---
title: "Seattle Judge Upholds $15 Minimum Wage Law for Franchises"
url: https://burnaze.com/article/319f8262-e4de-4582-a43a-85b719320389
source: "1851 Franchise"
original_url: https://1851franchise.com/1851-franchising-weekly-rewind-1324
category: "Franchise Industry"
industry: "Franchise Industry"
topics: ["Regulation & legal"]
published: 2015-03-20T21:16:00.000Z
modified: 2026-11-01T22:34:27.455Z
image: https://newimage.1851franchise.com/cdn-cgi/image/quality=85,format=webp,width=1280,height=720/story/featureImage/4012e2eb817097827478411861083f066882.jpg
---

# Seattle Judge Upholds $15 Minimum Wage Law for Franchises

**TL;DR:** A U.S. District Judge has upheld Seattle's minimum wage law for franchises, requiring them to pay workers $15 an hour within two to three years. The law will affect locally owned franchises, putting them on the same timeline as large employers.

*originally published in 1851 Franchise on 2015-03-20. [Read the original](https://1851franchise.com/1851-franchising-weekly-rewind-1324).*

## Story

**Judge Rejects Request to Block Seattle’s Minimum Wage Law for Franchises** U.S. District Judge Richard A. Jones has rejected a request from franchises to block part of Seattle’s minimum wage law from taking effect next month. This ruling means locally owned franchises are on the same fast track as large employers for paying workers $15 an hour in the next two to three years. The judge said the franchise owners and industry association didn’t show that the city was intending to discriminate against them.

**Playing Chicken at Popeye’s** Popeye’s introduced the new Red Stick Chicken with a virtual staring contest featuring a lifelike chicken. The brand is launching its first mobile app, Red Stick Staredown, which features facial recognition technology created by Mithun. The game asks user to stare at a virtual chicken without blinking, turning their heads or scratching for a chance to win. The game doesn’t offer prizes, but the scores are shareable on social.

**South LA Fast Food Ban Hasn’t Cut Obesity** Seven years ago, South L.A. made headlines by banning new fast food restaurants from moving into the area. This was an attempt to reduce obesity in the region. A new study has found the effort has not accomplished its goal. A report released by A Rand Corp. says that from 2007 to 2012, the percentage of people who are overweight or obese increased everywhere in L.A., and fast food consumption went up in South L.A., as well as across the entire country.

**Culver’s Goes Gluten-Free** According to Culver’s restaurants, the chain will be adding a new gluten-free bun to their menu. The new bun will be available at all Culver’s locations by the end of March. This will allow customers with gluten intolerance and those who want to cut down on their gluten intake to enjoy Culver’s staples like ButterBurgers and Grilled Chicken Sandwiches.

**Win $1 Million from Pizza Hut** To celebrate the 20th anniversary of the Pizza Hut Stuffed Crust pizza, Pizza Hut is offering Americans the chance to win $1 million dollars by making a half-court shot —backwards. The pizza company will hold a live event on Sunday, April 5, 2015, where four fans will attempt to win $1 million by making a backwards half-court shot. Fans can enter to compete by signing up at www.stuffedcrustshot.com by March 29.

## Entities

- 1851 Franchise (publication)
- Franchise Industry (sector)
- Pizza Hut (company)
- Popeyes (company)
- Seattle (location)
- franchise regulation (topic)
- Culver's (company)
- minimum wage law (topic)
- worker pay (topic)
- South LA (location)
- seattle law (topic)

---
Originally reported by 1851 Franchise (https://1851franchise.com/1851-franchising-weekly-rewind-1324). Summarized by Burnaze (https://burnaze.com/article/319f8262-e4de-4582-a43a-85b719320389).