Advocate Health Care Network v. Stapleton

The Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA) exempts "church plan[s]" from its otherwise-comprehensive regulation of employee benefit plans. 88 Stat. 840, as amended, *165629 U.S.C. § 1003(b)(2). Under the statute, certain plans for the employees of churches or church-affiliated nonprofits count as "church plans" even though not actually administered by a church. See § 1002(33)(C)(i). The question presented here is whether a church must have originally established such a plan for it to so qualify. ERISA, we hold, does not impose that requirement.

I

Petitioners identify themselves…