Archive for April 2008
10 truths about the minimum wage
One by-product of the debate in Kansas over whether to raise its minimum wage (currently $2.65 per hour): a list of facts about minimum wage laws by Graham Kreicker:
Arguments against making the minimum wage a living wage are based on the faulty claim that it will hurt corporate profits and result in higher unemployment. But history shows that dividing the pie more equitably will neither bankrupt corporations nor cost us jobs. It will, rather, improve life for all employees and their families.
Just as true in Kansas as it is in Washington.
California moves to open CalPERS to private businesses, workers
California is a bellwether state on many fronts, and the latest is a proposal making its way through that state’s legislature to let private businesses and workers funnel direct payroll deposits into a retirement investment account. The California Public Employees’ Retirement System (CalPERS) would administer the pooled money.
This idea has been around a while, but it’s getting real traction in many states now, as people become more worried about their retirement security.
In fact, the Washington State Department of Retirement Systems is currently designing a program called Washington Voluntary Accounts (WVA), based upon a policy proposal developed by EOI, to expand retirement security for Washington workers who aren’t covered by a retirement plan at work.
National paid family leave bill introduced
Representatives Pete Stark (D-CA), George Miller (D-CA), Lynn Woolsey (D-CA) and Carolyn Maloney (D-NY) today introduced landmark legislation to provide workers with 12 weeks of paid leave in order to care for a new child, a sick family member, recover from an illness, or because of an exigency arising from the deployment of a member of the armed services.
The “Family Leave Insurance Act of 2008” will provide families with the support and flexibility they need and businesses with improved productivity and employee morale. The legislation will:
New ideas for Washington’s tax system
For most people, tax season officially ends in April. But for state policymakers, it’s always open season on taxes.
With I-960 in the courts and Washington State in a recession, balancing the state budget next year may prove to be a greater challenge than ever. How will we fund vital state services in a fair manner to educate children, provide health services to seniors, train workers, and keep the transportation system rolling?
Two new publications by the Economic Opportunity Institute highlight possible answers to that question:
Maine Governor signs new minimum wage law, closes loopholes
Maine Governor John Baldacci signed a new state minimum wage into law on Thursday, providing a modest increase in the state’s minimum wage to $7.50 by October 1, 2009. Importantly, the new law also closes loopholes that previously excluded various categories of low-wage workers from minimum wage or overtime coverage.
Maine’s minimum wage now covers all domestic workers – not just those employed by third-party agencies – and all employees of publicly supported non-profit or educational organizations. It also requires that hotel and restaurant workers, previously excluded from state overtime requirements, be paid overtime under state law.
Policy “plate tectonics”: Funding new investments in education
Plate tectonics aren’t particularly easy to see – but we can feel the results, which can literally move mountains. Such is the case with the debate over education funding in Washington State.
The Daily News and the Columbian have editorials within a week of each other calling for more investment in education. Neither mentions two public policy “plates” moving underneath us right now:
Maine, Iowa move to boost, protect minimum wage. Most businesses won’t even notice.
Legislators in Maine and Iowa are taking new steps to improve and protect wages for workers. And most businesses may not even notice the difference.
The Maine House and Senate approved a bill raising the state’s $7 hourly minimum wage by a half dollar (though additional votes are set on the measure in both legislative chambers).
The Iowa Senate took a different tack, approving a bill that increases fines on employers who violate wage laws, crack down on the practice of misclassifying employees as “independent contractors” to evade those laws, and protect workers reporting violations from retaliation.
This while according to a recent survey, the majority of small businesses (51 percent) don’t even know what the minimum wage is in their state – and a large majority (70 percent) support increasing the national minimum wage.
New Jersey ready for family leave. Business lobbyists…not so much.
New Jersey is set to become the third state in the nation (after California and Washington) to provide workers with paid family leave benefits, after a huge grassroots push.
Despite the fact that New Jersey’s program (summary) has no direct cost to employers, numerous protections for business, and that the benefits of paid family leave for both families and employers are well-documented, business lobbyists are still working fiercely behind the scenes to derail the bill.
But why? How many businesses are fleeing the 163 other countries that guarantee paid leave to pregnant or new mothers (or the 45 that guarantee it for new fathers)? Answer: None, because paid family leave is part of doing business in the rest of the world.
Washington Voluntary Accounts: A cure for retirement security
In just the last year, we have seen a mortgage loan crisis, banks failing, and the stock market plunge. It’s no wonder that American’s are concerned about their retirement security.
A recent survey by the Employee Benefit Research Institute shows that the percentage of workers who feel very confident that they will have a comfortable retirement has plummeted from 27 percent a year ago to 18 percent this year. This 9 percent drop is the largest one year drop in the 18-year history of the survey.
As you might expect, younger workers and those with lower incomes felt the least secure, which is why EOI has taken on retirement security as priority policy area. We have championed the idea of Washington Voluntary Accounts (WVAs) and helped secure funding in the 2007 legislature to design this program.
Retirement confidence plummets; states move to close gaps
Reflecting the growing concern over health care costs and economic issues, American workers’ confidence in being able to afford a comfortable retirement decreased over the past year by a rate unmatched in the 18 years of the Retirement Confidence Survey® (RCS), according to results released today.
With half of all working Americans not covered by a retirement plan at their workplace, many states across the country (including Washington) are taking an interest in Universal Retirement Savings Accounts (UVRAs). UVRAs make it easier for individuals to save for retirement through work and for businesses without pension plans to offer one to their employees.
