Arent Fox’s Stu Manela, a partner in the firm’s Labor & Employment practice, was interviewed by Crain’s New York Business for a July 9, 2012, article on the possibility that the US Supreme Court’s decision upholding the Obama Administration Affordable Care Act could “spawn a flood of legal suits against employers.”

In an article titled “One ‘Obamacare’ certainty: lawsuits,” Stu told Crain’s New York Business:

“Whenever legislation creates new obligations for employers and rights for employees, inevitably there are disputes about exactly what the legislation means, how far the rights extend and whether employers’ individual decisions fit the expectations of employees and the plaintiff lawyers that represent them,” said Stewart Manela, head of the labor, employment and OSHA groups at law firm Arent Fox. “[ACA] is sure to be tested.”…

Whether such suits will be successful remains to be seen, said lawyers and consultants, and the risks are manageable if companies adopt policies to avoid problems and potential violations. But it won’t be easy. “Like other rights and entitlements,” Mr. Manela explained, “decisions and plans will be scrutinized when individual circumstances arise that were not perfectly forecast.”