Wages
New Jersey – The state labor department announced that the state minimum wage will increase to $15.49/hr effective Jan. 1. The wage is tied to the CPI per legislation passed in 2019 that raised the minimum wage to $15/hr by 2024 and tied future increases to inflation. The cash wage for tipped workers will rise to $5.62/hr from $5.26 on Jan. 1 as well. More details.
Vermont – The state labor department announced that the state minimum wage will increase from $13.67/hr to $14.01/hr, effective Jan. 1. The tipped wage will also increase, going from $6.84/hr to $7.01/hr. More details.
Prince George’s County, MD – A county council subcommittee unanimously advanced proposed legislation to tie the current $15/hr minimum wage to inflation going forward. If passed, it is estimated that the first increase would push the wage to $15.45/hr. The full council will hold a public hearing on the legislation before a final vote. Maryland’s server wage is set at $3.63/hr. More details.
Boulder, CO – The city council preliminarily approved an ordinance to raise the local minimum wage to $15.57/hr effective Jan.1. The new level was a compromise from the original proposal to set the wage at $16.58/hr which couldn’t garner majority support. If ultimately passed when voted upon again in Nov., the ordinance calls for an 8% increase in 2026 and 2027 and then ties the wage to inflation going forward. More details.
Flagstaff, AZ – The city announced that its local minimum wage will increase to $17.85/hr, effective Jan. 1. The increase is due to a citizen initiative passed in 2016 that, in part, tied the local wage to the CPI beginning in 2023. The state law allows for a tip credit of $3.00/hr making the local server wage $14.85/hr in Jan. More details.
Olympia, WA – The city council heard a proposed ordinance to raise the local minimum wage to $20/hr. Washington state has no tip credit. No vote was taken and a timeline for further action is unclear. More details.
Seattle, WA – The Seattle Office of Labor Standards announced the 2025 minimum wage increase and structure. Starting Jan. 1, 2025, all businesses in Seattle, regardless of size, will be required to pay employees a minimum wage of $20.76/hr. The new rate marks an increase from the current 2024 wage of $19.97/hr for large employers and small employers who do not contribute at least $2.72/hr towards employee medical benefits or where employees do not earn at least $2.72/hr in tips. Small employers who meet these criteria currently pay $17.25/hr. Under the updated ordinance, small businesses will no longer be allowed to count customer tips or payments towards medical benefits as part of the minimum wage. The ordinance mandates annual adjustments to the minimum wage based on the Consumer Price Index (CPI-W) for the Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue area. More details.
Hobby Lobby – Effective Oct. 1, Hobby Lobby raised its minimum full-time hourly wage to $19.25/hr. The increase is the 13th minimum wage boost by the craft store chain in the last 15 years. The company also offers medical, prescription and dental plans, 401(k) with company match, flexible spending plan, long-term disability benefits, life insurance, vacation pay, sick and personal leave, holiday pay, chaplain services, and employee discounts. More details.
Labor Policy
NLRB – In a 17-page memo issued this week, National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) General Counsel Jennifer Abruzzo said that she intends to prosecute employers that require their employees to sign non-compete agreements and so-called stay-or-pay provisions, and she said she will “remedy the harmful monetary effects employees experience as a result of these provisions” as much as possible. Such provisions include training repayment agreement provisions (sometimes referred to as TRAPs), educational repayment contracts, quit fees, damages clauses, sign-on bonuses, and other types of cash payments that are connected to a mandatory stay period, as well as other contracts under which employees must pay an employer if they voluntarily or involuntarily separate from employment. While memos like this one don’t represent the official legal position of the entire agency, they do represent the policy and guidance for all Regional Offices investigating and prosecuting charges against employers. They set the tone for the enforcement posture across all of the NLRB’s 26 Regions, which remain the first point of interface for virtually all stakeholders. And, the Board itself could adopt the position(s) urged in this memo through a formal decision, which would then cement it into law. More details.
Amazon – An NLRB Regional Director in Los Angeles issued the first formal complaint targeting the company’s delivery model, finding the company is a joint employer of third-party drivers and, as such, must bargain with the union. A hearing before an administrative law judge is scheduled for March, and any decisions are open to appeal. On a related note, earlier this year, a federal judge blocked a rule that would have broadened the standards for determining when a company is a joint employer. But if the cases against Amazon prevail, they could eventually prompt a restructuring of the company’s last-mile delivery system and open the door to a wave of union organizing. More details.
Swipe Fees
Illinois – While numerous lawsuits from the banking industry and their allies were expected challenging the state’s new law limiting banks from charging interchange fees on tax and tip revenues, the federal office of the Comptroller of the Currency jumped into the fray. The agency filed an amicus brief in the case claiming the law is “misguided” and will leave national banks with “extraordinary operational burdens.” The law is set to take effect July 1, 2025, unless a court steps in and blocks the implementation of the legislation. More details.
Misc.
McDonald’s – The company filed a lawsuit against Cargill, JBS, National Beef Packing Company, and Tyson Foods accusing them of using a variety of methods to drive up the price of beef over several years. In the suit, McDonald’s said that suppliers “exploited” their role in the process of buying cattle to produce beef. The company also noted that various “economic factors made the market for the production and sale of beef conducive to cartelization.” The company further said that executives and key employees of the different companies met frequently during trade association conferences and other industry events and used those meetings to determine when to restrict supply. More details.
Key Takeaway
- Last week, we reported on a study released by the Institute for Research on Labor and Employment at Cal-Berkeley finding that California’s $20/hr fast food wage raised average pay by nearly 18 percent, didn’t cost jobs, and caused minimal price increases. We asserted that the industry needs to be vigorous in collecting – and disseminating – meaningful data around economic loss if we are to fend off further action by policymakers. As a follow-up, this week the Shift Project, a joint collaboration between Harvard University and the University of California – San Diego, issued a report with similar findings citing that not only did their research find no job losses, but it also debunked industry claims that the increase would show up as reductions in hours or fringe benefits. Whether the studies are accurate or not is irrelevant but in an absence of other data, they are filling the void and laying the groundwork for higher mandated wages in not only California but potentially in other states as well.
Podcast
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