Ruben J. Garcia is a Professor of Law at the William S. Boyd School of Law.Bloomberg Radio’s “Bloomberg Law” interviewed Professor Garcia on Dec. 19 for a segment titled “L.A. Minimum Wage Lawsuit” (3:22-minute mark) about the hotel industry groups’ lawsuit against the city of Los Angeles to block its new $15.37 minimum wage law. Catherine Fisk, professor at the University of California, Irvine School of Law, also joined the interview.
In the interview, Professor Garcia spoke at length and presented several arguments as to why the law should not be enforced.
“… the law is preempted by federal labor law and it is common that employers and unions negotiate over terms like wages, hours and working conditions,” Professor Garcia began. “Federal labor law is intensely preemptive and so the Supreme Court has come up with a number of cases where they have said if a law interferes with the free play of economic forces between labor and management, then it can be preempted by federal law. …”
A recognized expert in the field of labor and employment law, Professor Garcia teaches Labor Law, Employment Law, Constitutional Law, and Professional Responsibility at the Boyd School of Law. He has been quoted in the Los Angeles Times, the Wall Street Journal, and the Las Vegas Review-Journal, among others, and has appeared on national and local radio and television programs.
