Franchise business owners fighting Seattle’s $15 minimum wage law
Mar 10, 2015, 11:00 AM | Updated: 11:45 am
Franchise owners say they should fall under the small business minimum wage increases. (AP)
(AP)
Franchise owners are asking a federal judge to reconsider part of a new law that would raise Seattle’s minimum wage to $15 an hour.
The International Franchise Association is seeking a preliminary injunction, saying the law discriminates against local franchise owners by lumping them in with large businesses.
Related: Clock is ticking for Seattle businesses to bump up minimum wage
“These people are local business owners, and they face the same exact challenge that other local business owners face,” Matt Haller, spokesman for the Association, told KIRO Radio’s Dave Ross.
In May of 2014, the Seattle City Council voted to raise the minimum wage to $15 per hour. Businesses with more than 500 employees have until 2017 to meet the wage requirement. Smaller businesses have until 2021. The wage increase is phased in, beginning April 1.
The reason members of the Association are suing is because they believe they should have seven years to reach $15-per-hour wages, not four. That is because franchises don’t have more than 500 local workers.
City officials have argued the franchisees have advantages that are unavailable to other local businesses.
Corporations are using franchises as an excuse to not pay the $15 wages, something they can easily do, argued Adam Glickman, Secretary Treasurer of SEUI Local 775.
“We’re not going to allow this scheme, made up by a bunch of lawyers to protect these wealthy companies in paying their workers a minimum wage,” he said.
The union is not using the minimum wage debate as an organizing tactic, Glickman added.
The Associated Press contributed to this story.
