Oregon is the first state in the nation to require a higher minimum in cities than in more rural areas. Employers in areas within Portland's urban growth boundary will have to pay a minimum of $9.75 beginning July 1, 2016, and growing to $14.75 on July 1, 2022. Employers in medium-density counties will have to pay a minimum of $9.75 on July 1, 2016, growing to $13.50 on July 1, 2022. Finally, employers in rural counties will have to pay a minimum of $9.50 on July 1, 2016, growing to $12.50 on July 1, 2022. (The bill is here.)

The Oregonian has an interesting story on what Oregon's new minimum wage law will mean for its public universities.

Oregon's four-year universities collectively pay thousands of mostly student workers the minimum wage, and those workers will be owed millions in the coming years as that wage ratchets up across the state. . . .

"It creates some tough choices," Steve Clark, Oregon State University's spokesman said of additional minimum-wage costs. . . .

Oregon's new minimum could put more money in some students' pockets, but it will more likely lead administrations to either cut back on the number of students they hire or the number of hours they're allowed to work. Officials will likely turn to another frequent source of revenue to make up the difference: tuition dollars.

The story includes estimates of what each institution will owe in the coming biennium. It also notes that Oregon State University "is in a special situation" because it "employs students in each of the three state-approved wage areas." As Christopher F. McCracken and Sarah E. Ames of Davis Wright Tremaine write,

This tiered approach requires minimum wage employers with operations in multiple counties to pay close attention, as they will likely need to implement multiple wage rates across the state. . . .

Finally, employers with facilities or employees in more than one county need to know that the new law imposes the minimum wage based on the “employer’s location.” The new law does not define “employer’s location.” As a result, it is not yet certain which wage rates will apply when an employer has operations in counties in different tiers.

Like other employers in Oregon, universities will have to navigate the complexities of the new minimum wage law and decide what trade-offs to make as it is implemented.