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Council debates minimum-wage ordinance amid pending litigation; directs legal staff to continue drafting with $21.65 rate for large employers
Summary
After extended debate over a voter initiative and business impacts, council authorized staff to continue drafting ordinance 8-92 (repeal/replace) with a stipulation setting the large-employer wage at $21.65 and asked staff to return April 20 with economic-research analysis. Council also previously tabled a related motion; the matter remains legally complex due to ongoing court review.
The Burien City Council spent more than an hour on April 6 debating how to respond to a voter-approved minimum-wage initiative that now faces a court challenge. The city has two competing wage rules in effect, council members said, and several speakers urged caution, more outreach and additional economic research before final action.
Council member Sam Mendez and others argued for implementing a city ordinance that would provide clarity for businesses and workers. Council member Linda Akey and Council member Alex Andrade urged pausing until the court resolves the initiative’s legal questions, noting the initiative references wage language from Tukwila and SeaTac and that local businesses remain confused about which law applies.
After public and council discussion, members voted on several procedural actions. A motion to table the matter until the initiative completes court review passed (vote recorded in meeting). Later the council authorized the city attorney to continue drafting ordinance 8-92, with a stipulation that the section on large employers set the wage at $21.65, and requested staff provide official economic-research materials (including recent National Bureau of Economic Research working papers on California and Carnegie Mellon work referenced by council) in the April 20 packet.
Council discussion repeatedly stressed outreach to small businesses: several members asked that the Business and Economic Development Partnership and economic-development staff engage minority- and immigrant-owned microbusinesses as part of any follow-up. City Manager and legal staff cautioned that the city cannot give definitive guidance to businesses until the court resolves the competing statutes, and any legal strategy discussion must occur in executive session.
Why it matters: The item affects wages for workers and compliance obligations for hundreds of local small businesses. Council’s direction begins a process to reconcile competing rules while seeking more data and community input.
What’s next: Legal staff will continue drafting a proposed ordinance incorporating the $21.65 large-employer figure; staff will return on April 20 with the draft and a research brief on relevant economic studies and outreach plans.
