ERISA stands for the Employee Retirement Income Security Act, a federal law passed by Congress in 1974. President Nixon signed ERISA into law after 10 years of study designed to reform the nation's pension system.
Congress ultimately included employer-provided insurance benefits as part of the law. That is why most Short Term Disability and Long Term Disability benefits are covered by ERISA (as well as health insurance, life insurance, and other non-pension benefits).
ERISA covers employee benefits provided private employers. If you work for a government entity or a church, ERISA will not apply to your claim. However, any private employer (even a small company with only one employee other than the owner) that provides employee benefits will be subject to ERISA.
No matter which lawyer your hire, if you have a group benefit claim covered by ERISA, make sure your lawyer has experience handling ERISA cases. There are many differences between ERISA cases and insurance claims regulated by state laws, and if you or your lawyer do not know those differences and how to handle them, it can hurt your case. Disability attorney John Tucker is an experience ERISA attorney who has handled over 1000 ERISA benefits claims (disability, health, life, and pension cases).
To learn more about ERISA, visit the U.S. Department of Labor's web site HERE. 