This page houses amicus briefs and is meant to be used as a guide for insight into state preemption topics. View all briefs.
This amicus brief was submitted by A Better Balance in support of an American Airlines employee who was denied paid sick leave, arguing that Arizona’s Earned Paid Sick Time Act covered the employee even though he was also covered by a Collective Bargaining Agreement.
Amicus brief submitted by A Better Balance in support of San Antonio’s paid sick leave law, arguing that the ordinance should not be preliminarily enjoined.
Amicus brief submitted by state and national local government law professors in support of San Antonio’s paid sick leave law, arguing that the city has authority to enact the law and that such authority has not been preempted.
Amicus brief submitted in support of the validity of New York City’s Fair Workweek Law, arguing that local regulations should enjoy a presumption of validity and that the Fair Workweek Law is not preempted by existing state labor law.
Amicus brief submitted by SEIU Local 26, TakeAction Minnesota, Centro de Trabajadores Unidos en la Lucha, and A Better Balance, arguing that Minneapolis’s Sick and Safe Time Law does not have an impermissible extraterritorial effect.
Amicus brief by A Better Balance before the Texas 3rd Court of Appeals in support of Austin’s Earned Sick Time Ordinance, arguing that, because paid sick leave laws like Austin’s do not harm businesses and provide significant benefits to workers, the court should not temporarily enjoin the ordinance while it is being challenged.
Amicus brief by a group of law professors specializing in local government law and related fields, before the Texas 3rd Court of Appeals, describing the history and purpose of the Texas Home Rule Amendment and arguing that Texas’s minimum wage law does not preempt Austin’s Earned Sick Time Ordinance.
Amicus brief by the Workers Defense Project, Austin workers, businesses, and advocacy organizations arguing that Austin’s Earned Sick Time Ordinance should not be temporarily enjoined because the plaintiffs challenging the ordinance have failed to demonstrate (1) that the ordinance is unduly burdensome to businesses in relation to the underlying government interest of protecting the health and safety of Austin residents, (2) that there was no rational reason to allow employers operating under a collective bargaining agreement to modify the cap of required paid sick leave, and (3) that the records-keeping requirement under the ordinance would subject businesses to unreasonable searches and seizures.
Amicus brief submitted in support of Cleveland, arguing the enactment of Cleveland’s Fannie Lewis local hire law was an exercise of the city’s police powers, that the state law prohibiting Ohio municipalities from adopting local hire requirements violates Ohio’s Home Rule doctrine, and that the state’s attempt to preempt Cleveland’s local hire law is part of a troubling nationwide assault on Home Rule.
Amicus brief submitted to the Pennsylvania Supreme Court by fifty-one organizations committed to women’s health and safety in support of Pittsburgh. The brief explains the importance of paid sick leave to protect public health, notes that a lack of paid sick leave disproportionately harms women and people of color, and argues that Pittsburgh has the authority to enact the Paid Sick Days Act.
Amicus brief submitted to the Pennsylvania Supreme Court by A Better Balance and leading law school professor experts in local government law and/or labor law in support of Pittsburgh. The brief outlines the history and importance of home rule in Pennsylvania, argues that Pittsburgh has the authority to pass the Paid Sick Days Act, and notes that striking down the ordinance would undermine home rule in Pennsylvania, severely limiting the ability of municipalities to protect public health and safety.
Amicus brief submitted in support of Cleveland, arguing that the state law prohibiting Ohio municipalities from adopting local hire requirements violates Ohio’s Home Rule doctrine and is part of a troubling nationwide assault on Home Rule.
This amicus brief was submitted in support of NAACP’s appeal, arguing that the Federal Voting Rights Act allows minority voters to bring private enforcement actions against states.
Amicus Brief submitted in support of allowing a Kansas City, Missouri ballot proposal to raise the minimum wage to go forward, arguing that Kansas City has authority to set a higher wage than that state’s.
