Following a trend of cities such as Seattle, Los Angeles and
San Francisco, Minneapolis is considering creating a $15/hour minimum wage for
employees working in the city. Who gets
to decide the issue, however, is the subject of considerable debate that has gone
all the way to the Minnesota Supreme Court.
Advocates for a higher minimum wage collected the signatures
required to place the question on the November ballot, as an amendment to the
city charter, but the Minneapolis City Council opposed the measure, instead
wanting the discretion to decide the issue as an ordinance passed by the
Council. A state trial court judge sided
with the advocates, and ruled that the question should be included on the
ballot to be voted on by the residents of Minneapolis. Given the obvious time constraints, the
Supreme Court has agreed to decide the issue on appeal directly from the trial
court.
The Court’s decision in this case could have far reaching
effects, for Minneapolis and other Minnesota cities. If the Court rules that the city charter can
be amended for this sort of issue, advocacy groups may be encouraged to take
further measures to establish other terms of employment that apply only locally,
through the referendum process. Some
Council members (and no doubt many business owners) have expressed concerns
about the economic impact of addressing the minimum wage at the city-level,
including that establishing a much higher minimum wage rate of $15 in
Minneapolis, when the state minimum wage is $9.50 for large employers, could potentially
make the city less competitive with surrounding communities. If the Supreme Court decides to leave this
decision to the voters, hopefully they will become fully informed of all sides
of the issue before deciding on such an important issue.
