Joining Herrera were the construction company Nibbi Bros. and the restaurants Medjool and Zazie, all arguing in amicus briefs that Healthy San Francisco and its employer spending mandate are working just fine.

GGRA supports national health care reform, but says local ordinances are burdensome and will create a confusing patchwork of regulations. It lost its case at the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals and is appealing to the Supreme Court.

Nibbi Bros. argues that as a company providing health care, it "has an interest in not being at a competitive disadvantage when dealing with employers who choose not to bear any of that societal cost." Medjool and Zazie, in a joint brief, say healthy workers are especially important in a restaurant setting so as to avoid food contamination.

Kevin Westlye, director of GGRA, said it's great that some restaurants are making the employer mandate work - but that many smaller restaurants are struggling tremendously.

"Considering there are 4,000 restaurants (in the city), having two or three sign on in support of the program, to me, is not significant," he said.