Portland Revises Fair Wage Policies: $15 Minimum Wage for Certain Workers
Other Cities Across the U.S. Are Passing Similar Fair Wage Ordinances
HIGHLIGHTS:
- The Portland City Council voted unanimously to update the city’s Fair Wage Policies (Chapter 3.99) to establish a minimum wage of $15 per hour.
- Certain contract workers and specific positions held by full-time city employees will get paid this new minimum wage.
- The new "fair wage" is effective for all contracts for covered services on July 1, 2015.
The Portland City Council voted unanimously to update the city’s Fair Wage Policies (chapter 3.99) to establish a minimum wage of $15 per hour for certain contract workers and specific positions held by full-time city employees for fiscal year 2015-2016. In doing so Oregon’s largest city joins other municipalities in the United States enacting similar “fair wage” ordinances. Portland's City Council approved the revised policies on May 13, 2015.
Janitorial, Security and Parking Garage Attendant Services Will Benefit
The update to Portland’s Fair Wage Policies applies to formal contracts entered into by the city of Portland “for janitorial services, for security services, or for parking garage attendant services.” The $15 minimum wage is effective for all contracts on July 1, 2015.
Also, the city’s Office of Management and Finance is directed by the new ordinance to provide city bureaus with a yearly minimum hourly wage rate for covered services. This is anticipated to be adjusted annually by the change in the Portland-Salem OR WA Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers (CPI-W). Future adjustments to the minimum hourly wage rate will be effective for all contracts on July 1 of each year.
Portland's bureaus or operating units entering into contracts for covered services are required to include the minimum hourly wage rate in all procurement announcements and resulting contracts. Compliance with the minimum wage requirement will be monitored through submission of monthly certified payroll reports, on-site postings and other measures deemed appropriate by the city bureau or operating unit. Contracts entered into by the city for covered services shall also include a non-retaliation clause protecting workers who assert wage claims.
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