Major retailers urge Gray to veto wage bill

A half-dozen major retailers have signed a letter to Mayor Vincent Gray, urging him to veto the large retailer living wage bill and threatening to “revisit” expansion plans if the legislation pulls through.

Top executives with The Home Depot Inc., Target Corp., AutoZone Inc., Lowes Cos. Inc., Macy’s Inc., and Walgreens Co., have respectfully requested that Gray veto the measure, which would force all large retailers with 75,000 square feet and whose parent company earns over $1billion per year, to pay their employees $12.50 an hour.

In the letter, they wrote that the legislation is “unfairly discriminatory” and “ill-advised”. They also wrote that it singles out businesses and does not address the goal of improving job quality and opportunity in the District.

If the Large Retailer Accountability Act passes, the letter states, “any future plans for retail expansion in the city must be revisited. Arbitrary conditions that subject our stores to rules that other employers, including countless competitors, are not equally subjected to unfairly distort the marketplace and are cause for grave concern.”

Mayor Gray has not yet received the bill, and there is no timeline for when he will get it. Once he has the bill in his possession, Gray will have 10 days to either sign it or veto it.