What are "plans" and who is covered?
A wide variety of welfare plans come under ERISA. Plans providing medical, surgical, or hospital care or benefits for sickness, accident, disability, or death are only some of the types of plans subject to ERISA. Others include unemployment benefits, vacation benefits; apprenticeship or other training programs; day care centers; scholarship funds (but only funded scholarship programs); prepaid legal services; or holiday and severance pay plans (or any similar benefits).
Certain payroll or workplace practices, like the payment of overtime pay and the sale of company stock, are exempt from ERISA coverage. Other benefits are more of a "close call." The decision could ultimately rest on how the benefits are paid. For example, a plan that provides vacation benefits is an ERISA welfare benefit plan. However, an employer that pays compensation, out of its general assets, to employees who are on vacation leave has not created an ERISA plan.
ERISA applies to employers and to employee organizations that offer ERISA welfare benefit plans. An "employee organization" is a labor union or any other organization that exists to deal with employers concerning an employee benefit plan or other matters incidental to the employment relationship.
The law does not apply to government plans, church plans, state-mandated plans (i.e., those maintained solely to comply with applicable workers' compensation laws, unemployment compensation, or disability insurance laws), plans maintained outside of the United States primarily for the benefit of nonresident aliens; and top-hat welfare benefit plans (i.e., plans that provide benefits only for a select group of management or highly compensated employees).