Washington Supreme Court rules SeaTac minimum wage increase applies to airport

The Washington Supreme Court has ruled that a voter-approved initiative to raise the minimum wage to $15 an hour in the city of SeaTac should apply to workers at the airport.

In its 5-4 ruling Thursday, the majority upheld the entirety of Proposition 1 and expanded it to airport workers, writing that there was no indication that the law would interfere with airport operations. SeaTac's minimum wage was raised to $15 an hour in 2014, and increased again to $15.24 this January because it is tied to the consumer price index.

Residents of SeaTac, the city that surrounds Seattle-Tacoma International Airport, voted in November 2013 to raise its minimum wage and give workers other protections. A month later, a King County Superior Court judge ruled that the law does not apply to the airport because it is controlled by the Port of Seattle, not the city of SeaTac.