CHENEY – Area businesses will be paying their lowest-tier employees at least 12.5 % more beginning Wednesday, Jan. 1.
That’s when the state minimum wage climbs $1.50 per hour to $13.50. The new minimum wage applies to all workers age 16 and older.
State Department and Labor and Industries officials estimate the wage increase will be paid to 189,994 employees.
Tips do not count toward the minimum wage, under state law.
This year’s 12.5% increase is the final wage hike scheduled under Initiative 1433.
Passed in 2016, the ballot measure raised the minimum wage to specified amounts for the past four years.
The wage hike passed on the strength of the Puget Sound electorate.
While statewide figures show 57.42% support, the measure failed in all 20 counties east of the Cascades and three counties in Southwest Washington.
Opposition was highest in Lincoln County, where 69.79% of voters rejected the minimum wage increase. Nearby, 60.1% of voters in Adams County and 56.73% in Spokane County also opposed the measure.
Going forward, Labor and Industries officials will calculate annual minimum wage hikes using a formula based on the Consumer Price Index.
While the minimum wage is going up for many entry-level jobs, state law still allows a training wage for qualified workers ages 14-15. Employees in that age range can be paid 85% of the minimum, or $11.48 per hour next year.
Under state law, employers can pay 85 percent of the minimum wage to workers ages 14-15. For 2020, that would be $11.48.
The minimum wage increase comes alongside a U.S. Department of Labor overtime rules update for salaried workers.
Under new federal guidelines effective Jan. 1, employees working more than 40 hours in a given week will be have to paid overtime, if their salary is less than $684 per week or $35,568 annually.
That threshold is an increase of $11,908 annually, meaning many more employees will qualify for overtime pay.
Roger Harnack can be reached at [email protected].
Roger Harnack is the owner/publisher of Free Press Publishing. Having grown up Benton City, Roger is an award-winning journalist, columnist, photographer, editor and publisher. He's one of only two editorial/commentary writers from Washington state to ever receive the international Golden Quill. Roger is dedicated to the preservation of local media, and the voice it retains for Eastern Washington.
Reader Comments(0)