The Minnesota Chamber of Commerce has appealed a judge's ruling last week that the city of Minneapolis can move forward with requiring employers to provide paid sick leave to employees.
Minnesota Chamber appeals Minneapolis sick-leave ruling
Minnesota Chamber lobbyists are also fighting local labor ordinances at the Legislature.
January 28, 2017 at 12:45AM
While he agreed with the Chamber that the ordinance cannot be applied to companies based outside of Minneapolis, Judge Mel Dickstein sided with the city a week ago in ruling that a municipal sick leave ordinance is not pre-empted by state law and can go into effect July 1.
"We respectfully disagree with the district court's interpretation and application of relevant case law," Minnesota Chamber President Doug Loon said in a statement Friday. "Cities may not enact ordinances that conflict with state law — but this ordinance does exactly that, creating an unworkable patchwork of employee compensation standards."
The Chamber's lawyer, Christopher Larus of Robins Kaplan LLP, filed an appeal with the Minnesota Court of Appeals on Thursday. Joining the Minnesota Chamber as co-plaintiffs are Graco Inc., the Minnesota Recruiting and Staffing Association, Otogawa-Anschel General Contractors and Consultants, the National Federation of Independent Business, and the TwinWest Chamber of Commerce.
The ordinance, which passed in May, says companies with employees who spend at least 80 hours a year working in Minneapolis are subject to the law. It is the signature accomplishment of Mayor Betsy Hodges' first term.
Chamber lobbyists are also fighting local labor ordinances by working at the State Capitol to promote a bill that would forbid local governments from passing their own mandates on wages, benefits and scheduling, Loon said.
Adam Belz • 612-673-4405
Twitter: @adambelz
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