Fate Of Mpls. Min. Wage Referendum in Judge's Hands
MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) -- A judge will now be the one to decide if a minimum wage increase in Minneapolis will go on the November ballot.
A lawsuit was filed in Hennepin County Court to put a $15-an-hour minimum wage to a vote.
The move comes after a heated city council meeting earlier this month, when the council shot down an effort to put the pay hike to referendum.
Four plaintiffs filed the suit last Monday following the city council decision. Both sides presented their case Friday to a packed courtroom.
This overall issue boils down to whether the proposed minimum wage hike is an ordinance or a charter amendment.
If it is an ordinance, the decision lies solely with the city council and a citizen petition cannot influence the introduction of an ordinance.
However, if it is a charter amendment, a citizen petition can prompt a ballot referendum to change the city charter.
About a dozen members of the group 15Now, which is pushing for the pay hike, showed up for the hearing.
Many gathered the more-than-18,000 signatures in support of the $15-an-hour minimum wage.
Rosheeda Credit is one of the plaintiffs in the case.
"As a mother of five, I think that asking for $15 an hour is not much," Credit said. "That's not much at all to live in the United States, where housing is $1,000-plus just to stay in a two, three bedroom."
The city of Minneapolis issued this statement on the proposed minimum wage hike:
"We are well prepared to defend the decision of the City Council and Mayor. The only issue in this case is whether State law and the Minneapolis City Charter allow this proposal – that is legislative in nature – to be placed on an election ballot through a citizen petition. It is the City's position that this type of measure is reserved for action by the City Council and is not a proper ballot measure."
The judge did not rule Friday, but will have to come to a decision soon because the ballot submission deadline is at the end of August.
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