Rollins
Rollins v. Dignity Health
Opinion
Lead Opinion
Henderson, J.
ORDER DENYING DEFENDANTS’ MOTION TO DISMISS
Defendants’ motion to dismiss came before the Court on November 4, 2018. Having considered the parties’ arguments and the papers submitted, the Court now DENIES Defendants’ motion for the reasons set forth below.
BACKGROUND
Defendant Dignity Health (“Dignity”) 1 is a non-profit healthcare provider with facilities in sixteen states. Compl. ¶ 1. From 1986 to 2012, Plaintiff Starla Rollins (“Rollins”) was employed as a billing coordinator at a Dignity-operated hospital. Id. ¶ 18. Based on her employment, Rollins will be eligible for pension benefits from Dignity’s benefits plan (the “Plan”) when she reaches retirement age. Id.
Rollins alleges that Dignity’s Plan violates the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (“ERISA”), 29 U.S.C. §§ 1001 et seq. Dignity contends that its Plan need not comply with ERISA because it is a “church plan,” which the statute explicitly exempts from its requirements. Rollins maintains that the Plan does not qualify as a church plan as defined by ERISA and in the alternative, if the Plan is exempt, such an exemption violates the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment and is therefore void. Id. ¶¶…