Restaurant Industry Groups Lose Bid to Overturn New York’s Payroll Deductions Law

Restaurant owners in New York City have recently been grappling with New York’s payroll deductions law, which requires fast food employers to implement a procedure for employees to donate a portion of their wages to non-profits.Two prominent restaurant industry groups—the National Restaurant Association (a foodservice trade association) and the Restaurant Law Center (its legal arm)—brought a lawsuit to challenge the law, entitled Restaurant Law Center v. City of New York, et al., 17-cv-09128, arguing that the Deductions Law was unconstitutional because it forced owners to:  (i) engage in “speech” by making donations on employees’ behalf;  (ii) “host” or “accommodate” the messages of their employees; and (iii) “associate” with non-profits.

On February 6, 2019, Judge Paul Gardephe of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New Yorkissued a 70-page decision (the “Decision”) rejecting the National Restaurant Association’s constitutional…