April 1st marked the one-year anniversary of the effective date of Seattle’s headline-making minimum wage law. The law mandated a graduated increase to $15/hour by 2018 for employers with more than 500 employees and 2021 for all employers with less. New York, Los Angeles, San Francisco and Washington, D.C. have followed with their own variations. Communities around the nation have recognized the need for more stringent local labor laws and raise living standards in the wake of federal inactivity. Seattle has been on the forefront of this movement, with the minimum wage law following the enactment in 2011 of legislation guaranteeing paid sick and safe time and criminalizing wage theft.
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