WHAT DID A STUDY REVEAL ABOUT THE EFFECTS OF $15 MINIMUM WAGE IN SEATTLE?

Winchester, VA – The Associated Press is reporting on the results of a new study examining the the $15/hour minimum wage law increase on the food service industry in Seattle. Opponents of the minimum wage increase, which will be fully phased in by 2021, argued that the industry could not bear the cost, and that restaurant workers would see their hours cut, thereby experiencing no increase in wages. The report, released to the Associated Pres first by the University of California at Berkeley, indicates that restaurant workers did in fact experience an increase in their wages with no cost to their jobs. A study by the University of Washington last year indicated that while wages increased, the employment rate of restaurant workers slowed.