The Department of Labor and Industries has announced that there will be no general increase in workers' compensation premiums for 2006.

In late August, the agency proposed a 3.8 percent increase. But strong investment earnings and a strong economy, the agency's success at controlling its medical costs and a continued decline in the frequency of workplace-injury claims combined to make that increase unnecessary.

While there will be no general rate increase, the premium rate will rise in the Accident Fund, into which only employers pay. That fund provides money for pensions and wage-replacement benefits for workers who are injured so seriously they cannot work. The increase in that fund will be offset by decreases in the Medical Aid and Supplemental Pension funds, to which both workers and employers contribute.

Washington is the only state where workers contribute a substantial portion of the premiums. Next year, their share will be 24.1 percent.

...back to 8 December 2005

Source:
No general increase in 2006 workers' compensation rates

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Washington's minimum wage will increase 28 cents to $7.63 an hour from January 1, 2006. The Department of Labor and Industries recalculates the state's minimum wage each year in September as required by Initiative 688, which was approved by Washington state voters in 1998. The law requires that the state minimum wage be adjusted each year according to the change in the federal Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers (CPI-W) during the 12 months ending each August 31.

The CPI-W measures the average change in prices on a fixed "market basket" of goods and services such as food, shelter, medical care, transportation and other goods and services people purchase for day-to-day living. It increased 3.8 percent during the 12-month period ending August 31, compared to a 2.6 percent increase during the same period in 2004.

That increase, applied to Washington's current minimum wage of $7.35 an hour, generates a 28-cent increase in next year's minimum wage. Washington's minimum wage applies to workers in both agricultural and non-agricultural jobs, although 14- and 15-year-olds may be paid 85 percent of the adult minimum wage.

...back to 6 October 2005

Source:
Washington's minimum wage to increase to $7.63 an hour Jan. 1, 2006
Minimum wage in Washington is $7.35/hour

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