Restaurants Unlimited declared in its chapter 11 filing last week that “over the last three years, the company’s profitability has been significantly impacted by progressive wage laws along the Pacific coast," FoxNews.com reported. "The result was to increase the company’s annual wage expenses by an aggregate of $10.6 million.” It went on to cite three examples where minimum wages have risen dramatically over the last three years. Portland now requires $12.50 an hour, an increase of 35 percent. San Francisco’s minimum wage has climbed 41 percent to $15.59 per hour. And Seattle, the first city with a $15 minimum wage, now forces large employers to pay at least $16 an hour. Restaurants Unlimited, which is based in Seattle, did raise menu prices and even added a living wage surcharge to bills. But it still lost money. Despite the high minimum wage in Seattle, 111 new restaurants have opened in the city since May. The unemployment rate is at 3.4 percent, slightly less than the 3.7 percent U.S. jobless rate. Proponents of a higher minimum wage say Restaurants Unlimited is making worker’s pay a convenient scapegoat.
