Blog

New report: I-1433: A “Blunt Instrument” Increasing the Minimum Wage and Mandating Paid Sick Leave

Initiative 1433 will be on the ballot in November. We consider the initiative in a new report. Briefly: I-1433 would increase the state minimum wage to $13.50 over four years. It would require businesses statewide to provide paid sick leave to employees. One hour of paid sick leave would be earned for every 40 hours […]

How Seattle’s minimum wage increase to $11 is affecting workers and businesses

A team at the University of Washington has been studying the effects of Seattle’s minimum wage ordinance. In January, the team provided preliminary estimates on the ordinance’s impacts on prices (they suggested “a concentration of price effects in the restaurant industry”). In April, a report providing baseline employer survey and worker interview information was released. […]

In scheduling study, more evidence that labor regulations distort the compensation mix

A new study (commissioned by the city of Seattle) looks at how scheduling works in Seattle businesses and considers what regulations might be in order. Opportunity Washington has a good overview of the findings and responses to them. Some have questioned the study’s methodology—the authors included. The study consists of surveys of workers and managers, […]

The interaction of employment policies can be costly and problematic

In combination, employment policies can create “the straw that broke the camel’s back” situations, and their interactions can put them at cross purposes with each other. The U.S. Chamber of Commerce has recently released a few reports on employment policies that illustrate this. First, the Chamber looks at how employment regulations affect California’s economy. Some of the findings are […]

Washington average wage increases — so will UI benefits and taxes and workers' comp COLAs

Last week the Employment Security Department (ESD) reported that the state's average annual wage was $56,273 in 2015 (a 2.6 percent increase over the previous year). This has implications for unemployment insurance (UI) benefits and taxes and workers' compensation benefits. According to ESD, for new claims, the minimum weekly unemployment benefit will increase from $158 […]

How to fund Seattle's Office of Labor Standards?

For the last several months a discussion has been ongoing in Seattle about how to increase funding for the Office of Labor Standards (OLS). The OLS was established in 2015 to enforce standards related to city ordinances like the minimum wage and paid sick leave. An April 1 staff memo to the Seattle City Council’s […]

Labor policies and the compensation mix

Daniel Drezner has an interesting item in the Washington Post about the Obama administration's new overtime rules. (The salary threshold will increase from $455 per week to $913 per week in December, so more workers will be entitled to overtime pay if they work more than 40 hours a week.) Drezner notes that the new rules will […]

Boys & Girls Clubs of King County CEO speaks out against 'predictive scheduling'

On the heels of new minimum wage laws, the Seattle City Council, some members of the state Legislature and others are now setting their sights on so-called "predictive scheduling," which would impose mandates on how employers schedule their employees' shifts. The largely union-funded groups advocating the policy say it would help workers – particularly those […]

Job openings, some worker shortages expected in aerospace industry

An article in today's Puget Sound Business Journal brought our attention to a new "Talent Pipeline Study for Aerospace" published by the Workforce Development Council of Seattle-King County. It's full of fascinating data on employment in the aerospace industry through 2023. Some highlights: While "overall employment within the aerospace industry will decline by 0.8% annually from 2013 […]

As technology advances, people will need advanced skills

Opportunity Washington has a good post about how technology is changing work — many jobs will increasingly be performed by robots and computers. The technology is disruptive, upsetting long-standing operations and careers and the transition will be costly. But ultimately technologies that increase efficiency–cutting costs, boosting productivity and reliability–will win out.  Relatedly, in last week's episode […]