(C) Arizona Mirror
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Supreme Court rejects claim that ballot measure to cut tipped workers' pay is deceptive • Arizona Mirror [1]
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Date: 2024-08
The Arizona Supreme Court has ruled that Proposition 138, also known as the “Tipped Workers Protection Act,” will remain on the ballot in the November election.
The measure was challenged in court back in June by Raise the Wage AZ, a political action committee that has been advocating for increasing the minimum wage. In its lawsuit, Raise the Wage AZ claimed that the ballot proposition sent to voters by Republican state lawmakers was deceptive and “creates a significant danger of electorate confusion and unfairness.”
The group wanted the court to declare that the proposed constitutional amendment violates the Arizona Constitution and bar it from appearing on the ballot. A lower court ruled in favor of Prop 138, however, it was appealed to the Arizona Supreme Court.
Raise the Wage AZ was formed to back a minimum wage increase on the 2024 ballot, but its measure did not end up qualifying for the ballot.
State law currently allows restaurants to pay tipped workers $3 less than minimum wage and use workers’ tips to backfill up to the minimum wage. If voters approve Prop. 138, Arizona businesses would be allowed to pay tipped workers 25% less than minimum wage — whatever that may be in the future — if their tips and hourly wage amount to at least $2 per hour more than the minimum wage.
“Arizona servers and tipped employees work hard, and Prop 138 will protect their pay and jobs,” Steve Chucri, President & CEO of the ARA said in a statement on the ruling. “We thank the Arizona Supreme Court for ruling in our favor and letting Arizona voters have their say on Prop 138, the Tipped Workers Protection Act.”
The measure was brought to the Arizona legislature by the Arizona Restaurant Association, which also created an advocacy group that purported to be made up of tipped workers who wanted the proposition on the ballot. The group was created by the president of the ARA and speakers from the advocacy group did not disclose their connections to the ARA.
Jim Barton, an attorney for Raise the Wage AZ, said the court’s ruling opens the door for voters to be fooled by businesses who want to pay their employees less.
“It is called the Tipped Worker Protection Act, and it LOWERS tipped workers wages. It never raises their wages. It never provides them any protection,” Barton told the Arizona Mirror in an email. “So, voters need to be very careful this year when it comes to deceptively titled referrals from the Legislature.”
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[1] Url:
https://azmirror.com/briefs/prop-138-supreme-court-rejects-claim-that-ballot-measure-to-cut-tipped-workers-pay-is-deceptive/
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