TUCSON, Ariz. (KOLD News 13) - Tucson’s minimum wage increases to $13 an hour on April 1, and gradually increases until it reaches $15 an hour on January 1, 2025.
The increase was approved by voters last year who passed it with 60% of the vote.
But the proposition does more than just raise the minimum wage.
It also lays out workers rights when it comes to wages.
For instance, if a scheduled worker shows up at the job site and is told to go home because they are not needed for the day, then they are entitled to three hours pay.
It also gives workers a place to file a complaint if they are being shortchanged by the employer. It’s a Labor Standards Unit being set up by the city and which was required by the voters.
“We haven’t stood it up yet because we haven’t seen that it’s necessary right now,” said Ward 6 City Councilman Steve Kozachik. “If we just get a trickle of complaints in, you know, one here and one there, we’ll be fine.”
The law also prohibits an employer from retaliating against a worker who files a complaint against the employer over wages.
Kozachik believes that there are some employers who will try to get around the new law which is why the organizers of the initiative put the measure in Proposition 206.
“I think we’re going to see employers try to nibble around the edges and get out side the intent of this law,” he said. “I am certainly hopeful that the vast majority of employers in the region simply comply, that we just don’t get a boat load of complaints.”...
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