LEO asked the Kentucky Restaurant Association, one of the plaintiffs challenging the minimum-wage ordinance in court, for an interview, but officials declined.
President and CEO Stacy Roof issued this statement:
“The Kentucky Restaurant Association opposes the minimum wage increase adopted by the Louisville Metro Council (as well as that adopted by the Lexington-Fayette Urban County Council) as a matter of principle over the proper exercise of local government authority in matters that have been comprehensively regulated by the state legislature. This includes any attempt at local wage and hour regulation of non-governmental employers, including the private sector businesses the KRA represents. Should local governments be permitted to regulate private businesses in this manner, it is likely that they would not stop at minimum wage increases, but could adopt any of the range of measures seen elsewhere, including ordinances mandating private sector employers to provide paid sick leave and healthcare benefits, as well as limiting employer discretion in employee scheduling, part-time work, and even restrictions on the at-will employment arrangement that has long prevailed in this and virtually every other state. The KRA is greatly concerned that such measures, adopted on a piecemeal local basis, would severely harm local business competition, and might well have the unintended effect of reducing local employment opportunities.”
