The Minneapolis City Council blocked this harmful measure until at least 2017
Small Business Owners Can Breathe a Sigh of Relief
There is hope for Minneapolis small
business owners.
Labor advocates in Minnesota have
been pushing a $15 minimum wage proposal for the fall ballot, to
the chagrin of many business owners. But the harmful measure will not see the
light of day, thanks in large part to Minneapolis City Attorney Susan Segal.
On Aug. 5, the Minneapolis City
Council voted to block a minimum wage proposal from getting on to the ballot
this fall because it did not the legal requirements for consideration, as Segal
argued.
In a 16-page opinion, Segal said that according to Minneapolis law, citizens
are not allowed to directly pass city ordinances; they can only vote on amendments
to ordinances, Segal argued. She called the measure “an ordinance disguised as
a charter amendment.”
“The Minneapolis City Charter does
not provide for such ballot initiatives. Consequently, the proposed amendment
is not a proper subject for a charter amendment and the Council should decline
to place the provision on the ballot,” Segal wrote in her opinion.
The proposal would have gradually
increased the minimum wage in the city to $15 by 2020 for businesses with more
than 500 employees. The deadline for smaller businesses would have been 2022.
Instead, the City Council voted to
put together a minimum wage proposal for early 2017.