Republican lawmakers in the Louisiana House on Thursday blocked a bid to give municipalities the authority to set their own minimum wage rates, stalling the latest legislative effort to move base pay in the state above the $7.25-per-hour federal level.
The proposal by Rep. Royce Duplessis, a New Orleans Democrat, sought to reverse a state law passed in 1997 that prohibited parishes and cities from setting local minimum wage rates.
His bill also would have allowed local governing authorities to establish paid leave requirements for businesses, such as setting a minimum number of vacation or sick leave days that companies must offer workers operating within its boundaries.
“These pre-emption laws undermine our democracy because they tell local government that we don’t trust you and we don’t respect you,” Duplessis said.
He couldn’t gain traction for the measure in the House labor committee, which voted 9-6 to shelve Duplessis’ legislation. Democrats supported the proposal, but Republicans voted in a bloc against the bill, siding with business organizations that opposed it.
Representatives of the National Federation of Independent Business and the Louisiana Association of Business and Industry said the legislation could damage the state’s economy.
Dawn Starns, NFIB state director, said Louisiana’s economy lags the nation in growth and employment levels. She said forced wage increases would exacerbate job losses, and she said creating a patchwork of regulations across parishes would be burdensome to small businesses.
