The politics of paid time off and minimum wage are catching on across Washington. In a city-by-city wave, local ordinances are being passed. In Seattle, SeaTac, and even Tacoma, city restaurants may bounce back from the effects of such mandates.

Spokane, though, is unique. It faces a direct challenge from its neighboring state. Idaho has no paid-leave laws, its minimum wage is roughly two dollars less, and it’s only a short distance away. For Spokane’s 492 restaurants, this is significant competition. 

The impact of such mandates on restaurants here is likely to be immediate. Restaurants in Washington pay $757 million in taxes. Idaho restaurants—with fewer costs—can be open longer hours, purchase more expensive ingredients, and employ more people. 

Restaurants are where many people get their first jobs, and are the businesses that help get people moving upward in the economy. To a small restaurant—75 percent of Spokane restaurants employ 20 or fewer people—its employees are its most treasured asset. In a national survey of more than 5,000 current and former employees, 84 percent said that a restaurant job was a good one to have. 

In Spokane, however, the minimum wage and other regulations already make it difficult for restaurants to hire. And our restaurants employ three fewer people than the national average. 

The Spokane City Council could make this situation worse. The Council is considering following Seattle’s lead to impose new regulations to require paid leave. These new regulations take a one-size-fits-all approach by mandating paid time off. This approach fails to recognize that restaurants already have flexible schedules with their employees that accommodate sick time and other personal needs, and that are often part of the appeal of working in the hospitality field.

Local restaurants haven’t recovered from the recession. In the last five years, costs are up 14 percent while sales are only up 9 percent. This is stressful news for Spokane’s restaurants that now face the possibility of increased labor costs in the form of paid time off for staff, and a looming minimum wage hike. Your favorite neighborhood restaurant likely won’t survive these changes.

Spokane also is different from Seattle in its boundaries. Where Seattle goes up, Spokane goes out. A new regulation on paid leave within the city of Spokane could result in neighboring businesses with different regulations. This creates a confusing and burdensome patchwork of laws for business, consumers and the city. One-size fits-all ordinances, like paid leave, fail to recognize innovative shift sharing and trading that accommodates the needs of employees.

Thankfully, the Spokane City Council hasn’t yet passed a paid-leave mandate. As the city looks at the issue, it should gather information from all business sectors to fully understand the impact of adopting such a regulation.  

Please reach out to your local government officials. They need to hear that we aren’t Seattle, and the impacts of paid time off and increasing the minimum wage will drive restaurants out of business and increase unemployment here.

Spokane restaurateurs Carla Barajas, of Azteca Mexican Restaurants, and Phil Costello, of Stop N Go, are Washington Restaurant Association board members.