Washington businesses challenge minimum wage hike
By Curt Kipp
Oregon Association of Nurseries
We reported back in October that the minimum wage is going up in Oregon and Washington, effective Jan. 1, 2011, according to officials in each state. Not so fast, say business leaders in the Evergreen State. They’ve sued to roll back Washington’s proposed 12-cent minimum wage hike from $8.55 per hour to $8.67 per hour on the grounds that the Consumer Price Index has not seen a net increase since 2008. Participating in the lawsuit are the Washington Farm Bureau, the Washington Restaurant Association, the Washington Retail Association and other business groups. Notably, the Washington Bureau of Labor and Industries will hire outside counsel to defend the wage hike, because Washington’s attorney general is on record supporting the business coalition’s position.
Regardless of the lawsuit’s outcome, Washington and Oregon ($8.50 per hour, effective Jan. 1) still will have the two highest state minimum wages in the United States.
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