Arizona Penalty on Flagstaff Minimum Wage Gets Court Green Light

Arizona lawmakers’ effort to charge Flagstaff $1.1 million over its minimum wage law can move forward, after a state appeals court overruled a lower court’s decision to block the assessment.

The underlying case hinges on the Republican-majority legislature’s attempt to penalize cities that pass minimum wages higher than the statewide wage floor. Arizona lawmakers can’t outright pre-empt local minimum wages as half of US states have done, because of a voter-approved amendment to the state constitution that authorizes local governments to pass higher minimum wages.

The appeals court’s Tuesday decision stopped short of deciding whether the penalty violates the state ...