US | Thu Aug 20, 2015 11:23pm EDT

Washington state's top court extends SeaTac's $15 wage to airport workers

SEATTLE | BY ERIC M. JOHNSON

A Seattle suburb's $15 hourly minimum wage for certain employees applies to thousands of workers at the region's main airport, Washington state's top court ruled on Thursday.

Voters in the city of SeaTac, where Seattle-Tacoma International Airport is based, approved a 2013 initiative enacting a $15 minimum wage and other benefits for workers in the hospitality and travel industries, but thousands of airport employees were later excluded by court order.

A King County Superior Court judge had ruled that SeaTac did not have the authority to set workplace rules within the airport because the international aviation hub is owned by the Port of Seattle, a separate government entity.

Washington state's Supreme Court, in a 5-4 ruling, on Thursday reversed the trial court's finding, writing that the wage law can be enforced at the airport because "there has been no showing that this law would interfere with airport operations".

The majority also found that federal labor law does not preempt a local provision protecting workers from retaliation.

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