[atlas:bill]

AN ACT Relating to enhancing the competitiveness of Washington's agricultural and food processing industries; amending RCW 49.46.020; and adding a new section to chapter 49.46 RCW.

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

Sec. 1. RCW 49.46.020 and 1999 c 1 s 1 are each amended to read as follows:

(1) ((~~Until January 1, 1999, 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) Beginning January 1, 1999, and until January 1, 2000, 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 five dollars and seventy cents per hour.

(3) Beginning January 1, 2000, and until January 1, 2001, 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 six dollars and fifty cents per hour.

~~(4)(a) Beginning on January 1, 2001, and each following~~)) (a) Except as set forth under (c) of this subsection, on January 1st as set forth under (b) of this subsection, 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 the amount established under (b) of this subsection.

(b) On ((~~September 30, 2000, and on each following~~)) September 30th, the department of labor and industries shall calculate an adjusted minimum wage rate to maintain employee purchasing power by increasing the current year's minimum wage rate by the rate of inflation. The adjusted minimum wage rate shall be calculated to the nearest cent using the consumer price index for urban wage earners and clerical workers, CPI-W, or a successor index, for the twelve months prior to each September 1st as calculated by the United States department of labor. Each adjusted minimum wage rate calculated under this subsection ((~~(4)~~)) (1)(b) takes effect on the following January 1st.

((~~(5)~~)) (c) Every employer shall pay to each of his or her employees who has reached the age of eighteen years and who performs services in agriculture or processing as defined in section 2 of this act wages at a rate of not less than six dollars and ninety cents per hour.

(2) The director shall by regulation establish the minimum wage for employees under the age of eighteen years.

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

Unless the context clearly requires otherwise, "services in agriculture or processing" means employment:

(1) On a farm, in the employ of any person, in connection with the cultivation of the soil, or in connection with raising or harvesting any agricultural or horticultural commodity, including raising, shearing, feeding, caring for, training, and management of livestock, bees, poultry, and furbearing animals and wildlife, or in the employ of the owner or tenant or other operator of a farm in connection with the operation, management, conservation, improvement, or maintenance of such farm and its tools and equipment;

(2) In packing, packaging, grading, storing or delivering to storage, or to market or to a carrier for transportation to market, any agricultural or horticultural commodity;

(3) Commercial canning, commercial freezing, or any other commercial processing, or with respect to services performed in connection with the cultivation, raising, harvesting, and processing of oysters or in connection with any agricultural or horticultural commodity after its delivery to a terminal market for distribution for consumption;

(4) In distributing or selling any pesticide as defined by RCW 15.58.030 or any agricultural chemical; or

(5) In office management or other support services directly related to employment described in subsections (1) through (4) of this section.