'Living Wage' Bill Highlights New Worker Rights Battleground

Ed Harold, a partner in the New Orleans office and chair of the firm's Retail Industry Practice Group, was quoted by Law360 in the September 17 article “'Living Wage' Bill Highlights New Worker Rights Battleground.”

The article noted that a recently vetoed bill that would have forced big retailers in Washington, D.C., to pay a “living wage” underscores the fact that proponents of worker-friendly legislation, like raising wages and requiring paid sick leave, have been increasingly devoting their efforts to the state and city levels.

Changes to the workplace law landscape are viewed as having a better chance of passage on the local level than they would on Capitol Hill.

Ed agreed that businesses looking to set up shop in a new state or city should be aware not only of existing laws, but of the potential for a campaign to expand workers' rights that could push labor costs beyond what the company might have anticipated. 

“If you invest a million dollars building a new store in town and are surprised a year later when you have to pay your employees a higher wage, that's not a good position to be in. You should know what's going on in local politics that's likely to affect your operations going down the line,” he said.