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2014 remainders: workers' comp, freight plan, and the ports

Some end-of-year housekeeping — the following are some items I didn’t get around to blogging about over the past month: The Department of Labor and Industries announced that workers’ compensation premiums will increase by an average of 0.8 percent. In September, L&I had proposed an increase of 1.8 percent. The Washington State Department of Transportation […]

New NLRB complaints could impact all franchises

On Dec. 19, the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) issued complaints against McDonald’s franchisees and their franchisor, McDonald’s USA, LLC, as joint employers.  The complaints allege that McDonald’s USA, LLC and certain franchisees violated the rights of employees working at McDonald’s restaurants at various locations around the country by, among other things, making statements and […]

Trade-offs of a higher minimum wage include automation

McDonald’s had a “dreadful” earnings report this week, according to a Wall Street Journal editorial. So even one of the world’s most ubiquitous consumer brands cannot print money at its pleasure. This may be news to liberal pressure groups that have lately been demanding that government order the chain known for cheap food to somehow […]

Harvard Business School on "An Economy Doing Half Its Job" and the Need to Improve Education, Workforce Skills and Transportation

My column today used a Harvard Business School competitiveness report as its launching point. It points out a signal danger to our economic future. The report, “An Economy Doing Half Its Job,” is based on a survey of Harvard business graduates and the school’s own academic research. The research team writes that the nation is […]

Dutch-style pensions may be a good example for the U.S.

The New York Times published an interesting story on Dutch pension plans over the weekend. They are very different from those in the U.S.: The Dutch system rests on the idea that each generation should pay its own costs — and that the costs must be measured accurately if that is to happen. . . […]

Measuring workers' compensation costs

This week the Oregon Department of Consumer and Business Services released its workers’ compensation premium rate rankings for 2014. By this measure, Washington looks slightly better than in 2012, but still not good. Our premium rates rank 17th, compared to 13th in 2012, 26th in 2010, and 38th in 2008. As Kris Tefft of the […]

Links: King County "living wage," WA cell phone taxes, and Microsoft predictions

1. Earlier this week the King County Council adopted a “living wage” for county employees and county contractors. The new requirement will be phased in to reach $15 in 2017. The Seattle Times notes that it “applies only to people working directly or indirectly for taxpayers, partly because the county has limited authority over how […]

WA minimum wage to increase to $9.47

The Department of Labor and Industries announced today that Washington’s minimum wage will increase from $9.32 to $9.47 in 2015. The increase is due to a 1.59 percent increase in the consumer price index. According to L&I, this change will affect more than 67,000 workers. Washington currently has the highest state minimum wage in the […]

Interesting points from The Economist on franchises and contract work

The Economist writes about contract workers and the NLRB general counsel’s recommendation to treat McDonald’s as a joint employer with franchisees. (More on that here.) FEDEX, Walmart and McDonald’s are among America’s largest employers. Yet many of the people who drive FedEx’s delivery trucks, staff Walmart’s warehouses and serve McDonald’s hamburgers are not their employees. […]

New workers' comp numbers show that WA still has the nation's highest benefits paid

Today the National Academy of Social Insurance released its annual report on workers’ compensation benefits. There is a data lag, so the new numbers are for 2012. The report shows that Washington still had the highest benefits paid per covered worker in 2012, at $840.16. (Alaska follows with $797.65 and California with $783.94.) That is […]