Two competing ballot measures that will affect wages for tipped workers will be decided in November, despite efforts by backers of one measure to throw the other off the ballot.
Raise the Wage Arizona backs a measure that would increase the minimum wage and ensure workers can also take home tips in addition.
In a lawsuit, the group also argued that a separate measure on minimum wage called Prop. 138 - referred to voters by Republican lawmakers - should be barred from ballots.
Lawmakers called it the Tipped Workers Protection Act. It would allow workers to be paid 25% less than the minimum wage if they also take home a minimum amount of pay when including tips. It’s strongly supported by the Arizona Restaurant Association.
Attorney Jim Barton argued the title is misleading, but a Maricopa County Superior Court judge disagreed.
“The judge's decision says that it’s not deceptive to call an act that does nothing to protect tipped workers a tipped worker protection act and I just, I don't understand how the judge can say that. It is plainly deceptive,” Barton said on Tuesday.
Judge Peter Thompson clarified in his ruling that Tipped Workers Protection Act is the way lawmakers decided to describe the legislation, but that label is different from the measure’s official title and there is no guarantee that the term Tipped Workers Protection Act will appear on the ballot.
The official title is just: AMENDING ARTICLE XVIII, BY ADDING SECTION 11, CONSTITUTION OF ARIZONA.
In fact, proposed ballot language from the Secretary of State’s Office doesn’t use the term Tipped Workers Protection Act.
“The language of the Short Title does not mislead or deceive the reader as to the contents or meaning of the language of the proposed Amendment,” Thompson wrote.
But Barton says there’s more to it than that. He said in the campaign promoting the lawmakers’ measure, it’ll be referred to as a measure to protect tipped workers and in all likelihood appear that way in voters’ publicity pamphlets.
Barton said they will appeal the ruling.
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The decision did not address any substantive claims of what’s in the manual, only the public comment period question, so it’s not clear how the ruling will affect future elections.
