S-4095.2  _______________________________________________

                         SENATE BILL 6612

          _______________________________________________

State of Washington      54th Legislature     1996 Regular Session

By Senators Pelz, McAuliffe, Heavey, Smith, Sutherland, Franklin, Owen, Hargrove, Goings and Fairley

Read first time 01/19/96.  Referred to Committee on Labor, Commerce & Trade.

Increasing the minimum wage for employees who graduated high school or passed a general educational development test.

    AN ACT Relating to minimum hourly wages; amending RCW 49.46.020; adding a new section to chapter 49.46 RCW; and prescribing penalties.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:

    Sec. 1.  RCW 49.46.020 and 1993 c 309 s 1 are each amended to read as follows:

    (1) Except as provided in subsection (3) of this section, every employer shall pay to each of his or her employees who has reached the age of eighteen years wages at a rate of not less than four dollars and ninety cents per hour.

    (2) The director shall by ((regulation)) rule establish the minimum wage for employees under the age of eighteen years except for employees covered by subsection (3) of this section.

(3) Every employer shall pay to each of his or her employees who has graduated from high school or passed a general educational development test wages at a rate of not less than fifty cents per hour more than the amount required to be paid to employees under subsection (1) of this section.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 2.  A new section is added to chapter 49.46 RCW to read as follows:

    (1) An employer may not discharge or refuse to hire a person solely because that person is covered by RCW 49.46.020(3).

    (2) An employer found by the department to have violated subsection (1) of this section may be assessed a civil penalty of not more than ten thousand dollars for each violation.

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