It looks like the courts will get to decide whether the controversial “living wage” bill about to be enacted by the City Council is legal.
Mayor Bloomberg dropped a bombshell on his weekly radio show today by announcing that his administration intends to file a lawsuit to block the law from taking effect.
“We certainly will go to court and sue,” the mayor declared. “Whether you win or not, you never know.”
The proposed law requires that businesses accepting $1 million or more in city subsidies pay their workers at least $11.50 an hour, or $10 with benefits. The current minimum wage here is $7.25 an hour.
Bloomberg compared the mandate to communism.
“The last time we really had a big managed economy was the USSR and that didn’t work out so well,” he said. “You cannot stop the tides from coming in.”
The mayor also pointed out that the Council was considering another “God-awful” bill that would force employers to provide a minimum number of paid sick days to their employees.
“You just cannot force employers to pay a rate that isn’t sustainable in their business,” he argued.
The Council could pass the “living wage” bill as early as this month. The mayor has vowed to veto it. But supporters have more than enough votes to override the veto.
Council Speaker Christine Quinn defended the bill yesterday as balanced, noting that it was changed substantially to exclude tenants of developers receiving city subsidies.
“I think that very fundamental change which the business community is strongly in support of is key to making sure this law will not stagnate job growth,” she said.
A number of cities across the US, from Pittsburgh to an Francisco, already have “living wage” laws in place.