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Preliminary results from UW's minimum wage study are inconclusive

The University of Washington is studying the impacts of Seattle's minimum wage ordinance. They recently released a paper that describes the methodology for their study and provides preliminary estimates of the ordinance's impact on prices. The price information is inconclusive, to say the least. There are many caveats: They may not adequately describe firm responses […]

President Obama's budget would subsidize wages for teens

Today President Obama proposed a budget for 2017. It includes $5.5 billion to "open doors to a first job." Of that, $3.5 billion would be used to create new partnerships with companies and communities to get nearly 1 million young people into first jobs over the summer and 150,000 young Americans who have been out […]

Washington has nation's 5th highest union membership rate

According to the U.S. Department of Labor, the national union membership rate was 11.1 percent in 2015 (the same as in 2014). Washington's total union membership rate was 16.8 percent in 2015, also unchanged since 2014. Professors Barry Hirsch of Georgia State University and David Macpherson of Trinity University have updated their database, which shows […]

Possible changes to local employment policy laws?

The Seattle Times reports on a bill (SB 6578) from Sen. Michael Baumgartner that would forbid cities, towns and port districts from regulating wages, hours of work, employee retention, and leave for private employers. It would apply retroactively, so if passed, Seattle's $15 minimum wage and paid sick leave laws (for example) would be illegal. […]

How Washington's paid sick leave mandates differ by city

As I wrote Tuesday, Spokane will join Seattle, SeaTac and Tacoma in requiring employers to provide paid sick leave to their employees. The text of Spokane's ordinance, which is effective Jan. 1, 2017, has now been posted. The table below compares the key provisions of Spokane's ordinance to those of the other cities. There are […]

Paid sick leave and minimum wage action in Washington

Yesterday the Spokane City Council voted to require employers in the city to provide workers with paid sick leave. The city clerk has not yet produced the final text; the ordinance was amended and passed late last night. But the Spokesman-Review reports that employers with more than 10 employees would have to provide five days […]

If legal, how would unions fit in with Uber's business model?

The Seattle City Council voted unanimously to allow for-hire drivers to unionize, becoming the first city to do so. But Mayor Ed Murray has reservations, writing to the Council that City costs of administering the collective bargaining process remain unknown and the Council has placed the burden of significant rulemaking on City staff. Additionally, Because […]

Unionizing Uber?

This afternoon the Seattle City Council will vote on a proposal that would allow "taxicab, transportation network company, and for-hire vehicle drivers" to unionize. (Uber is an example of a transportation network company.) The proposed ordinance states, Business models wherein companies control aspects of their drivers’ work, but rely on the drivers being classified as […]

InFocus podcast: State employment, revenue forecast, charter schools & cell-phone taxes

A 2 percent increase in average workers' comp rates for 2016

The Department of Labor and Industries has announced that it will increase average workers' compensation rates by 2 percent next year. (This is the same as what they proposed in September.) As the Association of Washington Business noted in September, this is "nearly double what the department needs to break even.” Additionally, L&I will continue to do its part to keep […]