Pandemic Hazard Pay Bonuses Imposed by Cities Face Court Battles

Big grocery store chains are wielding largely untested legal arguments to fight hazard pay hikes related to Covid-19, as a growing number of cities pass mandates and the virus continues to affect front-line workers.

Efforts to overturn the requirements are being closely watched by other local governments, and could test the power of municipalities and the scope of federal labor law, attorneys say.

The lawsuits raise novel legal arguments, attorneys say, about whether the new laws related to the pandemic unfairly burden large retail chains and interfere with federal labor law’s power to govern union and company negotiations.

“It will ...