International Franchise Association, Inc. et al. v. City of Seattle

Case Updates

The district court denied the International Franchise Association’s motion for a preliminary injunction, concluding that the plaintiffs were not likely to succeed on the merits, that they have not established irreparable harm, and that the balance of the equities and the public interest also counseled against an injunction.

In the coalition brief, the U.S. Chamber asked the district court to grant the International Franchise Association’s motion for a preliminary injunction against the City of Seattle’s ordinance raising the minimum wage to $15.00 per hour. The brief argues that the ordinance will soon prohibit countless businesses from hiring any person, regardless of their skill level and experience, to perform any job unless they pay a wage of $15.00 per hour. The Ordinance will be especially harmful to franchisees. Not only does it impose the largest minimum-wage increase in the history of the United States, but it does so by targeting franchisees for disparate treatment because of their affiliation with out-of-state franchisors and fellow franchisees. The Ordinance will accomplish this discriminatory purpose by declaring that “all franchisees associated with a franchisor or network of franchises with franchisees that employ more than 500 employees in aggregate in the United States” to be “large” employers even though these independent, locally owned and operated businesses would otherwise qualify as “small” employers under the law. Granting the motion will serve the public interest by preventing the Ordinance from inflicting economic harms on the people of Seattle.

The Chamber filed this brief jointly with the National Restaurant Association, the American Hotel & Lodging Association, Asian American Hotels Owners Association, Home Care Association of America, and Washington Retail Association.

William S. Consovoy, Thomas R. McCarthy, Nicole J. Owren-Wiest, and J. Michael Connolly of Wiley Rein LLP served the U.S. Chamber of Commerce as co-counsel to the U.S. Chamber Litigation Center.