The International Franchise Association (IFA) yesterday appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court to overturn a federal court ruling that let stand a city minimum-wage provision lumping franchise owners in with their national franchisers.
As a result of that provision, Seattle franchisees are on the hook to raise their minimum wage to $15 an hour faster than companies with fewer employees.
Businesses with 500 or more employees are on a faster track — three years to implement $15 an hour versus seven years for smaller businesses — and local franchisees are upset that they’re being lumped into the large employee classification because of their association with their franchisers, aka McDonald’s, Burger King, et al.
In September, the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals denied a similar appeal by the IFA, and that decision is now being appealed to the Supreme Court..