A contractor employed by the state was owed $10,000 in back wages by a real estate developer for remodeling work he had completed six months earlier. Pursuant to a state law regulating delinquent payment of wages, the contractor filed an action in state court to resolve the claim within 21 days. In response, the real estate developer filed a voluntary bankruptcy petition in federal bankruptcy court and sought a stay of further proceedings on the unpaid claim. Federal law provided for an automatic stay in both federal and state courts for persons filing federal bankruptcy claims. If the contractor opposes imposition of the stay as applied to his state court claim, what is the proper resolution of the issue