The Seattle City Council made national news in June 2014 for unanimously voting to raise the city’s minimum wage incrementally to $15 an hour.
But the wages rise at different rates, depending on the size of the employer and whether or not the job includes benefits. As of Jan. 1, for example, some employers will be required to pay workers $13 an hour, while others will be required to increase pay to $10.50.
Working Washington created a simple tool to help employees answer questions that may arise from the phased-in plan: whatsmywage.org.
The site is a clean and easy-to-use resource for understanding the new minimum wage. By answering a series of questions (“Do you receive tips?” “Is your place of employment located in Seattle?”), employees are able to see the minimum wage they should be receiving, as well as future phases of the plan.
If employees discover on whatsmywage.org that they are underpaid, Working Washington provides an option to report the wage violation confidentially. The site also directs users to the Office of Labor Standards as an option to report potential wage theft.
Working Washington, a grassroots organizing coalition that leads various economic justice campaigns, developed the site with volunteers from Code for Seattle. Working Washington was one of the organizations that led the push for a higher minimum wage in Seattle.
The minimum wage will continue increasing until 2021. The first pay hike to a $10-an-hour minimum for small businesses and $11 for businesses with more than 500 employees took place in April 2015. These increases affect employees within city limits only; the state minimum wage still stands at $9.47.
While Seattle was among the first to set a citywide $15-an-hour minimum wage, Los Angeles and San Francisco quickly followed. New York City’s minimum wage is now $15 an hour for fast food workers, while other cities in New York state are slowly implementing a $15-an-hour minimum wage. Next year, some states will vote on a statewide increase. Momentum may soon reach national levels: The New York Times editorial board recently called for Congress to work towards $15 across the country.