During this time of mostly negative economic news, theres some good news for workers earning minimum wage in Washington state.
Starting Jan. 1, 2003, they will make $7.01 per hour, an 11-cents-an-hour increase over the current minimum wage of $6.90.
The new wage applies to both agricultural and nonagricultural jobs.
Fourteen- and 15-year-olds may be paid 85 percent of the adult minimum wage.
The Department of Labor and Industries recalculates the state minimum wage each year as a result of an initiative approved by voters in 1998.
The initiative ties the minimum wage to changes in the federal Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers (CPI-W).
For more information, go to Labor and Industries Website: www.LNI.wa.gov.
