Hudson County Living Wage Law Protecting Vulnerable Residents Struck Down by N.J. Court

12/23/2003

From: Nathan Newman of The Brennan Center for Justice, 917-854-0279

NEW YORK, Dec. 23 -- In an unprecedented legal ruling certain to be reviewed by a higher court, Judge Maurice Gallipoli of New Jersey Superior Court struck down Hudson County's living wage law. The county law, aimed at helping low- income workers feed their children and pay the rent, requires companies receiving county contracts to pay at least $7.73 per hour plus health benefits.

More than 110 cities and counties in dozens of states have enacted local living wage laws in recent years. Today's ruling in Hudson County marks one of the first times that a court has found a locality lacks the authority to enact a living wage law.

The lawsuit challenging the law was filed by the Visiting Homemakers Service -- an agency providing homecare services for the county. "We continue to maintain that our current policy makes the most sense for our workers and the people they serve -- the residents of Hudson County," said County Executive Tom DeGise. "That is why we plan to appeal this decision. Visiting Homemakers provides a valuable service to our community. We simply seek to have them provide it in a manner that is consistent with our established standards -- ones we believe are reasonable and fair."

A broad coalition of church and community groups joined the county in the lower court in defense of the law, and said today that it would continue to support the county on appeal. Represented by the Brennan Center for Justice at NYU School of Law, the coalition includes the Jubilee Interfaith Organization, the Interfaith Community Organization, the New Jersey Institute for Social Justice, Legal Services of New Jersey, and New Jersey ACORN.

"The challenge to the county's law shows a shocking indifference to the plight of the working individuals in our community," said Reverend Kevin Agee, a leader of the Jubilee Interfaith Organization, which advocates on behalf of living wage laws around the state. "Government contractors should not be subsidized by local government to exploit their employees."

The coalition brief, authored by the Brennan Center, explained that the New Jersey constitution and state laws give Hudson County clear power to determine appropriate pay levels for workers performing services for the county. "The ruling striking down the Hudson County living wage law is an unprecedented attack on local government control in New Jersey, potentially limiting the power of cities and counties to address important local needs such as encouraging economic development, protecting the environment, and safeguarding civil rights," says Brennan Center associate counsel Nathan Newman. The brief also outlined recent economic research, which has found that living wage laws increase the quality of services provided to citizens with little increase in costs to the governments passing them.

"Hudson County, like more than 110 other communities across the country, has recognized that living wage laws are an important tool, not only for helping people feed their children, but also for ensuring better quality services for local government by reducing the high staff turnover that results when government contractors pay minimum wage," explains Newman.

Hudson County's living wage law requires county contractors employing food service workers, janitors, security guards, and health service workers to pay a living wage rate of at least $7.73 per hour plus health benefits.

The Brennan Center works to expand access to family-sustaining jobs to combat our nation' s widening economic inequality. The Center assists lawmakers and reform coalitions in cities across the country in designing living wage laws and other reform legislation tailored to local needs.

For more information, please contact Nathan Newman at 917-854-0279.