FIN 2025-03-24 Item 1C - Discussion - Minimum Wage Program

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City of Tukwila Thomas McLeod, Mayor INFORMATIONAL MEMORANDUM TO: Finance & Governance Committee FROM: Aaron BeMiller, Finance Director BY: Julie Hatley, Senior Fiscal Coordinator — Minimum Wage Ordinance CC: Thomas McLeod, Mayor DATE: 3/24/2025 SUBJECT: 2024 Tukwila Labor Standards Year -End Review ISSUE Staff is reporting Tukwila Labor Standards 2024 year-end review. BACKGROUND On November 8, 2022, City of Tukwila voters overwhelmingly approved, at 82% to 18%, Initiative Measure No. 1 concerning labor standards for certain employees. The measure added Tukwila Municipal Code (TMC) Chapter 5.63 and TMC 5.04.113. TMC 5.63 states the intent of the voter approved legislation is to establish fair labor standards and protect worker rights by: 1) Ensuring the vast majority of employees in Tukwila receive a minimum wage comparable to employers in SeaTac and Seattle; 2) Requiring covered employers to offer additional hours of work to qualified part- time employees before hiring new employees to fill those hours; 3) Adopting enforcement requirements. The main effect of TMC 5.63 is to ensure that, to the extent reasonably practicable, people employed in Tukwila have good wages and access to sufficient hours of work. In addition, Initiative Measure No. 1 assigned the City's Finance Department as the entity responsible for ensuring compliance with the intent and requirements of TMC 5.63. TMC 5.63 — also known as the Minimum Wage and Fair Access to Additional Hours of Work Ordinance — went into effect July 1, 2023. Council subsequently approved hiring an FTE Senior Fiscal Coordinator to develop and manage the program starting January 2024. DISCUSSION In 2024, staff was directed to identify and track annual compliance certifications, required from employers covered by TMC 5.63, to build an accurate database for actionable insights and inform decision -making for resource allocation and capacity planning. 43