Excerpt: Benefit plans maintained by governmental entities are exempted from ERISA. However, sometimes the determination of whether an entity qualifies as a 'government' can be difficult. The Third Circuit in a recent case of Koval v. Washington County Redevelopment Authority held that the Washington County Redevelopment Authority ('WCRA') did constitute a 'political subdivision' of the state of Pennsylvania so that a health plan offered by the WCRA was then a governmental plan exempted from ERISA. The court's analysis is important as the Third Circuit adopted the Second Circuit NLRB test for determining what constitutes a 'political subdivision'[.]  MORE >>