Seattle's $15 minimum wage law taken to court

SEATTLE -- There was a big courtroom battle Tuesday over Seattle’s historic $15 minimum wage law.

Franchise business owners argue the requirement is unfair, and they are suing for more time before they have to pony up for their workers.

These owners, which include local Subway sandwich shops, argue they don’t have the same resources as bigger businesses.

“We are not talking about some minor differential treatment of franchises,” said Paul Clement, attorney for the International Franchise Association, which is behind the suit.

The law treats franchises, including those local Subway sandwich shops, even local McDonald’s outlets, as large employers, since they are connected to big national brands and networks.  They have to pay workers $15 an hour by 2017.  Small businesses (with under 500 employees) have until 2021.

Local franchise owners argue that they’re actually small, individually owned and operated establishments, just like neighborhood mom and pop shops and restaurants.  And to make them pay up sooner is expensive and discriminatory.

“The differential treatment per employee for the entire phase in period is almost $32,000,” said Clement.

But the attorney for Seattle argued that the advantages that come with being a part of a national network means that franchise owners should be treated like the larger businesses they are a part of.

“The way the ordinance is structured is, if you can pay more sooner, you must,” said Greg Narver.

It’s now in the hands of the federal court to decide whether it is a violation of the commerce clause of the U.S. Constitution to treat franchise owners differently from independent stores and shops.

There are thousands of workers in Seattle who are employed by franchises, so if this suit is successful, they won’t get a $15 minimum wage nearly as fast as they were expecting.