Seattle Minimum Wage Law Challenge Rejected By Supreme Court

U.S. Supreme Court on Monday rejected a challenge by business groups to a law in Seattle that raised the minimum wage to $15 per hour

By Nick Powills1851 Franchise Publisher

SPONSORED 11:11AM • 05/04/16

With the sound of a gavel hitting the bench, the Supreme Court on Monday altered the way franchises may conduct business in Seattle after the high court rejected the challenge of business groups fighting the minimum wage hike to $15 an hour.

The decision, as was reported by Reuters, left a lower court ruling intact and supporters of the law are viewing this step as a victory against “big business.”

However, it’s important to note that the challenges against the law were not directed at the wage hike itself, but at that fact that Seattle was excluding franchisees (because of their relationship with their franchisor) from other small businesses that were given an extra three years to ramp up to paying employees at least $15 per hour.

The law in Seattle, which took effect last April, requires businesses with 500 employees or more nationwide to raise their minimum wage to $15 by 2018. Other small businesses have until 2021 to become compliant.

Seattle was the first major city to commit to this high minimum wage and has become ground zero for the argument around implementation of such a law. Cities such as San Francisco, Los Angeles and even states such as New York and California are entertaining the debate as well.

The idea that franchises are not typical small businesses because of the inherent advantages that a franchisor provides will continue to be debated for some time as more and more cities and states deliberate the idea of increasing minimum wage.

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