Bill Text: AZ HB2545 | 2016 | Fifty-second Legislature 2nd Regular | Introduced
Bill Title: Minimum wage; adjustment; uniformity
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2016-05-05 - Introduced in House and read first time [HB2545 Detail]
Download: Arizona-2016-HB2545-Introduced.html
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REFERENCE TITLE: minimum wage; adjustment; uniformity |
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State of Arizona House of Representatives Fifty-second Legislature Second Regular Session 2016
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HB 2545 |
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Introduced by Representative Larkin
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AN ACT
repealing section 23‑362, Arizona Revised Statutes, as added by laws 1997, chapter 51, section 1; Amending sections 23‑363 and 23-364, Arizona Revised Statutes; relating to the minimum wage.
(TEXT OF BILL BEGINS ON NEXT PAGE)
Be it enacted by the Legislature of the State of Arizona:
Section 1. Repeal
Subject to the requirements of article IV, part 1, section 1, Constitution of Arizona, section 23-362, Arizona Revised Statutes, as added by Laws 1997, chapter 51, section 1, is repealed.
Sec. 2. Subject to the requirements of article IV, part 1, section 1, Constitution of Arizona, section 23-363, Arizona Revised Statutes, is amended to read:
23-363. Minimum wage
A. Employers shall pay employees no less than the minimum wage, which shall be six dollars and seventy-five cents ($6.75) an hour beginning on January 1, 2007.
B. The minimum wage shall be increased on January 1, 2008 and on January 1 of successive years by the increase in the cost of living. The increase in the cost of living shall be measured by the percentage increase as of August of the immediately preceding year over the level as of August of the previous year of the consumer price index (all urban consumers, U.S. United States city average for all items) or its successor index as published by the U.S. United States department of labor or its successor agency, with the amount of the minimum wage increase rounded to the nearest multiple of five cents.
C. From and after December 31, 2016 and each fourth year thereafter, the minimum wage shall be adjusted to the minimum hourly rate necessary for a person who works for minimum wage for forty hours per week, fifty‑two weeks per year to earn an annual income in an amount that is at least fifteen percent more than the federal poverty guideline for a family of four with two children who are under eighteen years of age.
D. The minimum wage shall be adjusted every four years using the formula provided in subsection C of this section and the federal poverty guidelines established for the year in which the minimum wage is being adjusted. If the adjustment would result in a lower minimum wage than the minimum wage in effect at the time of the adjustment, the adjustment does not go into effect.
C. E. For any employee who customarily and regularly receives tips or gratuities from patrons or others, the employer may pay a wage up to $3.00 per hour less than the minimum wage if the employer can establish by its the employer's records of charged tips or by the employee's declaration for federal insurance contributions act (FICA) purposes that for each week, when adding tips received to wages paid, the employee received not less than the minimum wage for all hours worked. Compliance with this provision subsection will be determined by averaging tips received by the employee over the course of the employer's payroll period or any other period selected by the employer that complies with regulations adopted by the commission.
Sec. 3. Subject to the requirements of article IV, part 1, section 1, Constitution of Arizona, section 23-364, Arizona Revised Statutes, is amended to read:
23-364. Enforcement; civil penalties
A. The commission is authorized to enforce and implement this article and may promulgate regulations consistent with this article to do so.
B. No employer or other person shall discharge or take any other adverse action against any person in retaliation for asserting any claim or right under this article, for assisting any other person in doing so, or for informing any person about their rights. Taking adverse action against a person within ninety days of after a person's engaging in the foregoing activities shall raise a presumption that such action was retaliation, which may be rebutted by clear and convincing evidence that such action was taken for other permissible reasons.
C. Any person or organization may file an administrative complaint with the commission charging that an employer has violated this article as to any employee or other person. When the commission receives a complaint, the commission may review records regarding all employees at the employer's worksite in order to protect the identity of any employee identified in the complaint and to determine whether a pattern of violations has occurred. The name of any employee identified in a complaint to the commission shall be kept confidential as long as possible. Where the commission determines that an employee's name must be disclosed in order to investigate a complaint further, it may so do only with the employee's consent.
D. Employers shall post notices in the workplace, in such format specified by the commission, notifying employees of their rights under this article. Employers shall provide their business name, address, and telephone number in writing to employees upon hire. Employers shall maintain payroll records showing the hours worked for each day worked, and the wages paid to all employees for a period of four years. Failure to do so shall raise a rebuttable presumption that the employer did not pay the required minimum wage rate. The commission may by regulation reduce or waive the recordkeeping and posting requirements herein for any categories of small employers whom it finds would be unreasonably burdened by such requirements. Employers shall permit the commission or a law enforcement officer to inspect and copy payroll or other business records, shall permit them to interview employees away from the worksite, and shall not hinder any investigation. Such information provided shall keep confidential except as is required to prosecute violations of this article. Employers shall permit an employee or his or her designated representative to inspect and copy payroll records pertaining to that employee.
E. A civil action to enforce this article may be maintained in a court of competent jurisdiction by a law enforcement officer or by any private party injured by a violation of this article.
F. Any employer who violates recordkeeping, posting, or other requirements that the commission may establish under this article shall be subject to a civil penalty of at least $250 two hundred fifty dollars for a first violation, and at least $1000 one thousand dollars for each subsequent or willful violation and may, if the commission or court determines appropriate, be subject to special monitoring and inspections.
G. Any employer who fails to pay the wages required under this article shall be required to pay the employee the balance of the wages owed, including interest thereon, and an additional amount equal to twice the underpaid wages. Any employer who retaliates against an employee or other person in violation of this article shall be required to pay the employee an amount set by the commission or a court sufficient to compensate the employee and deter future violations, but not less than one hundred fifty dollars for each day that the violation continued or until legal judgment is final. The commission and the courts shall have the authority to order payment of such unpaid wages, other amounts, and civil penalties and to order any other appropriate legal or equitable relief for violations of this article. Civil penalties shall be retained by the agency that recovered them and used to finance activities to enforce this article. A prevailing plaintiff shall be entitled to reasonable attorney's attorney fees and costs of suit.
H. A civil action to enforce this article may be commenced no later than two years after a violation last occurs, or three years in the case of a willful violation, and may encompass all violations that occurred as part of a continuing course of employer conduct regardless of their date. The statute of limitations shall be tolled during any investigation of an employer by the commission or other law enforcement officer, but such investigation shall not bar a person from bringing a civil action under this article. No verbal or written agreement or employment contract may waive any rights under this article.
I. The legislature may by statute raise the minimum wage established under this article, extend coverage, or increase penalties. A county, city, or town may by ordinance regulate minimum wages and benefits within its geographic boundaries but may not provide for a minimum wage lower higher than that prescribed in this article. State agencies, counties, cities, towns and other political subdivisions of the state may consider violations of this article in determining whether employers may receive or renew public contracts, financial assistance or licenses. This article shall be liberally construed in favor of its purposes and shall not limit the authority of the legislature or any other body to adopt any law or policy that requires payment of higher or supplemental wages or benefits, or that extends such protections to employers or employees not covered by this article.
Sec. 4. Legislative findings
The legislature finds and declares the following:
1. A full‑time employee who earns the Arizona minimum wage earns an income below the federal poverty threshold for a family of four, consisting of two adults and two children.
2. In Maricopa county alone, the average fair market rent for a one‑bedroom apartment is more than fifty‑two percent of the monthly income of a full‑time employee earning the current Arizona minimum wage. In comparison, the generally accepted definition of affordability is for a household to pay not more than thirty percent of its income on housing.
3. The Arizona minimum wage should be adjusted at least every four years so that a person working for minimum wage may earn an annual income that is at least fifteen percent higher than the federal poverty threshold for a family of four.
4. The Arizona minimum wage should be set at a level sufficient enough to allow two full‑time minimum wage employees to earn an income above the Arizona fair market housing average.
5. Increasing the wages of employees will benefit the overall economy of this state as working families will have more discretionary income to spend in the broader Arizona marketplace, increasing demand for products and services and fomenting overall economic activity and prosperity throughout the state.
6. A fair day's pay for a fair day's work is a fundamental element of American values and establishing a calculation of the Arizona minimum wage based on the federal poverty threshold for a family of four is consistent with these values.
7. The Congress of the United States, any Indian tribe or any city, town or county in this state has the authority to establish a higher minimum wage requirement than that established in this act.
Sec. 5. Short title
This act may be cited as the "Arizona Living Wage Act of 2016".
Sec. 6. Requirements for enactment; three-fourths vote
Pursuant to article IV, part 1, section 1, Constitution of Arizona, section 23-362, Arizona Revised Statutes, as added by Laws 1997, chapter 51, section 1 and repealed by this act and sections 23‑363 and 23-364, Arizona Revised Statutes, as amended by this act, are effective only on the affirmative vote of at least three‑fourths of the members of each house of the legislature.
