When he's not conjuring the latest dishes from Italy for his upscale restaurant in San Francisco's financial district, owner and chef Dan Scherotter is worrying about health insurance.
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Under the law, which provides health coverage for all city residents, Scherotter says he would need to pay about $206 toward each full-time worker's medical costs every month. As a result, employees' share of costs at his Palio d'Asti restaurant would decline from $80 a month to $4 for the lowest-cost plan.
Scherotter, the incoming president of the Golden Gate Restaurant Association, says the San Francisco law is illegal, unaffordable and an administrative nightmare.
To comply, he says, "I would have to hire a new accountant and fire a few cooks."
His association sued the city in November 2006, saying the employer payments violate federal law.
Resolution of the case could help answer a critical question: Can states require employers to help cover the uninsured if they don't offer health coverage to their employees?
USA Today