A federal judge dismissed a challenge to Seattle’s groundbreaking legislation that helps makes healthcare accessible to hotel workers through expenditures from large hotel employers.
Seattle City Attorney Pete Holmes said, “The current health crisis demonstrates the urgent need for adequate health care coverage for workers and their families. In a nation that wrongheadedly relies on employer-provided healthcare to protect the ill from financial ruin, today’s ruling is a momentous step toward ensuring our hotel workers have access to insurance coverage.
Holmes added, “My appreciation goes to Assistant City Attorney Jeremiah Miller who was instrumental in defending the City in this challenge, and to Assistant City Attorneys Erica Franklin and Carolyn Boies who assisted in developing this novel legislative solution.”
The ERISA Industry Committee challenged the hotel worker legislation in the U.S. District Court of Western Washington, arguing the ordinance was preempted by federal law. The Order to grant the City’s motion to dismiss the challenge was issued by Judge Thomas Zilly last Friday.
Council President M. Lorena González (Position 9, Citywide), the legislation’s co-sponsor, said, “I am grateful that a court has rejected ERIC’s attempt to take healthcare access away from thousands of hotel workers in Seattle. Especially during this pandemic, people across the country are making tough choices between paying rent, putting dinner on the table, and seeking much needed medical care. Now more than ever, we should be standing with workers, and striving to protect the need of our most vulnerable workers to access healthcare. Thank you to our City Attorney’s Office for defending this important law and thank you to the many Unite HERE Local 8 hotel workers who fought tirelessly for these protections. This victory is yours.”
“This unprecedented public health emergency has underscored the importance of providing access to quality affordable health care for all workers. Seattle is a national leader in implementing strong worker protections, including one of the first major cities to adopt a $15 per hour minimum wage and to implement a Domestic Workers Bill of Rights. This ruling confirms the strength of Seattle values and the importance of creating opportunity for all workers,” said Mayor Jenny A. Durkan. “I commend UNITE HERE Local 8 for their continued fight to protect workers, Council President González and Councilmember Mosqueda for their steadfast leadership on this issue, and to the City Attorney’s office for once again successfully defending the will of Seattle’s voters.”
“Hotel workers have long been waiting for basic health and safety protections, and this ruling protects access to healthcare for an industry that experiences injury rates higher than both coal mining and building construction. I’m pleased the court’s dismissal supports healthcare for a predominately women and people of color workforce as envisioned in Initiative-124, which passed by 77% of Seattle voters in 2016 and reaffirmed in my legislation last year,” said Councilmember Teresa Mosqueda (Position 8, Citywide), the legislation’s co-sponsor). “Thanks to the hundreds of hotel workers, UniteHERE Local 8, and hotel industry executives who helped craft the follow-up legislation, and thanks to the City Attorney’s office for their work defending the legislation. Access to healthcare is more important than ever in light of the COVID-19 crisis and its lingering effect in our community.”
The Improving Access to Medical Care for Hotel Employees Ordinance, adopted by the Seattle City Council in 2019, is intended to “improve low-wage hotel employees’ access, through additional compensation, to high-quality, affordable health coverage for the employees and their spouses or domestic partners, children, and other dependents.”
The ordinance sets a minimum employer healthcare expenditure that either requires large hotel employers to pay for hotel workers’ healthcare, or pay the minimum healthcare expenditure amount directly to employees or to a third-party for the employee