A federal appeals court based in Virginia might have done Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger a big favor last week when it ruled against a Maryland law that sought to force Wal-Mart -- or any other employer of more than 10,000 people -- to provide health insurance for its workers.

The decision by the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals clarified that federal law prohibits the states from requiring businesses to provide benefits for their employees. That's true, the court said, even if a state allows business owners to opt out of the requirement by paying a tax instead. The federal law, known as the Employee Retirement Income Security Act, was passed in 1974 so that national employers wouldn't have to offer a different set of benefits for their workers in every state.