Nevada Supreme Court Determines Definition of Health Insurance for Nevada’s Minimum Wage Laws

On May 31, 2018, the Nevada Supreme Court issued a unanimous decision in MDC Restaurants, LLC v. The Eighth Judicial Dist. Court, 134 Nev. Op. 41 (May 31, 2018), addressing arguably the most hotly contested issue of law regarding the Nevada Constitution’s Minimum Wage Amendment, Nev. Cost. art. XV § 16 (“MWA” or the “Amendment”). Specifically, the court was asked to clarify what constitutes “health benefits” for purposes of paying Nevada’s lower-tier minimum wage. The court answered that question by determining, based on “common sense,” that “the MWA requires an employer who pays one dollar per hour less in wages to provide a benefit in the form of health insurance at least equivalent to the one dollar per hour in wages that the employee would otherwise receive.”