On Monday, the Seattle City Council unanimously passed an ordinance that boosts the city’s minimum wage to the highest level in the country.
Under Seattle’s new minimum wage law, employers will have to increase the minimum wage they pay workers from Washington state’s current $9.32 an hour to $15 per hour over the coming three to seven years. The minimum wage hike will be phased in. Smaller businesses will get between five and seven years to comply, while businesses with 500 or more workers will have just three years, USA TODAY notes.
The law goes into effect on Apr. 1, 2015. At that point, the minimum wage for all workers in Seattle will rise by at least $1 per hour.
Advocates of the measure say that raising the minimum wage will help low-income workers make ends meet and will ultimately boost the economy by giving them more money to spend. Opponents claim it will place additional strain on businesses and will result in lower employment as companies cut back to reduce costs.
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