Saint Peter'S Healthcare Sys. v. Kaplan

Questions presented

SCOTUS records, cert granted 2 Dec 2016

The Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 ("ERISA") governs employers that offer pensions and other benefits to their employees. "Church plans" are exempt from ERISA's coverage. 29 U.S.C. §§ 1002(33), 1003(b)(2). For over thirty years, the three federal agencies that administer and enforce ERISA-the Internal Revenue Service, the Department of Labor, and the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation-have interpreted the church plan exemption to include pension plans maintained by otherwise qualifying organizations that are associated with or controlled by a church, whether or not a church itself established the plan. The question presented is whether the church plan exemption applies so long as a pension plan is maintained by an otherwise qualifying church- affiliated organization, or whether the exemption applies only if, in addition, a church initially established the plan.

Opinion summary

Etalia.ai summary of the majority opinion

The case involved Saint Peter's Healthcare System, a religiously affiliated hospital, which claimed exemption from the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) under the church plan exemption. The central issue was whether plans established by organizations that are not churches but have religious affiliations qualify for this exemption. Kaplan argued that such exemptions should only apply to plans directly established by churches themselves. The Supreme Court had to determine if these types of healthcare systems could be considered as 'churches' under ERISA’s definition and thus exempt from its requirements regarding employee benefit plans.