The Low-Wage Employer fee will require companies with 500 or more employees to pay a reasonable hourly-based fee (Low-Wage Employer Fee) for every worker earning $15 or less per hour. This legislation directs the Legislature to appropriate revenue from the fee to the Department of Social Services (DSS) to support and improve consumer-directed services for the elderly and disabled, and to the Office of Early Childhood (OEC) to increase access to and to support and improve childcare and early … [Read more...]

At the same time, employers reap substantial benefits from these state-funded health and child care programs when they refuse to give workers a fair work week. By providing quality, affordable health care and child care, these state-funded programs help more low-wage workers enter and remain in the workforce, making it easier for employers to recruit and retain a qualified, productive workforce. By increasing access to health care and child care, these programs enable the available workforce to … [Read more...]

Too many large companies are using workers’ low wages and irregular, part-time schedules to drive their profits. And, these companies typically do not provide health insurance coverage or child care benefits to their low-wage employees, or do not give them sufficient hours to qualify for such benefits. This leaves working families living on the brink, forced to rely on publicly funded health care and early childhood programs to make ends meet. The billions of dollars large companies make as a … [Read more...]