Wal-Mart said it was scrapping plans to build three stores in Washington, D.C., after the city's council passed a bill late Wednesday that would require big retailers to pay starting wages that are 50% higher than the city's minimum wage.Obviously the only stores with 75,000 square feet or more AND corporate sales of at least $1 billion are Wal-Mart stores.
The retailer also said it would review its legal and financial options on the only other stores it has in the district, three that are still under construction. Wal-Mart had warned in an op-ed article in the Washington Post on Tuesday that it would pull out of the city if the District of Columbia's council passed the bill, called the Large Retailer Accountability Act of 2013.
"This was a difficult decision for us—and unfortunate news for most D.C. residents—but the Council has forced our hand," Wal-Mart spokesman Steven Restivo in a statement released after the 8-to-5 vote.
The bill requires retailers with corporate sales of $1 billion or more and with stores of at least 75,000 square feet to pay workers starting salaries of no less than $12.50 an hour. The city's minimum wage is $8.25.
This was not about DC.
This was about other cities and states following suit.
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