In San Francisco, the Golden Gate Restaurant Association has sued to block the city's plan to provide health care coverage to uninsured residents, saying federal law prohibits local governments from requiring employers to pay for insurance. The ordinance, scheduled to take effect next July, requires that businesses with 20 or more employees pay for their staff's health coverage.

"Health care is everyone's responsibility, not just the employers'," the association's executive director, Kevin Westlye, said in a statement. He said his group has tried for a year to find an alternative to employer funding.

The ordinance is designed to cover 82,000 uninsured San Franciscans and is expected to cost $200 million a year. Costs will be paid by employers and taxes.

See full story in Forbes, Restaurant Assoc. Sues Over Health Care