[5]By NFIB
Minimum wage advocates got their raise. Now they’re looking for more.
With the first wage bump set for July 1, labor advocates are now seeking changes to the new minimum wage that would make it even more expensive for Oregon business owners.
The Oregon Legislature approved the new statewide minimum wage based on a three-tier system. In rural areas, the minimum wage will rise to $12.50 by 2022, $13.50 in mid-size counties and $14.75 in the Portland metro area.
During the legislative process, it was established that employees who work in multiple areas that have different minimum wages would be paid at the rate of their main work location, according to NFIB/Oregon State Director Anthony Smith. But the Bureau of Labor and Industries released preliminary rules that would require employers to pay employees at the rate of the other location if the worker spends more than four hours there.
Take a delivery driver who works at a pizza place just outside the Portland Urban Growth Boundary (UGB) as an example. In 2022, the minimum wage would be $13.50 if the driver worked in or around the restaurant. But if the driver were to spend more than four hours delivering pizzas inside the UGB, the employer must start paying the driver Portland’s $14.75 an hour minimum wage for time worked within the Portland region. This measure would be costly and inefficient for business owners, Smith said.
“The bill was passed to pay people more, not make a paperwork nightmare for businesses,” Smith said.
Other preliminary rules from the Bureau of Labor and Industries also harm small business owners, Smith said. They include mandating that businesses track and report multiple wages on employees’ pay stubs and require paperwork documenting a worker’s location unless a business pays the worker at the highest minimum wage rate.
The measures might also give pause to some legislators who voted for the increase but who were cautious about its consequences for small business, Smith said.
“They might not have voted for the bill if they knew this was going to happen,” Smith said.