New rules requiring a higher minimum wage and more transparency of salary and benefits in job listings took effect this week in Washington, but many employers in the Yakima Valley were already meeting the requirements.
That was the consensus of South Central Workforce Development Council officials and others who discussed the new minimum wage and other rules with the Yakima Herald-Republic this week.
Washington’s minimum wage increased by 8.7% to $15.74 on Jan. 1. The majority of Yakima Valley businesses are paying more than that as they try to attract increasingly hard-to-find workers, said Amy Martinez, CEO of the workforce council.
“A lot of employers, even fast food, are above that (new minimum wage),” Martinez said Wednesday. “There may be a few smaller employers who are not, in areas such as medical assistants and child care.”
“In manufacturing, (owners) have tried to stay ahead of the minimum wage,” added Travis Piatz, the workforce council’s chief financial officer, who previously worked at Tree Top.
Jan Luring, co-owner of 12 Yakima Valley-area McDonald’s restaurants, said all new employees start off making at least $16 per hour.
“It doesn’t impact us at all — we’ve paid above (minimum wage) for a long time,” Luring said Wednesday.
“We give more vacation days, and better insurance benefits, than most other people in the fast-food industry,” she added. “We try to treat people well, and in most of our stores we don’t have a labor shortage.”
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