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AN ORDINANCE establishing an updated hourly minimum wage rate for King County employees and employees of certain county contractors; and amending Ordinance 19762, Section 4, and K.C.C. 2.94.020, Ordinance 17909, Section 6, as amended, and K.C.C. 3.18.030, and Ordinance 19762, Section 11, and K.C.C. 12.18B.020;
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BE IT ORDAINED BY THE COUNCIL OF KING COUNTY:
SECTION 1. Ordinance 19762, Section 4, and K.C.C. 2.94.020 are hereby amended to read as follows:
A. A contractor shall pay their employees an hourly minimum wage rate of not less than twenty dollars and twenty-nine cents per hour or the hourly minimum wage rate established by federal, ((or))state, or local law, whichever is greater. Beginning January 1, 2025, the hourly minimum wage rate shall increase annually on a percentage basis to reflect the annual rate of inflation and calculated to the nearest cent on January 1 of each year thereafter. For purposes of this section, "the annual rate of inflation" means one hundred percent of the annual average growth rate of the bimonthly U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics Seattle-Tacoma-((Bremerton)) Bellevue Area Consumer Price Index for ((u))Urban ((w))Wage ((e))Earners and ((c))Clerical ((w))Workers, CPI-W, or a successor index, for the twelve month period ending in August, but the percentage increase shall not be less than zero.
B. An employee is covered by this chapter for each hour the employee is performing a measurable amount of work under a contract with the county.
C. For the purposes of this chapter, temporary employment agency employees who perform, for an employer, a measurable amount of work under a contract with the county, shall be paid no less than the hourly minimum wage rate required to be paid to employees as specified in subsection A. of this section.
D. A contract-awarding authority shall not execute a contract with a contractor unless the contract includes provisions requiring the contractor to comply with the hourly minimum wage rate as specified in subsection A. of this section and containing appropriate remedies for the breach of the contracts as prescribed in K.C.C. 2.94.030.
SECTION 2. Ordinance 17909, Section 6, as amended, and K.C.C. 3.18.030 are hereby amended to read as follows:
The county shall pay its employees an hourly minimum wage rate of not less than twenty dollars and twenty-nine cents per hour or the hourly minimum wage rate established by federal, ((or))state, or local law, whichever is greater. Beginning January 1, 2025, the hourly minimum wage rate shall increase annually on a percentage basis to reflect the annual rate of inflation and calculated to the nearest cent on January 1 of each year thereafter. For purposes of this section, "the annual rate of inflation" means one hundred percent of the annual average growth rate of the bimonthly U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics Seattle-Tacoma-((Bremerton)) Bellevue Area Consumer Price Index for ((u))Urban ((w))Wage ((e))Earners and ((c))Clerical ((w))Workers, CPI-W, or a successor index, for the twelve month period ending in August, but the percentage increase shall not be less than zero. An employee is covered by this chapter for each hour the employee is performing a measurable amount of work as a county employee.
SECTION 3. Ordinance 19762, Section 11, and K.C.C. 12.18B.020 are hereby amended to read as follows:
A. All employers in unincorporated King County shall pay their employees an hourly minimum wage rate of not less than twenty dollars and twenty-nine cents per hour or the hourly minimum wage rate established by federal or state law, whichever is greater. Beginning January 1, 2025, the hourly minimum wage rate shall increase annually on a percentage basis to reflect the annual rate of inflation and calculated to the nearest cent on January 1 of each year thereafter. For purposes of this section, "the annual rate of inflation" means one hundred percent of the annual average growth rate of the bimonthly U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics Seattle-Tacoma-((Bremerton)) Bellevue Area Consumer Price Index for ((u))Urban ((w))Wage ((e))Earners and ((c))Clerical ((w))Workers, CPI-W, or a successor index, for the twelve month period ending in August, but the percentage increase shall not be less than zero. Tips, gratuities, and service charges paid to an employee shall be in addition to, and not count towards, the hourly minimum wage rate.
B. All employers in unincorporated King County shall pay to its employees the following:
1. All tips, and gratuities; and
2. All service charges except those that, under RCW 49.46.160, are itemized as not being payable to the employee or employees servicing the customer.
C. By October 1 of each year, the director shall make available to the public on the county's website, the hourly minimum wage rate determined in accordance with this section.
D.1. The following are exceptions to subsection A. of this section:
a. Beginning January 1, 2025, employers that employ fifteen employees or fewer and have an annual gross revenue less than two million dollars shall pay their employees an hourly minimum wage rate as established in subsection A. of this section minus three dollars. The three-dollar reduction shall decrease annually by fifty cents on January 1 of each year thereafter until the reduction is zero;
b. Beginning January 1, 2025, employers that employ fifteen employees or fewer and have an annual gross revenue of two million dollars or greater shall pay their employees an hourly minimum wage rate as established in subsection A. of this section minus two dollars per hour. The two-dollar reduction shall decrease annually by one dollar on January 1 of each year thereafter until the reduction is zero; and
c. Beginning January 1, 2025, employers that employ more than fifteen employees but fewer than five hundred employees shall pay their employees an hourly minimum wage rate as established in subsection A. of this section minus two dollars per hour. The two-dollar reduction shall decrease annually by one dollar on January 1 of each year thereafter until the reduction is zero.
2. For the purposes of this subsection D. of this section, the following shall apply:
a. The employers that are subject to the exceptions in this subsection D. of this section shall not include franchisees associated with a franchisor or a network of franchises with franchisees that employ five hundred employees or more in aggregate, regardless of the geographic location of the franchises;
b. "Gross revenue" means the total revenue generated by the employer regardless of geographic location; and
c. The number of employees shall be calculated by determining the average number of employees employed by the employer during the last twelve months regardless of the location of employment of each employee.
E. All employers in unincorporated King County shall maintain adequate records to provide proof of compliance ((and either have it)) for a minimum of three years, in accordance with state law WAC 296-126-050. Employee personnel records shall be made available for employee inspection at least annually in accordance with RCW 49.12.240. Records shall be available upon request by the department or have ((it)) the records available for a proceeding involving an aggrieved employee bringing a civil action in a court of competent jurisdiction against an employer for violating this chapter as described in K.C.C. 12.18B.060, or both. Adequate records shall include, but not be limited to:
1. The number of employees employed by the employer during the previous year;
2. The number of employees paid the minimum wage as required by subsection A. of this section during the previous year;
3. Wages paid by the employer to all employees during the previous year;
4. The number of work hours of each employee during the previous year;
5. Wages paid to each employee during the previous year; and
6. The amount of any deductions from the wages paid to each employee during the previous year.