Federal judge dismisses lawsuit challenging hazard pay for grocery store workers in Seattle

SEATTLE — On Friday, a U.S. District Court judge dismissed a lawsuit challenging hazard pay for grocery store workers in Seattle, according to a release from the city of Seattle.

Large grocery store chains claimed the law requiring extra pay violated federal labor laws and illegally singled out larger stores.

The Seattle City Council unanimously voted in January to approve legislation that allows grocery store workers to be paid an extra $4 per hour for the duration of the COVID-19 emergency.

Seattle City Attorney Pete Holmes said, “This is a big win for grocery store employees who have been critical and vulnerable frontline workers since the start of the pandemic. We brought strong legal arguments to prevail today, and I’m thankful to Assistant City Attorney Jeremiah Miller for seeing us through to victory.”

Mayor Jenny Durkan said, “Hope in on the horizon with the federal courts dismissing this lawsuit on hazard pay and grocery store workers now receiving access to vaccines. Grocery story workers have been working on the front lines of this pandemic, keeping communities fed for over a year, and fortunately justice prevailed for our workers.”

Faye Guenther, President of UFCW 21, stated in response to the judge’s decision:

“We have pushed for hazard pay for essential grocery store workers since May when the corporations running the stores decided, without even giving a reason, to cut the hazard pay that had been in place. The city’s hazard pay ordinance is a good law that provides temporary additional pay to the frontline workers in our grocery stores who have been putting their health and safety on the line every day since the pandemic began. The pay provides some additional income for these workers as their jobs have increased risk, increased demands, and increased hazards. And these workers’ labor is what has allowed the rest of the us in the community to get access to the food and other necessities we need and has resulted in the huge increased profits for the grocery store corporations.”

“This is a big win for grocery store workers who deserves this hazard pay and also a big win for all the other municipalities out there considering passing their own hazard pay ordinance that these laws are legal and will withstand the bullying lawsuits of the industry.”

The temporary law requires stores that employ more than 500 employees worldwide to provide hazard pay to their employees. However, the ordinance does not affect convenience stores or food marts primarily selling a limited line of goods.

Covered grocery store businesses are retail stores that are either:

• over 10,000 square feet in size and primarily engaged in retailing groceries for offsite consumption; or
• over 85,000 square feet, with 30% or more of its sales floor area dedicated to the sale of groceries.

Burien and King County also passed laws mandating extra pay during the pandemic.

Cox Media Group