the gas pump and the grocery store, the last thing they need is a higher health care bill. Demanding that ERISA self-insured plans comply with the proposed Colorado law increases complexity, administrative burdens, and costs, which erodes the protections Congress envisioned when it passed ERISA. ERIC strongly urges members of the Committee to oppose this legislation or face swift legal action to protect Colorado employers from a law that does more harm than good.”
There is strong legal precedent supporting ERISA preemption for approaches similar to those being considered in Colorado. In Retail Industry Leaders Association v. Fielder, the Fourth Circuit struck down a similarly designed Maryland law requiring large employers to commit a certain percentage of payroll to health benefits. The court determined that the state could not regulate those health care plans because ERISA already governs those plans.
ERIC is a national advocacy organization exclusively representing the largest employers in the United States in their capacity as sponsors of employee benefit plans for their nationwide workforces. With member companies that are leaders in every economic sector, ERIC is the voice of large employer plan sponsors on federal, state, and local public policies impacting their ability to sponsor benefit plans. ERIC member companies offer benefits to tens of millions of employees and their families, located in every state and city across the country.
The full text of ERIC’s letter can be found here.