NJ Living Wage Coalition

Lawrenceville Living Wage Coalition

Lawrenceville, NJ 08648

During the summer of 2006, a group of concerned activists in Lawrence Township (central New Jersey) conducted a successful six-week petition drive to place a living wage ordinance aimed at large retailers on the November ballot. On July 10, 2006, the Lawrence Living Wage Coalition presented 1,054 certified signatures to the township clerk in support of a "Large Retail Living Wage and Benefits Ordinance." The proposed ordinance stipulates that retailers with more than 100,000 square feet of indoor space and with annual corporate revenues of $1 billion or more, would be required to pay their employees not less than $11.80 an hour and to provide benefits equivalent to $3.50 an hour.

At its scheduled meeting of August 15, 2006, the Lawrence Township Council, on the advice of Township attorney Kevin Nerwinski, denied debate on the proposed ordinance and unanimously tabled action. Mr. Nerwinski advised the council to seek a judicial ruling on whether Lawrence voters could legally enact their own minumum wage and benefit package ordinance.

On Monday, August 21, 2006, the Committee of Ordinance Petitioners, comprised of five Lawrenceville residents, was served with papers initiating legal proceedings against them, and seeking an injunction against placing the ordinance on the ballot on the grounds that a minimum wage ordinance may be illegal under New Jersey State law. -- Yes, Lawrence Township began suing its own citizens.

Judge Linda Feinberg heard the case on Wednesday, August 30, 2006, at 2 p.m., in her courtroom at the Mercer County Courthouse in Trenton. She granted the Town Council's motion for a temporary injunction, preventing the referendum from appearing on the November 7, 2006, ballot. Read a coalition member's account of the court hearing here.

The Lawrence Living Wage Coalition filed a Notice of Appeal with the New Jersey Superior Court Appellate Division on October 13, 2006, in the hope of seeing the referendum question on the November 2007 ballot. However the appeal was eventually withdrawn in January 2007 on advice of our legal team, due to the current political climate and concerns that losing the appeal could have a broader impact on home rule issues in New Jersey. Rather than risk adversely impacting other local initiatives in New Jersey, our aim is to assist in such future campaigns.

Thanks to all of you who participated in gathering petition signatures and thank you to all who signed the petition! Posted below you can find all the important documents about the proposed ordinance and the Township Council's lawsuit.

Read or download the "Large Retail Living Wage and Benefits Ordinance," the Lawrence Township’s Legal Action, the Living Wage Coalition legal team’s outstanding response to that action, and the subsequent lawsuit documents, listed below.

Ordinance Documents:

Lawsuit Documents:

©2006 NJ Living Wage Coalition - njlivingwagecoalition.org