As Washingtonians rang in the new year, a big change took place. The state’s minimum wage rose by nearly a dollar, and its minimum threshold for salaried workers increased to $52,743.60 for all employers, regardless of size.
What caused such a large increase? State law and a 5.83 percent surge in the federal consumer price index from the year before.
It may have come as good news for some employees who make minimum wage, but not so for others.
One Vancouver resident posted on The Columbian’s Facebook page that her wages went up with the increase.
“Then so did gas, groceries, basic necessities, waste water, taxes and cable. So it’s a wash plus more,” wrote Alicia Cheatham.
Not all local businesses have been overly impacted by the news, but many have.
“This doesn’t affect any of my team, but it’s because we have no choice but to pay these wages with the minimum wage so high,” said one retailer in downtown Camas, who asked to remain anonymous.
Business has been slow, but the company expects to cut its staff back in January and February.
“They know it’s coming; They don’t love it at all, but we have no choice,” said the retailer, who keeps full-time staff on the same schedule but cuts back part-time staff in winter. The retailer went on to mention that if the minimum wage wasn’t so high, they could possibly schedule part-time employees more during slow times.
“I always feel bad, but that’s just the way it is, I guess,” they added.
The change has not...
The Justice Department announced Friday International Business Machines Corp. will pay more than $17 million to resolve allegations that it violated anti-discrimination requirements in its federal...