BILL REQ. #: H-0521.3
State of Washington | 62nd Legislature | 2011 Regular Session |
Read first time 01/26/11. Referred to Committee on Labor & Workforce Development.
AN ACT Relating to achieving economic security through income sufficient to meet basic needs; amending RCW 49.46.005 and 49.46.020; and providing for submission of this act to a vote of the people.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:
Sec. 1 RCW 49.46.005 and 1961 ex.s. c 18 s 1 are each amended to
read as follows:
Whereas the establishment of a minimum wage for employees is a
subject of vital and imminent concern to the people of this state and
requires appropriate action by the legislature to establish minimum
standards of employment within the state of Washington, therefore the
legislature declares that in its considered judgment the health, safety
and the general welfare of the citizens of this state require the
enactment of this measure, and exercising its police power, the
legislature endeavors by this chapter to establish a minimum wage for
employees of this state to encourage employment opportunities within
the state and to allow employees to support themselves and their
families with dignity. The legislature seeks to establish a minimum
wage that enables employees to provide for the basic needs of their
families and, therefore, not rely on social services provided by the
state and paid for by state taxpayers. The provisions of this chapter
are enacted in the exercise of the police power of the state for the
purpose of protecting the immediate and future health, safety and
welfare of the people of this state.
Sec. 2 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.))(a) Beginning on January 1, 2001, and each following January
1st until January 1, 2013, 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.
(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)
(b) On September 30, 2000, and on each following September 30th,
until September 30, 2012, 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))) (2)(a) Beginning on January 1, 2013, and each following
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, 2012, 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. Each
adjusted minimum wage rate calculated under this subsection (2)(b)
takes effect on the following January 1st.
(i) Except as provided in (b)(ii) of this subsection, the adjusted
minimum wage rate shall be calculated to the nearest cent using the
percentage increase in 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.
(ii) If the per capita personal income for the preceding calendar
year for Washington is greater than: (A) The per capita personal
income for the second preceding calendar year for Washington; and (B)
the per capita personal income for the preceding calendar year for the
United States, the adjusted minimum wage rate shall be calculated to
the nearest cent using the percentage increase in 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 plus three percent.
(3) The director shall by ((regulation)) rule establish the minimum
wage for employees under the age of eighteen years.
NEW SECTION. Sec. 3 The secretary of state shall submit this act
to the people for their adoption and ratification, or rejection, at the
next general election to be held in this state, in accordance with
Article II, section 1 of the state Constitution and the laws adopted to
facilitate its operation.