One Worker Was Happy to See Minimum Wage Raised to $15. But Then He Found out There’s a Big Problem

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"Seattle recently passed a controversial $15-per-hour-minimum-wage law, with the first phase going into effect in April. Now, it appears the law may have claimed its first casualty.

The owner of Z Pizza, Ritu Shah Burnham, said she will have to likely close down her shop because she can’t afford the new cost of paying her employees.

In April, the minimum wage law went into effect, with Z Pizza having to start paying its staff $11 per hour to start. Z Pizza, according to Eater, has to “phase in the new $15 wage within two more years” and she “says it’s not possible for her business.”

One of the workers, Devin Jeran, said he was at first happy to get a raise, but when the owner dropped the bombshell development, he’s not too pleased.

“I definitely recognize that having more money is important especially in a city as expensive as this one,” Jeran told Q13 Fox.

Burnham will be closing her shop in August, putting Jerand and 11 other workers out of a job. “Fortunately she keeps us in the loop, she didn’t just tell us last minute,” he said.

Burnham explained her decision. “I’ve let one person go since April 1, I’ve cut hours since April 1, I’ve taken them myself because I don’t pay myself,” she told the station. “I’ve also raised my prices a little bit, there’s no other way to do it.”

And unlike a number of businesses, Z Pizza is a franchise, which means Burnham has to make minimum wage into effect faster.

“I’m a franchise. The law states that if you’re a franchise, you have to accelerate your minimum wage just like Amazon or Chipotle,” she told Capitol Hill Seattle."