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HomeMy WebLinkAboutBatch 009Raising The Minimum Wage In Rent9poN CITY OF t. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. S. 9. 10 INITIATIVE PETITION FOR SUBMISSION TO THE RENTON CITY COUNCIL ��� AUG 31`2023 JUN TO: The City Council of the City of Renton: a 19.E 933-M RECEIvED We, the undersigned registered voters of the City of Renton, State of Washington, residing at the addresses set forth opposite our respective names, being equal to fifteen percent (15%) 4M %1l;F9%AQ o naM listed as registered voters within the City on the day of the last preceding City general election, respectfully request that the following ordinance be enacted by the City Council or, if not so enacted, be submitted to a vote residents of the City. The title of the said ordinance is as follows: ORDINANCE CONCERNING LABOR STANDARDS FOR CERTAIN EMPLOYEES A full, true and correct copy of the ordinance is attached to this Petition. Each of us for himself or herself says: I have personally signed this petition; I am a registered voter of the City of Renton, State of Washington; and my residence is correctly stated. Signature Printed Name Printed Name L Street and Number 1234 Anywhere St. c)l 5 Is,f,\ 5-�loil'-f— Q�0.V/L(/t� [2,(20U, 2- v � �tk�k- City Phone Number Renton 206-555-1234 Renton Renton Renton �IIZ.35� Z-)6 Email maria@something.org 2023 Date 4/10/2023 S /z6/U73 Warning Every person who signs this petition with any other than his or her true name, or who knowingly signs more than one of these petitions, or signs a petition seek- ing an election when he or she is not a legal voter, or signs a petition when he or she is otherwise not qualified to sign, or who makes herein any false statement, shall be guilty of a misdemeanor. AN ORDINANCE concerning labor standards for certain employees. Section 1. Findings. 1. The people of the City of Renton hereby adopt this citizen initiative addressing labor standards for certain employees, for the purpose of ensuring that, to the extent reasonably practicable, people employed in Renton have good wages and access to sufficient hours of work. 2. The City of Renton is one of the largest job centers in Washington State, with thousands of shoppers and workers visiting daily to participate in the local economy. Renton is home to The Landing shopping center, the historic Downtown Urban Center, as well as retail and commercial office and warehouse districts around the Rainier/Grady Way Junction. The City is a net importer ofjobs, with nearly 60,000 employed workers. Renton has a wide may of both long established and new and evolving business sectors. Retail businesses, restaurants and bars, auto sales, hospitality, healthcare, and office workers are well represented. 3, The statewide minimum wage is not sufficient to afford rising rents and costs of living in Renton. According to the National Low Income Housing Coalition's Out of Reach 2022 report, a worker making Washington's minimum wage would have to work 72 hours each week (up from 70 hours each week in 2021) to afford a modest one -bedroom rental home at Fair Market Rent. 4. When working families earn insufficient income due to low wages and involuntary under -employment, they struggle to pay for basic necessities like health care, child cue, and groceries, and they are more likely to be evicted and become homeless. 5. Nearby King County cities of SeaTac, Seattle, and Tukwila enacted higher minimum wages in 2013, 2014, and 2022 respectively, but until now Renton has not followed suit. 6. Children growing up in poverty experience insecurity with housing, nutrition, and health care while enduring other hardships that prevent their ability to learn in school. Full time working parents must be able to reasonably provide for their family to ensure access to the opportunities and promise of public education. Section 2. Intent. It is the intent of the people to establish fair labor standards and protect the rights of workers by: (1) ensuring that the vast majority of employees in the City of Renton receive a minimum wage comparable to employees in the nearby cities of Tukwila, SeaTac, and Seattle; (2) requiring covered employers to offer additional hours of work to qualified part-time employees before hiring new employees to fill those hours; and (3) adopting enforcement requirements. Section 3. Large Employers Shall Pay Minimum Wages Comparable to Those in Nearby Cities. 1. Effective July 1, 2024, every large employer shall pay to each employee an hourly wage of not less than the 2023 new minimum wage rate in the City of Tukwila, established by City of Tukwila Initiative Measure No. 1, approved by voters in November 2022, adjusted for 2024 by the annual rate of inflation. 2. On January 1, 2025, and on each January 1 thereafter, the hourly minimum wage shall increase by the annual rate of inflation to maintain employee purchasing power. 3. By December 31, 2023, and by October 15 of each year thereafter, the Finance Department shall establish and publish the applicable hourly minimum wage for the following year using the annual rate of inflation. 4. For purposes of this chapter, the annual rate of inflation means 100 percent of the annual average growth rate of the bi-monthly Seattle -Tacoma -Bellevue Area Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers, tenned CPI-W, for the 12-month period ending in August, provided that the percentage increase shall. not be less than zero. 5. An employer must pay to its employees: a. All tips and gratuities; and b. All service charges as defined under RCW 49.46.160 except those that, pursuant to RCW 49.46.160, are itemized as not being payable to the employee or employees servicing the customer. Tips and service charges paid to an employee are in addition to, and may not count towards, the employee's hourly minimum wage. Section 4. Other Covered Employers Shall Have a Multiyear Phase -In Period. Other covered employers shall phase in the new minimum wage, as follows: 1. Effective July 1, 2024, other covered employers shall pay employees not less than the hourly minimum wage established under Section 3 minus Two Dollars ($2) per hour. 2. Effective July 1, 2025, other covered employers shall pay employees not less than the hourly minimum wage established under Section 3 minus One Dollar ($1) per hour. 3. Effective July 1, 2026, and thereafter, all covered employers shall pay employees not less than the hourly minimum wage established under Section 3. Section 5. Coverage and Employer Classifications. 1. Covered employers must pay employees at least the minimum wage established by this chapter for each hour worked within the City. 2. Employer classification for the current calendar year will be calculated based upon the average number of employees during all weeks in the previous calendar yew in which the employer had at least one employee. For employers that did not have any employees during the previous calendar year, classification will be based upon the average number of employees during the most recent three months of the current year. In this determination, all employees will be counted, regardless of their location, and including employees who worked in full-time employment, part-time employment, joint employment, temporary employment, or through the services of a temporary services or staffing agency or similar entity. 3. Employer classification for the current calendar year will be calculated based upon the gross revenue for the previous year. For employers that did not have gross revenue during the previous calendar year, annual gross revenue will be calculated from the gross revenue during the most recent three months of the current year. 4. For the purposes of employer classification, separate entities will be considered a single employer if they form an integrated enterprise or they are under joint control by one of those entities or a separate entity. The factors to consider in making this assessment include, but are not limited to: a. Degree of interrelation between the operations of multiple entities; b. Degree to which the entities share common management; C. Centralized control of labor relations; and d. Degree of common ownership or financial control over the entities. Section 6. Part -Time Employees Shall Have Fair Access to Additional Hours. 1. Before hiring additional employees or subcontractors, including hiring through the use of temporary services or staffing agencies, covered employers must offer additional hours of work to existing employees who, in the employer's good faith and reasonable judgment, have the skills and experience to perform the work, and shall use a reasonable, transparent, and nondiscriminatory process to distribute the hours of work among those existing employees. 2. This section shall not be construed to require any employer to offer an employee work hours if the employer would be required to compensate the employee at time-and-a-halfor other premium rate under any law or collective bargaining agreement, nor to prohibit any employer from offering such work hours. Section 7. Retaliation Prohibited. 1. No employer or any other person shall interfere with, restrain, or deny the exercise of, or the attempt to exercise, any right protected under this chapter. 2. No employer or any other person shall take any adverse action against any person because the person has exercised in good faith the rights under this chapter. Such rights include but are not limited to the right to make inquGies about the rights protected under this chapter; the right to inform others about their rights under this chapter; the right to inform the person's employer, union, or similar organization, and/or the person's legal counsel or any other person about an alleged violation of this chapter; the right to bring a civil action for an alleged violation of this chapter; the right to testify in a proceeding under or related to this chapter; the right to refuse to participate in an activity that would result in a violation of city, state, or federal law; and the right to oppose any policy, practice, or act that is unlawful under this chapter. 3. For the purposes of this section, an adverse action means denying ajob or promotion, demoting, terminating, failing to rehire after a seasonal interruption of work, threatening, penalizing, retaliating, engaging in unfair immigration -related practices, filing a false report with a government agency, changing an employee's status to nonemployee, decreasing or declining to provide additional work hours when they otherwise would have been offered, scheduling an employee for hours outside of their availability, or otherwise discriminating against any person for any reason prohibited by this chapter. "Adverse action" for an employee may involve any aspect of employment, including pay, work hours, responsibilities, or other material change in the terms and conditions of employment. 4. No employer or any other person shall communicate to a person exercising rights protected under this chapter, directly or indirectly, the willingness to inform a government employee that the person is not lawfully in the United States, or to report, or to make an implied or express assertion of a willingness to report, suspected citizenship or immigration status of the person or a family member of the person to a federal, state, or local agency because the person has exercised a right under this chapter. 5. There shall be a rebuttable presumption of unlawful retaliation if an employer or any other person takes an adverse action against a person within 90 days of the person's exercise of any right protected in this chapter. However, in the case of seasonal work that ended before the close of the 90-day period, the presumption also applies if the employer fails to rehire a former employee at the next opportunity for work in the same position. The employer may rebut the presumption with clear and convincing evidence that the adverse action was taken for a permissible purpose. 6. Standard of Proof. Proof of retaliation under this chapter shall be sufficient upon a showing that an employer or any other person has taken an adverse action against a person and the person's exercise of rights protected in this chapter was a motivating factor in the adverse action, unless the employer can prove that the action would have been taken in the absence of such protected activity. 7. The protections afforded under this section shall apply to any person who mistakenly but in good faith alleges violations of this chapter. Section 8. Enforcement. 1. Any person or class of persons that suffers financial injury as a result of a violation of this chapter or is the subject of prohibited retaliation under this chapter, or any other individual or entity acting on their behalf, may bring a civil action in a court of competentjurisdiction against the employer or other person violating this chapter and, upon prevailing, shall be awarded reasonable attorney fees and costs and such legal or equitable relief as may be appropriate to remedy the violation including, without limitation, the payment of any unpaid wages plus interest due to the person and liquidated damages in an additional amount of up to twice the unpaid wages; compensatory damages; and a penalty payable to any aggrieved party of up to $5,000 if the aggrieved party was subject to prohibited retaliation. For the purposes of this section, an aggrieved party means an employee or other person who suffers tangible or intangible harm due to an employer or other person's violation of this chapter. Interest shall accrue from the date the unpaid wages were first due at the higher of twelve percent per annum or the maximum rate permitted under RCW 19.52.020. 2. For purposes of determining membership within a class of persons entitled to bring an action under this section, two or more employees are similarly situated if they: a. Are or were employed by the same employer or employers, whether concurrently or otherwise, at some point during the applicable statute of limitations period; b. Allege one or more violations that raise similar questions as to liability; and C. Seek similar forms of relief. d. Employees shall not be considered dissimilar solely because their claims seek damages that differ in amount, or theirjob titles or other means of classifying employees differ in ways that are umelated to their claims. 3. Each covered employer shall retain records as required by RCW 49.46.070, as well as such information as the City may require to confirm compliance with this chapter. If an employer fails to retain such records, there shall be a presumption, rebuttable by clear and convincing evidence, that the employer violated this chapter for the periods and for each employee for whom records were not retained. 4. Employers shall permit authorized City representatives access to work sites and relevant records for the purpose of monitoring compliance with the chapter and investigating complaints of noncompliance, including production for inspection and copying of employment records. The City may designate representatives, including city contractors and representatives of unions or worker advocacy organizations, to access the worksite and relevant records. 5. Complaints that any provision of this chapter has been violated may also be presented to the City Attorney, who is hereby authorized to investigate and, if they deem appropriate, initiate legal or other action to remedy any violation of this chapter. 6. The City has the authority to issue administrative citations and to order injunctive relief including reinstatement, restitution, payment of back wages, or other forms of relief 7. The City may, in the exercise of its authority and performance of its functions and services, agree by contract or otherwise to participate jointly or in cooperation with Washington State, King County, or any city, town, or other incorporated place, or subdivision thereof, or engage outside counsel, to enforce this chapter. S. The remedies and penalties provided under this chapter are cumulative and are not intended to be exclusive of any other available remedies or penalties, including existing remedies for enforcement of Renton Municipal Code chapters. 9. The statute of limitations for any enforcement action shall be five (5) years. Section 9. A new section is added to Renton Municipal Code (RMC) Section 5-5-4 as follows: 1. The Finance Director may deny, suspend, or revoke any license under this chapter for violation of this ordinance. 2. The Finance Director must deny, suspend, or revoke any license under this chapter for repeated intentional violations of this ordinance. 3. Any action by the Finance Director under this section shall be subject to the procedures and requirements of RMC subsection 5-5-3.E, as well as other due process rights that a court may require. Section 10. Definitions. For the purposes of this chapter, the following terms shall have the following meanings: "City" means the City of Renton. "Covered employer" means an employer that either (1) employs at least 15 employees regardless of where those employees are employed, or (2) has annual gross revenue over $2 million. "Effective date" is the effective date of this ordinance. "Employee" is defined as set forth in RCW 49.46.010. An employer bears the burden of proof that the individual is, as a matter of economic reality, in business for oneself rather than dependent upon the alleged employer. "Employer" is defined as set forth in RCW 49.46.010. "Employer classification" includes the determination of whether an employer is a covered employer and whether a covered employer is a large employer. "Franchise" means an agreement, express or implied, oral or written by which: 1. A person is granted the right to engage in the business of offering, selling, or distributing goods or services under a marketing plan prescribed or suggested in substantial part by the grantor or its affiliate; 2. The operation of the business is substantially associated with a trademark, service mark, trade name, advertising, or other commercial symbol; designating, owned by, or licensed by the grantor or its affiliate; and 3. The person pays, agrees to pay, or is required to pay, directly or indirectly, a franchise fee. The term, "franchise fee" is meant to be construed broadly to include any instance in which the grantor or its affiliate derives income or profit from a person who enters into a franchise agreement with the grantor. "Hour worked within the City" is to be interpreted according to its ordinary meaning, including all hours worked within the geographic boundaries of the City, excluding time spent in the City solely for the purpose of traveling through the City from a point of origin outside the City to a destination outside the City, with no employment -related or commercial stops in the City except for refueling or the employee's personal meals or errands. "Large Employer" means all employers that employ more than 500 employees, regardless of where those employees are employed, and all franchisees associated with a franchisor or a network of franchises with franchisees that employ more than 500 employees in aggregate. "Other covered employer" means a covered employer that does not qualify as a luge employer. "Service charge" is defined as set forth in RCW 49.46.160(2)(c). "Tips" means a verifiable sum to be presented by a customer as a gift or gratuity in recognition of some service performed for the customer by the employee receiving the tip. "Wage" is defined as set forth in RCW 49.46.010. Section 11. Other Legal Requirements. This ordinance shall not be construed to preempt, limit, or otherwise affect the applicability of any other law, regulation, requirement, policy, or standard that provides for greater wages or compensation; and nothing in this ordinance shall be interpreted or applied so as to create any power or duty in conflict with federal or state law. Section 12. Rulemaking. Within 180 days after the effective date, the City shall adopt rules and procedures to implement and ensure compliance with this chapter, which shall require employers to maintain adequate records and to annually certify compliance with this chapter. The City shall seek feedback from worker organizations and covered employers before finalizing the rules and procedures. Section 13. Constitutional Subject. For constitutional purposes, this measure's subject "concerns labor standards for certain employers." See Filo Foods, LLC v. City of SeaTac, 183 Wash. 2d 770, 783, 357 P.3d 1040, 1047 (2015) (upholding this statement of subject for an initiative that set a minimum wage and addressed employees' access to hours). Section 14. Codification. All sections of this ordinance except section 9 shall be codified in a new chapter of the Renton Municipal Code. Section 15. Election date. In the event that the election on this measure takes place later than November 7, 2023, the Finance Department must establish and publish the initial minimum wage within 30 days of the effective date. Section 16. Severability. The provisions of this ordinance me declared to be separate and severable. If any clause, sentence, paragraph, subdivision, section, subsection, or portion of this ordinance, or the application thereof to any employer, employee, or circumstance, is held to be invalid, it shall not affect the validity of the remainder of this ordinance, or the validity of its application to other persons or circumstances. Name De vase, Email and Ph Raising The Minimum Wage In Renton INITIATIVE PETITION FOR SUBMISSION TO THE RENTON CITY COUNCIL TO: The City Council of the City of Renton: We, the undersigned registered voters of the City of Renton, State of Washington, residing at the addresses set forth opposite our respective names, being equal to fifteen percent (15%) of the total number of names of persons listed as registered voters within the City on the day of the last preceding City general election, respectfully request that the following ordinance be enacted by the City Council or, if not so enacted, be submitted to a vote of the residents of the City. The title of the said ordinance is as follows: ORDINANCE CONCERNING LABOR STANDARDS FOR CERTAIN EMPLOYEES A full, true and correct copy of the ordinance is attached to this Petition. Each of us for himself or herself says: I have personally signed this petition; I am a registered voter of the City of Renton, State of Washington; and my residence is correctly stated. Signature Printed Name Street and Number City Phone Number Email `U6rm /" Printed Name 1234 Anywhere St. / Renton 206-555-1234 maria@something.org ts kk-o� Yuio w T Vc,4 V-C� U J� ciy(,5,- Renton ' c U,.�U1f�GVI Renton IDV R nton 40Tenton Renton C C, Renton c� , -f/ I SLAT/0 OA S Renton Renton 130� S. �� �� �Z Renton r Z i Yr++ P I I irk CIF Date 4/10/2023 Warning Every person who signs this petition with any other than his or her true name, or who knowingly signs more than one of these petitions, or signs a petition seek- ing an election when he or she is not a legal voter, or signs a petition when he or she is otherwise not qualified to sign, or who makes herein any false statement, shall be guilty of a misdemeanor. AN ORDINANCE concerning labor standards for certain employees. Section 1. Findings. 1. The people of the City of Renton hereby adopt this citizen initiative addressing labor standards for certain employees, for the purpose of ensuring that, to the extent reasonably practicable, people employed in Renton have good wages and access to sufficient hours of work. 2. The City of Renton is one of the lugestjob centers in Washington State, with thousands of shoppers and workers visiting daily to participate in the local economy. Renton is home to The Landing shopping center, the historic Downtown Urban Center, as well as retail and commercial office and warehouse districts around the Rainier/Grady Way Junction. The City is a net importer ofjobs, with nearly 60,000 employed workers. Renton has a wide array of both long established and new and evolving business sectors. Retail businesses, restaurants and bars, auto sales, hospitality, healthcare, and office workers are well represented. 3. The statewide minimum wage is not sufficient to afford rising rents and costs of living in Renton, According to the National Low Income Housing Coalition's Out of Reach 2022 report, a worker making Washington's minimum wage would have to work 72 hours each week (up from 70 hours each week in 2021) to afford a modest one -bedroom rental home at Fair Market Rent. 4. When working families earn insufficient income due to low wages and involuntary under -employment, they struggle to pay for basic necessities like health care, child care, and groceries, and they are more likely to be evicted and become homeless. 5. Nearby King County cities of SeaTac, Seattle, and Tukwila enacted higher minimum wages in 2013, 2014, and 2022 respectively, but until now Renton has not followed suit. 6. Children growing up in poverty experience insecurity with housing, nutrition, and health care while enduring other hardships that prevent their ability to learn in school. Full time working parents most be able to reasonably provide for their family to ensure access to the opportunities and promise of public education. Section 2. Intent. It is the intent of the people to establish fair labor standards and protect the rights of workers by: (1) ensuring that the vast majority of employees in the City of Renton receive a minimum wage comparable to employees in the nearby cities of Tukwila, SeaTac, and Seattle; (2) requiring covered employers to offer additional hours of work to qualified part-time employees before hiring new employees to fill those hours; and (3) adopting enforcement requirements. Section 3. Large Employers Shall Pay Minimum Wages Comparable to Those in Nearby Cities. 1. Effective July 1, 2024, every large employer shall pay to each employee an hourly wage of not less than the 2023 new minimum wage rate in the City of Tukwila, established by City of Tukwila Initiative Measure No. 1, approved by voters in November 2022, adjusted for 2024 by the annual rate of inflation. 2. On January 1, 2025, and on each January 1 thereafter, the hourly minimum wage shall increase by the annual rate of inflation to maintain employee purchasing power. 3. By December 31, 2023, and by October 15 of each year thereafter, the Finance Department shall establish and publish the applicable hourly minimum wage for the following year using the annual rate of inflation. 4. For purposes of this chapter, the annual rate of inflation means 100 percent of the annual average growth rate of the bi-monthly Seattle -Tacoma -Bellevue Area Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers, termed CPI-W, for the 12-month period ending in August, provided that the percentage increase shall not be less than zero. 5. An employer must pay to its employees: a. All tips and gratuities; and b. All service charges as defined under RCW 49.46.160 except those that, pursuant to RCW 49.46.160, are itemized as not being payable to the employee or employees servicing the customer. Tips and service charges paid to an employee are in addition to, and may not count towards, the employee's hourly minimum wage. Section 4. Other Covered Employers Shall Have a Multiyear Phase -In Period. Other covered employers shall phase in the new minimum wage, as follows: 1. Effective July 1, 2024, other covered employers shall pay employees not less than the hourly minimum wage established under Section 3 minus Two Dollars ($2) per hour. 2. Effective July 1, 2025, other covered employers shall pay employees not less than the hourly minimum wage established under Section 3 minus One Dollar ($I) per hour. 3. Effective July 1, 2026, and thereafter, all covered employers shall pay employees not less than the hourly minimum wage established under Section 3. Section 5. Coverage and Employer Classifications. 1. Covered employers must pay employees at least the minimum wage established by this chapter for each hour worked within the City. 2. Employer classification for the current calendar year will be calculated based upon the average number of employees during all weeks in the previous calendar year in which the employer had at least one employee. For employers that did not have any employees during the previous calendar year, classification will be based upon the average number of employees during the most recent three months of the current year. In this determination, all employees will be counted, regardless of their location, and including employees who worked to full-time employment, part-time employment, joint employment, temporary employment, or through the services of a temporary services or staffing agency or similar entity. 3. Employer classification for the current calendar year will be calculated based upon the gross revenue for the previous year. For employers that did not have gross revenue during the previous calendar year, annual gross revenue will be calculated from the gross revenue during the most recent three months of the current year. 4. For the purposes of employer classification, separate entities will be considered a single employer if they form an integrated enterprise or they are underjoint control by one of those entities or a separate entity. The factors to consider in making this assessment include, but are not limited to: a. Degree of interrelation between the operations of multiple entities; b. Degree to which the entities share common management; C. Centralized control of labor relations; and it. Degree of common ownership or financial control over the entities. Section 6. Part -Time Employees Shall Have Fair Access to Additional Hours. 1. Before hiring additional employees or subcontractors, including hiring through the use of temporary services or staffing agencies, covered employers must offer additional hours of work to existing employees who, in the employer's good faith and reasonable judgment, have the skills and experience to perform the work, and shall use a reasonable, transparent, and nondiscriminatory process to distribute the hours of work among those existing employees. 2. This section shall not be construed to require any employer to offer an employee work hours if the employer would be required to compensate the employee at time -and -a -half or other premium rate under any law or collective bargaining agreement, nor to prohibit any employer from offering such work hours. Section 7. Retaliation Prohibited. 1. No employer or any other person shall interfere with, restrain, or deny the exercise of, or the attempt to exercise, any right protected under this chapter. 2. No employer or any other person shall take any adverse action against any person because the person has exercised in good faith the rights trader this chapter. Such rights include but are not limited to the right to make twin .vies about the rights protected trader this chapter; the right to inform others about their rights under this chapter; the right to inform the person's employer, union, or similar organization, and/or the person's legal counsel or any other person about an alleged violation of this chapter; the right to bring a civil action for an alleged violation of this chapter; the right to testify in a proceeding under or related to this chapter; the right to refuse to participate in an activity that would result in a violation of city, state, or federal law; and the right to oppose any policy, practice, or act that is unlawful under this chapter. 3. For the purposes of this section, an adverse action means denying ajob or promotion, demoting, terminating, failing to rehire after a seasonal interruption of work, threatening, penalizing, retaliating, engaging in unfair immigration -related practices, filing a false report with a government agency, changing an employee's status to nonemployee, decreasing or declining to provide additional work hours when they otherwise would have been offered, scheduling an employee for hours outside of their availability, or otherwise discriminating against any person for any reason prohibited by this chapter. "Adverse action" for an employee may involve any aspect of employment, including pay, work hours, responsibilities, or other material change in the terms and conditions of employment. 4. No employer or any other person shall communicate to a person exercising rights protected under this chapter, directly or indirectly, the willingness to inform a government employee that the person is not lawfully in the United States, or to report, or to make an implied or express assertion of a willingness to report, suspected citizenship or immigration status of the person or a family member of the person to a federal, state, or local agency because the person has exercised a right under this chapter. 5. There shall be a rebuttable presumption of unlawful retaliation if an employer or any other person takes an adverse action against a person within 90 days of the person's exercise of any right protected in this chapter. However, in the case of seasonal work that ended before the close of the 90-day period, the presumption also applies if the employer fails to rehire a former employee at the next opportunity for work in the same position. The employer may rebut the presumption with clear and convincing evidence that the adverse action was taken for a permissible purpose. 6. Standard of Proof. Proof of retaliation under this chapter shall be sufficient upon a showing that an employer or any other person has taken an adverse action against a person and the person's exercise of rights protected in this chapter was a motivating factor in the adverse action, unless the employer can prove that the action would have been taken in the absence of such protected activity. 7. The protections afforded under this section shall apply to any person who mistakenly but in good faith alleges violations of this chapter. Section 8. Enforcement. 1. Any person or class of persons that suffers financial injury as a result of a violation of this chapter or is the subject of prohibited retaliation under this chapter, or any other individual or entity acting on their behalf, may bring a civil action in a court of competent jurisdiction against the employer or other person violating this chapter and, upon prevailing, shall be awarded reasonable attorney fees and costs and such legal or equitable relief as may be appropriate to remedy the violation including, without limitation, the payment of any unpaid wages plus interest due to the person and liquidated damages in an additional amount of up to twice the unpaid wages; compensatory damages; and a penalty payable to any aggrieved party of up to $5,000 if the aggrieved party was subject to prohibited retaliation. For the purposes of this section, an aggrieved party means an employee or other person who suffers tangible or intangible harm due to an employer or other person's violation of this chapter. Interest shall accrue from the date the unpaid wages were first due at the higher of twelve percent per annum or the maximum rate permitted under RCW 19.52.020. 2. For purposes of determining membership within a class of persons entitled to bring an action under this section, two or more employees are similarly situated if they: a. Are or were employed by the same employer or employers, whether concurrently or otherwise, at some point during the applicable statute of limitations period; b. Allege one or more violations that raise similar questions as to liability; and C. Seek similar forms of relief. d. Employees shall not be considered dissimilar solely because their claims seek damages that differ in amount, or theirjob titles or other means of classifying employees differ in ways that are unrelated to their claims. 3. Each covered employer shall retain records as required by RCW 49.46.070, as well as such information as the City may require to confirm compliance with this chapter. If an employer fails to retain such records, there shall be a presumption, rebuttable by clear and convincing evidence, that the employer violated this chapter for the periods and for each employee for whom records were not retained. 4. Employers shall permit authorized City representatives access to work sites and relevant records for the purpose of monitoring compliance with the chapter and investigating complaints of noncompliance, including production for inspection and copying of employment records. The City may designate representatives, including city contractors and representatives of unions or worker advocacy organizations, to access the worksite and relevant records. 5. Complaints that any provision of this chapter has been violated may also be presented to the City Attorney, who is hereby authorized to investigate and, if they deem appropriate, initiate legal or other action to remedy any violation of this chapter. 6. The City has the authority to issue administrative citations and to order injunctive relief including reinstatement, restitution, payment of back wages, or other forms of relief. 7. The City may, in the exercise of its authority and performance of its functions and services, agree by contract or otherwise to participate jointly or in cooperation with Washington State, King County, or any city, town, or other incorporated place, or subdivision thereof, or engage outside counsel, to enforce this chapter. 8. The remedies and penalties provided under this chapter are cumulative and are not intended to be exclusive of any other available remedies or penalties, including existing remedies for enforcement of Renton Municipal Code chapters. 9. The statute of limitations for any enforcement action shall be five (5) years. Section 9. A new section is added to Renton Municipal Code (RMC) Section 5-5-4 as follows: 1. The Finance Director may deny, suspend, or revoke any license under this chapter for violation of this ordinance. 2. The Finance Director must deny, suspend, or revoke any license under this chapter for repeated intentional violations of this ordinance. 3. Any action by the Finance Director under this section shall be subject to the procedures and requirements of RMC subsection 5-5-3.E, as well as other due process rights that a court may require. Section 10. Definitions. For the purposes of this chapter, the following terms shall have the following meanings: "City" means the City of Renton. "Covered employer" means an employer that either (1) employs at least 15 employees regardless of where those employees are employed, or (2) has annual gross revenue over $2 million. "Effective date" is the effective date of this ordinance. "Employee" is defined as set forth in RCW 49.46.010. An employer bears the burden of proof that the individual is, as a matter of economic reality, in business for oneself rather than dependent upon the alleged employer. "Employer" is defined as set forth in RCW 49.46.010. "Employer classification" includes the determination of whether an employer is a covered employer and whether a covered employer is a large employer. "Franchise" means an agreement, express or implied, oral or written by which: 1. A person is granted the right to engage in the business of offering, selling, or distributing goods or services under a marketing plan prescribed or suggested in substantial part by the grantor or its affiliate; 2. The operation of the business is substantially associated with a trademark, service mark, trade name, advertising, or other commercial symbol; designating, owned by, or licensed by the grantor or its affiliate; and 3. The person pays, agrees to pay, or is required to pay, directly or indirectly, a franchise fee. The term, "franchise fee" is meant to be construed broadly to include any instance in which the grantor or its affiliate derives income or profit from a person who enters into a franchise agreement with the grantor. "Hour worked within the City" is to be interpreted according to its ordinary meaning, including all hours worked within the geographic boundaries of the City, excluding time spent in the City solely for the purpose of traveling through the City from a point of origin outside the City to a destination outside the City, with no employment -related or commercial stops in the City except for refueling or the employee's personal meals or errands. "Large Employer" means all employers that employ more than 500 employees, regardless of where those employees are employed, and all franchisees associated with a franchisor or a network of franchises with franchisees that employ more than 500 employees in aggregate. "Other covered employer" means a covered employer that does not qualify as a large employer. "Service charge" is defined as set forth in RCW 49.46.160(2)(c). "Tips" means a verifiable sum to be presented by a customer as a gift or gratuity in recognition of some service performed for the customer by the employee receiving the tip. "Wage" is defined as set forth in RCW 49.46.010. Section 11. Other Legal Requirements. This ordinance shall not be construed to preempt, limit, or otherwise affect the applicability of any other law, regulation, requirement, policy, or standard that provides for greater wages or compensation; and nothing in this ordinance shall be interpreted or applied so as to create any power or duty in conflict with federal or state law. Section 12. Rulemaking. Within 180 days after the effective date, the City shall adopt rules and procedures to implement and ensure compliance with this chapter, which shall require employers to maintain adequate records and to aurally certify compliance with this chapter. The City shall seek feedback from worker organizations and covered employers before finalizing the rules and procedures. Section 13. Constitutional Subject. For constitutional purposes, this measure's subject "concerns labor standards for certain employers." See Filo Foods, LLC v. City of SeaTac, 183 Wash. 2d 770, 783, 357 P.3d 1040, 1047 (2015) (upholding this statement of subject for an initiative that set a minimum wage and addressed employees' access to hours). Section 14. Codification. All sections of this ordinance except section 9 shall be codified in a new chapter of the Renton Municipal Code. Section 15. Election date. In the event that the election on this measure takes place later than November 7, 2023, the Finance Department must establish and publish the initial minimum wage within 30 days of the effective date. Section 16. Severability. The provisions of this ordinance are declared to be separate and severable. If any clause, sentence, paragraph, subdivision, section, subsection, or portion of this ordinance, or the application thereof to any employer, employee, or circumstance, is held to be invalid, it shall not affect the validity of the remainder of this ordinance, or the validity of its application to other persons or circumstances. orName Of Canvasser: Date Canvassed: Piavasser Email and Phone Number: Raising The Minimum Wage In Renton INITIATIVE PETITION FOR SUBMISSION TO THE RENTON CITY COUNCIL TO: The City Council of the City of Renton: p acccne: s33-M �,DCII We, the undersigned registered voters of the City of Renton, State of Washington, residing at the addresses set forth opposite our respective names, being equal to fifteen percent (15%) of the total number of names of persons listed as registered voters within the City on the day of the last preceding City general election, respectfully request that the following ordinance be enacted by the City Council or, if not so enacted, be submitted to a vote of the residents of the City. The title of the said ordinance is as follows: ORDINANCE CONCERNING LABOR STANDARDS FOR CERTAIN EMPLOYEES A full, true and correct copy of the ordinance is attached to this Petition. Each of us for himself or herself says: I have personally signed this petition; I am a registered voter of the City of Renton, State of Washington; and my residence is correctly stated. Signature Printed Name Street and Number City Phone Number Email Date 5400&`U6ft Printed Name 1234 Anywhere St. Renton 206-555-1234 maria@something.org 4/10/2023 1. Renton 2 3. 5. 6. 8. N 10. Renton ✓% �� Renton lC�f� 15550 5E 1(gcrm p1coce- I.. rn-;' ...A/ Renton q0Z 9 Oq( Renton inn r- -1( -2_ Yet ccg��$t a)MQ(1.CoM 5/o1z3 D/6/23 Warning Every person who signs this petition with any other than his or her true name, or who knowingly signs more than one of these petitions, or signs a petition seek- ing an election when he or she is not a legal voter, or signs a petition when he or she is otherwise not qualified to sign, or who makes herein any false statement, shall be guilty of a misdemeanor. AN ORDINANCE concerning labor standards for certain employees. Section 1. Findings. 1. The people of the City of Renton hereby adopt this citizen initiative addressing labor standards for certain employees, for the purpose of ensuring that, to the extent reasonably practicable, people employed in Renton have good wages and access to sufficient hours of work. 2. The City of Renton is one of the largest job centers in Washington State, with thousands of shoppers and workers visiting daily to participate in the local economy. Renton is home to The Landing shopping center, the historic Downtown Urban Center, as well as retail and commercial office and warehouse districts around the Rainier/Grady Way Junction. The City is a net importer ofjobs, with nearly 60,000 employed workers. Renton has a wide army of both long established and new and evolving business sectors. Retail businesses, restaurants and bars, auto sales, hospitality, healthcare, and office workers are well represented. 3. The statewide minimum wage is not sufficient to afford rising rents and costs of living in Renton. According to the National Low Income Housing Coalition's Out of Reach 2022 report, a worker making Washington's minimum wage would have to work 72 hours each week (up from 70 hours each week in 2021) to afford a modest one -bedroom rental home at Fair Market Rent. 4. When working families earn insufficient income due to low wages and involuntary under -employment, they struggle to pay for basic necessities like health cue, child care, and groceries, and they are more likely to be evicted and become homeless. 5. Nearby King County cities of SeaTac, Seattle, and Tukwila enacted higher minimum wages in 2013, 2014, and 2022 respectively, but until now Renton has not followed suit. 6. Children growing up in poverty experience insecurity with housing, nutrition, and health care while enduring other hardships that prevent their ability to learn in school. Full time working parents must be able to reasonably provide for their family to ensure access to the opportunities and promise of public education. Section 2. Intent. It is the intent of the people to establish fair labor standards and protect the rights of workers by: (1) ensuring that the vast majority of employees in the City of Renton receive a minimum wage comparable to employees in the nearby cities of Tukwila, SeaTac, and Seattle; (2) requiring covered employers to offer additional hours of work to qualified part-time employees before hiring new employees to fill those hours; and (3) adopting enforcement requirements. Section 3. Large Employers Shall Pay Minimum Wages Comparable to Those in Nearby Cities. 1. Effective July 1, 2024, every large employer shall pay to each employee an hourly wage of not less than the 2023 new minimum wage rate in the City of Tukwila, established by City of Tukwila Initiative Measure No. 1, approved by voters in November 2022, adjusted for 2024 by the annual rate of inflation. 2. On January 1, 2025, and on each January 1 thereafter, the hourly minimum wage shall increase by the annual rate of inflation to maintain employee purchasing power. 3. By December 31, 2023, and by October 15 of each yew thereafter, the Finance Department shall establish and publish the applicable hourly minimum wage for the following year using the annual rate of inflation. 4. For purposes of this chapter, the annual rate of inflation means 100 percent of the annual average growth rate of the bi-monthly Seattle -Tacoma -Bellevue Area Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers, termed CPI-W, for the 12-month period ending in August, provided that the percentage increase shall not be less than zero. 5. An employer must pay to its employees: a. All tips and gratuities; and b. All service charges as defined under RCW 49.46.160 except those that, pursuant to RCW 49.46.160, are itemized as not being payable to the employee or employees servicing the customer. Tips and service charges paid to an employee we in addition to, and may not count towards, the employee's hourly minimum wage. Section 4. Other Covered Employers Shall Have a Multiyear Phase -In Period. Other covered employers shall phase in the new minimum wage, as follows: 1. Effective July 1, 2024, other covered employers shall pay employees not less than the hourly minimum wage established under Section 3 minus Two Dollars ($2) per how. 2. Effective July 1, 2025, other covered employers shall pay employees not less than the hourly minimum wage established under Section 3 minus One Dollar ($1) per hour. 3. Effective July 1, 2026, and thereafter, all covered employers shall pay employees not less than the hourly minimum wage established under Section 3. Section 5. Coverage and Employer Classifications. 1. Covered employers must pay employees at least the minimum wage established by this chapter for each hour worked within the City. 2. Employer classification for the current calendar year will be calculated based upon the average number of employees during all weeks in the previous calendar yew in which the employer had at least one employee. For employers that did not have any employees during the previous calendar year, classification will be based upon the average number of employees during the most recent three months of the current year. In this determination, all employees will be counted, regardless of their location, and including employees who worked in full-time employment, par -time employment, joint employment, temporary employment, or through the services of a temporary services or staffing agency or similar entity. 3. Employer classification for the current calendar year will be calculated based upon the gross revenue for the previous year. For employers that did not have gross revenue during the previous calendar year, annual gross revenue will be calculated from the gross revenue during the most recent three months of the current year. 4. For the purposes of employer classification, separate entities will be considered a single employer if they form an integrated enterprise or they me under joint control by one of those entities or a separate entity. The factors to consider in making this assessment include, but are not limited to: a. Degree of interrelation between the operations of multiple entities; b. Degree to which the entities share common management; C. Centralized control of labor relations; and it. Degree of common ownership or financial control over the entities. Section 6. Part -Time Employees Shall Have Fair Access to Additional Hours. 1. Before hiring additional employees or subcontractors, including hiring through the use of temporary services or staffing agencies, covered employers must offer additional hours of work to existing employees who, in the employer's good faith and reasonable judgment, have the skills and experience to perform the work, and shall use a reasonable, transparent, and nondiscriminatory process to distribute the hours of work among those existing employees. 2. This section shall not be construed to require any employer to offer an employee work hours if the employer would be required to compensate the employee at time -and -a -half or other premium rate under any law or collective bargaining agreement, nor to prohibit any employer from offering such work hours. Section 7. Retaliation Prohibited. 1. No employer or any other person shall interfere with, restrain, or deny the exercise of, or the attempt to exercise, any right protected under this chapter. 2. No employer or any other person shall take any adverse action against any person because the person has exercised in good faith the rights under this chapter. Such rights include but are not limited to the right to make inquiries about the rights protected under this chapter; the right to inform others about their rights under this chapter; the right to inform the person's employer, union, or similar organization, and/or the person's legal counsel or any other person about an alleged violation of this chapter; the right to bring a civil action for an alleged violation of this chapter; the right to testify in a proceeding under or related to this chapter; the right to refuse to participate in an activity that would result in a violation of city, state, or federal law; and the right to oppose any policy, practice, or act that is unlawful under this chapter. 3. For the purposes of this section, an adverse action means denying ajob or promotion, demoting, terminating, failing to rehire after a seasonal interruption of work, threatening, penalizing, retaliating, engaging in unfair immigration -related practices, filing a false report with a government agency, changing an employee's status to maremployee, decreasing or declining to provide additional work hours when they otherwise would have been offered, scheduling an employee for hours outside of their availability, or otherwise discriminating against any person for any reason prohibited by this chapter. "Adverse action" for an employee may involve any aspect of employment, including pay, work hours, responsibilities, or other material change in the terms and conditions of employment. 4. No employer or any other person shall communicate to a person exercising rights protected under this chapter, directly or indirectly, the willingness to infomn a government employee that the person is not lawfully in the United States, or to report, or to make an implied or express assertion of a willingness to report, suspected citizenship or immigration status of person or a family member of the person to a federal, state, or local agency because the person has exercised a right under this chapter. 5. There shall be a rebuttable presumption of unlawful retaliation if an employer or any other person takes an adverse action against a person within 90 days of the person's exercise of any right protected in this chapter. However, in the case of seasonal work that ended before the close of the 90-day period, the presumption also applies if the employer fails to rehire a former employee at the next opportunity for work in the same position. The employer may rebut the presumption with clear and convincing evidence that the adverse action was taken for a permissible purpose. 6. Standard of Proof. Proof of retaliation under this chapter shall be sufficient upon a showing that an employer or any other person has taken an adverse action against a person and the person's exercise of rights protected in this chapter was a motivating factor in the adverse action, unless the employer can prove that the action would have been taken in the absence of such protected activity. 7. The protections afforded under this section shall apply to any person who mistakenly but in good faith alleges violations of this chapter. Section 8. Enforcement. 1. Any person or class of persons that suffers financial injury as a result of a violation of this chapter or is the subject of prohibited retaliation under this chapter, or any other individual or entity acting on their behalf, may bring a civil action in a court of competent jurisdiction against the employer or other person violating this chapter and, upon prevailing, shall be awwded reasonable allomey fees and costs and such legal or equitable relief as may be appropriate to remedy the violation including, without limitation, the payment of any unpaid wages plus interest due to the person and liquidated damages in an additional amount of up to twice the unpaid wages; compensatory damages; and a penalty payable to any aggrieved party of up to $5,000 if the aggrieved party was subject to prohibited retaliation. For the purposes of this section, an aggrieved party means an employee or other person who suffers tangible or intangible harm due to an employer or other person's violation of this chapter. Interest shall accrue from the date the unpaid wages were first due at the higher of twelve percent per annum or the maximum rate permitted under RCW 19.52.020. 2. For purposes of determining membership within a class of persons entitled to bring an action under this section, two or more employees are similarly situated if they: a. Are or were employed by the same employer or employers, whether concurrently or otherwise, at some point during the applicable statute of limitations period; b. Allege one or more violations that raise similar questions as to liability; and C. Seek similar forms of relief. d. Employees shall not be considered dissimilar solely because their claims seek damages that differ in amount, or their job titles or other means of classifying employees differ in ways that we unrelated to their claims. 3. Each covered employer shall retain records as required by RCW 49.46.070, as well as such information as the City may require to confirm compliance with this chapter. If an employer fails to retain such records, there shall be a presumption, rebuttable by clear and convincing evidence, that the employer violated this chapter for the periods and for each employee for whom records were not retained. 4. Employers shall permit authorized City representatives access to work sites and relevant records for the purpose of monitoring compliance with the chapter and investigating complaints of noncompliance, including production for inspection and copying of employment records. The City may designate representatives, including city contractors and representatives of unions or worker advocacy organizations, to access the worksite and relevant records. 5. Complaints that any provision of this chapter has been violated may also be presented to the City Attorney, who is hereby authorized to investigate and, if they deem appropriate, initiate legal or other action to remedy any violation of this chapter. 6. The City has the authority to issue administrative citations and to order injunctive relief including reinstatement, restitution, payment of back wages, or other forms of relief. 7. The City may, in the exercise of its authority and performance of its functions and services, agree by contract or otherwise to participate jointly or in cooperation with Washington State, King County, or any city, town, or other incorporated place, or subdivision thereof, or engage outside counsel, to enforce this chapter. 8. The remedies and penalties provided under this chapter are cumulative and are not intended to be exclusive of any other available remedies or penalties, including existing remedies for enforcement of Renton Municipal Code chapters. 9. The statute of limitations for any enforcement action shall be five (5) years. Section 9. A new section is added to Renton Municipal Code (RMC) Section 5-5-4 as follows: 1. The Finance Director may deny, suspend, or revoke any license under this chapter for violation of this ordinance, 2. The Finance Director must deny, suspend, or revoke any license under this chapter for repeated intentional violations of this ordinance. 3. Any action by the Finance Director under this section shall be subject to the procedures and requirements of RMC subsection 5-5-3.E, as well as other due process rights that a court may require. Section 10. Definitions. For the purposes of this chapter, the following terms shall have the following meanings: "City" means the City of Renton. "Covered employer" means an employer that either (1) employs at least 15 employees regardless of where those employees are employed, or (2) has annual gross revenue over $2 million. "Effective date" is the effective date of this ordinance. "Employee" is defined as set forth in RCW 49.46.010. An employer bears the burden of proof that the individual is, as a matter of economic reality, in business for oneself rather than dependent upon the alleged employer. "Employer" is defined as set forth in RCW 49.46.010. "Employer classification" includes the determination of whether an employer is a covered employer and whether a covered employer is a large employer. "Franchise" means an agreement, express or implied, oral or written by which: 1. A person is granted the right to engage in the business of offering, selling, or distributing goods or services under a marketing plan prescribed or suggested in substantial part by the grantor or its affiliate; 2. The operation of the business is substantially associated with a trademark, service mark, trade time, advertising, or other commercial symbol; designating, owned by, or licensed by the grantor or its affiliate; and 3. The person pays, agrees to pay, or is required to pay, directly or indirectly, a franchise fee. The term, "franchise fee" is meant to be construed broadly to include any instance in which the grantor or its affiliate derives income or profit from a person who enters into a franchise agreement with the grantor. "Hour worked within the City" is to be interpreted according to its ordinary meaning, including all hours worked within the geographic boundaries of the City, excluding time spent in the City solely for the purpose of traveling through the City from a point of origin outside the City to a destination outside the City, with no employment -related or commercial stops in the City except for refueling or the employee's personal meals or errands. "Large Employer" means all employers that employ more than 500 employees, regardless of where those employees are employed, and all franchisees associated with a franchisor or a network of franchises with franchisees that employ more than 500 employees in aggregate. "Other covered employer" means a covered employer that does not qualify as a large employer. "Service charge" is defined as set forth in RCW 49.46.160(2)(c). "Tips" means a verifiable sum to be presented by a customer as a gift or gratuity in recognition of some service performed for the customer by the employee receiving the tip. "Wage" is defined as set forth in RCW 49.46.010. Section 11. Other Legal Requirements. This ordinance shall not be construed to preempt, limit, or otherwise affect the applicability of any other law, regulation, requirement, policy, or standard that provides for greater wages or compensation; and nothing in this ordinance shall be interpreted or applied so as to create any power or duty in conflict with federal or state law. Section 12. Rulemaking. Within 180 days after the effective date, the City shall adopt rules and procedures to implement and ensure compliance with this chapter, which shall require employers to maintain adequate records and to annually certify compliance with this chapter. The City shall seek feedback from worker organizations and covered employers before finalizing the rules and procedures. Section 13. Constitutional Subject. For constitutional purposes, this measure's subject "concerns labor standards for certain employers." See Filo Foods, LLC v. City of SeaTac, 183 Wash. 2d 770, 783, 357 P.3d 1040, 1047 (2015) (upholding this statement of subject for an initiative that set a minimum wage and addressed employees' access to hours). Section 14. Codification. All sections of this ordinance except section 9 shall be codified in a new chapter of the Renton Municipal Code. Section 15. Election date. In the event that the election on this measure takes place later than November 7, 2023, the Finance Department must establish and publish the initial minimum wage within 30 days of the effective date. Section 16. Severability. The provisions of this ordinance we declared to be separate and severable. If any clause, sentence, paragraph, subdivision, section, subsection, or portion of this ordinance, or the application thereof to any employer, employee, or circumstance, is held to be invalid, it shall not affect the validity of the remainder of this ordinance, or the validity of its application to other persons or circumstances. Name Of Canvasser: Date Canvassed: r"-, Email and Phone Number: Raising The Minimum Wage In Renton INITIATIVE PETITION FOR SUBMISSION TO THE RENTON CITY COUNCIL TO: The City Council of the City of Renton: ® GCGIBT- 933-M We, the undersigned registered voters of the City of Renton, State of Washington, residing at the addresses set forth opposite our respective names, being equal to fifteen percent (15%) of the total number of names of persons listed as registered voters within the City on the day of the last preceding City general election, respectfully request that the following ordinance be enacted by the City Council or, if not so enacted, be submitted to a vote of the residents of the City. The title of the said ordinance is as follows: ORDINANCE CONCERNING LABOR STANDARDS FOR CERTAIN EMPLOYEES A full, true and correct copy of the ordinance is attached to this Petition. z5/ LZ-3 12�n G Each of us for himself or herself says: I have personally signed this petition; I am a registered voter of the City of Renton, State of Washington; and my residence is correctly stated. ✓ Signature 1. Printed Name Printed Name Street and Number 1234 Anywhere St. A uZ- City Phone Number Email Date Renton 206-555-1234 maria@something.org Renton 2. /j� �p��/0'I/I/� �_ v� P. �.(��2,rA)J () r -7� E;�: .SI�%` 0 Renton �I �1 A/ A �V �y . UV { QV Renton OS �3 Z3 3. 4. A) ��'`J S� Renton 7W' 5. a% lo,(f\ \0 C AC, L nG?-z) �-r 11�-IVAA �— Renton (� l 7?) 2:�> --��� 3 3rJ , 1 5 11,r, _�- 7Sy �� r�zv�y%[�yM ; 5 - 6. �= J� Lcl f Y Pope / 1 Z� L� S lg �h fJree� Renton 7. 8. �� / ����` l (] � Renton 9. ��, ���-'-�� �V���� rX i� Renton 10. Renton Warning Every person who signs this petition with any other than his or her true name, or who knowingly signs more than one of these petitions, or signs a petition seek- ing an election when he or she is not a legal voter, or signs a petition when he or she is otherwise not qualified to sign, or who makes herein any false statement, shall be guilty of a misdemeanor. AN ORDINANCE concerning labor standards for certain employees. Section 1. Findings. 1. The people of the City of Renton hereby adopt this citizen initiative addressing labor standards for certain employees, for the purpose of ensuring that, to the extent reasonably practicable, people employed in Renton have good wages and access to sufficient hours of work, 2. The City of Renton is one of the largest job centers in Washington State, with thousands of shoppers and workers visiting daily to participate in the local economy. Renton is home to The Landing shopping center, the historic Downtown Urban Center, as well as retail and commercial office and warehouse districts around the Rainier/Grady Way Junction. The City is a net importer ofjobs, with nearly 60,000 employed workers. Renton has a wide array of both long established and new and evolving business sectors. Retail businesses, restaurants and bars, auto sales, hospitality, healthcare, and office workers are well represented. 3. The statewide minimum wage is not sufficient to afford rising rents and costs of living in Renton. According to the National Low Income Housing Coalition's Out of Reach 2022 report, a worker making Washington's minimum wage would have to work 72 hours each week (up from 70 hours each week in 2021) to afford a modest one -bedroom rental home at Fair Market Rent. 4. When working families earn insufficient income due to low wages and involuntary under -employment, they struggle to pay for basic necessities like health care, child care, and groceries, and they are more likely to be evicted and become homeless. 5. Nearby King County cities of SeaTac, Seattle, and Tukwila enacted higher minimum wages in 2013, 2014, and 2022 respectively, but until now Renton has not followed suit. 6. Children growing up in poverty experience insecurity with housing, nutrition, and health care while enduring other hardships that prevent their ability to learn in school. Full time working parents must be able to reasonably provide for their family to ensure access to the opportunities and promise of public education. Section 2. Intent. It is the intent of the people to establish fair labor standards and protect the rights of workers by: (1) ensuring that the vast majority of employees in the City of Renton receive a minimum wage comparable to employees in the nearby cities of Tukwila, SeaTac, and Seattle; (2) requiring covered employers to offer additional hours of work to qualified part-time employees before hiring new employees to fill those hours; and (3) adopting enforcement requirements. Section 3. Large Employers Shall Pay Minimum Wages Comparable to Those in Nearby Cities. 1. Effective July 1, 2024, every large employer shall pay to each employee an hourly wage of not less than the 2023 new minimum wage rate in the City of Tukwila, established by City of Tukwila Initiative Measure No. 1, approved by voters in November 2022, adjusted for 2024 by the annual rate of inflation. 2. On January 1, 2025, and on each January 1 thereafter, the hourly minimum wage shall increase by the annual rate of inflation to maintain employee purchasing power. 3. By December 31, 2023, and by October 15 of each year thereafter, the Finance Department shall establish and publish the applicable hourly minimum wage for the following year using the annual rate of inflation. 4. For purposes of this chapter, the annual rate of inflation means 100 percent of the annual average growth rate of the bi-monthly Seattle -Tacoma -Bellevue Area Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers, termed CPI-W, for the 12-month period ending in August, provided that the percentage increase shall not be less than zero. 5. An employer must pay to its employees: a. All tips and gratuities; and b. All service charges as defined under RCW 49.46.160 except those that, pursuant to RCW 49.46.160, are itemized as not being payable to the employee or employees servicing the customer. Tips and service charges paid to an employee are in addition to, and may not count towards, the employee's hourly minimum wage. Section 4. Other Covered Employers Shall Have a Multiyear Phase -In Period. Other covered employers shall phase in the new minimum wage, as follows: 1. Effective July 1, 2024, other covered employers shall pay employees not less than the hourly minimum wage established under Section 3 minus Two Dollars ($2) per hour. 2. Effective July 1, 2025, other covered employers shall pay employees not less than the hourly minimum wage established under Section 3 minus One Dollar ($1) per hour. 3. Effective July 1, 2026, and thereafter, all covered employers shall pay employees not less than the hourly minimum wage established under Section 3. Section 5. Coverage and Employer Classifications. 1. Covered employers must pay employees at least the minimum wage established by this chapter for each hour worked within the City. 2. Employer classification for the current calendar year will be calculated based upon the average number of employees during all weeks in the previous calendar year in which the employer had at least one employee. For employers that did not have any employees during the previous calendar year, classification will be based upon the average number of employees during the most recent three months of the current year. In this determination, all employees will be counted, regardless of their location, and including employees who worked in full-time employment, part-time employment, joint employment, temporary employment, or through the services of a temporary services or staffing agency or similar entity. 3. Employer classification for the current calendar year will be calculated based upon the gross revenue for the previous year. For employers that did not have gross revenue during the previous calendar year, annual gross revenue will be calculated from the gross revenue during the most recent three months of the current year. 4. For the purposes of employer classification, separate entities will be considered a single employer if they form an integrated enterprise or they are under joint control by one of those entities or a separate entity. The factors to consider in making this assessment include, but are not limited to: a. Degree of interrelation between the operations of multiple entities; b. Degree to which the entities share common management; C. Centralized control of labor relations; and it. Degree of common ownership or financial control over the entities. Section 6. Part -Time Employees Shall Have Fair Access to Additional Hours. 1. Before hiring additional employees or subcontractors, including hiring through the use of temporary services or staffing agencies, covered employers must offer additional hours of work to existing employees who, in the employer's good faith and reasonable judgment, have the skills and experience to perform the work, and shall use a reasonable, transparent, and nondiscriminatory process to distribute the hours of work among those existing employees. 2. This section shall not be construed to require any employer to offer an employee work hours if the employer would be required to compensate the employee at time -and -a -half or other premium rate under any law or collective bargaining agreement, nor to prohibit any employer from offering such work hours. Section 7. Retaliation Prohibited. 1. No employer or any other person shall interfere with, restrain, or deny the exercise of, or the attempt to exercise, any right protected under this chapter. 2. No employer or any other person shall take any adverse action against any person because the person has exercised in good faith the rights under this chapter. Such rights include but are not limited to the right to make inquiries about the rights protected under this chapter; the right to inform others about their rights under this chapter; the right to inform the person's employer, union, or similar organization, and/or the person's legal counsel or any other person about an alleged violation of this chapter; the right to bring a civil action for an alleged violation of this chapter; the right to testify in a proceeding under or related to this chapter; the right to refuse to participate in an activity that would result in a violation of city, state, or federal law; and the right to oppose any policy, practice, or act that is unlawful under this chapter. 3. For the purposes of this section, an adverse action means denying ajob or promotion, demoting, terminating, failing to rehire after a seasonal interruption of work, threatening, penalizing, retaliating, engaging in unfair immigration -related practices, filing a false report with a government agency, changing an employee's status to nonemployee, decreasing or declining to provide additional work hours when they otherwise would have been offered, scheduling an employee for hours outside of their availability, or otherwise discriminating against any person for any reason prohibited by this chapter. "Adverse action" for an employee may involve any aspect of employment, including pay, work hours, responsibilities, or other material change in the terms and conditions of employment. 4. No employer or any other person shall communicate to a person exercising rights protected under this chapter, directly or indirectly, the willingness to inform a government employee that the person is not lawfully in the United States, or to report, or to make an implied or express assertion of a willingness to report, suspected citizenship or immigration status of the person or a family member of the person to a federal, state, or local agency because the person has exercised a right under this chapter. 5. There shall be a rebuttable presumption of unlawful retaliation if an employer or any other person takes an adverse action against a person within 90 days of the person's exercise of any right protected in this chapter. However, in the case of seasonal work that ended before the close of the 90-day period, the presumption also applies if the employer fails to rehire a former employee at the next opportunity for work in the same position. The employer may rebut the presumption with clear and convincing evidence that the adverse action was taken for a permissible purpose. 6. Standard of Proof. Proof of retaliation under this chapter shall be sufficient upon a showing that an employer or any other person has taken an adverse action against a person and the person's exercise of rights protected in this chapter was a motivating factor in the adverse action, unless the employer can prove that the action would have been taken in the absence of such protected activity. 7. The protections afforded under this section shall apply to any person who mistakenly but in good faith alleges violations of this chapter. Section 8. Enforcement. 1. Any person or class of persons that suffers financial injury as a result of a violation of this chapter or is the subject of prohibited retaliation under this chapter, or any other individual or entity acting on their behalf, may bring a civil action in a court of competent jurisdiction against the employer or other person violating this chapter and, upon prevailing, shall be awarded reasonable attorney fees and costs and such legal or equitable relief as may be appropriate to remedy the violation including, without limitation, the payment of any unpaid wages plus interest due to the person and liquidated damages in an additional amount of up to twice the unpaid wages; compensatory damages; and a penalty payable to any aggrieved party of up to $5,000 if the aggrieved party was subject to prohibited retaliation. For the purposes of this section, an aggrieved party means an employee or other person who suffers tangible or intangible harm due to an employer or other person's violation of this chapter. Interest shall accrue from the date the unpaid wages were first due at the higher of twelve percent per ammin or the maximum rate permitted under RCW 19.52.020. 2. For purposes of determining membership within a class of persons entitled to bring an action under this section, two or more employees are similarly situated if they: a. Are or were employed by the same employer or employers, whether concurrently or otherwise, at some point during the applicable statute of limitations period; b. Allege one or more violations that raise similar questions as to liability; and C. Seek similar forms of relief. d. Employees shall not be considered dissimilar solely because their claims seek damages that differ in amount, or their job titles or other means of classifying employees differ in ways that we unrelated to their claims. 3. Each covered employer shall retain records as required by RCW 49.46.070, as well as such information as the City may require to confirm compliance with this chapter. If an employer fails to retain such records, there shall be a presumption, rebuttable by clear and convincing evidence, that the employer violated this chapter for the periods and for each employee for whom records were not retained. 4. Employers shall permit authorized City representatives access to work sites and relevant records for the purpose of monitoring compliance with the chapter and investigating complaints of noncompliance, including production for inspection and copying of employment records. The City may designate representatives, including city contractors and representatives of unions or worker advocacy organizations, to access the worksite and relevant records. 5. Complaints that any provision of this chapter has been violated may also be presented to the City Attorney, who is hereby authorized to investigate and, if they deem appropriate, initiate legal or other action to remedy any violation of this chapter. 6. The City has the authority to issue administrative citations and to order injunctive relief including reinstatement, restitution, payment of back wages, or other forms of relief. 7. The City may, in the exercise of its authority and performance of its functions and services, agree by contract or otherwise to participate jointly or in cooperation with Washington State, King County, or any city, town, or other incorporated place, or subdivision thereof, or engage outside counsel, to enforce this chapter. 8. The remedies and penalties provided under this chapter are cumulative and are not intended to be exclusive of any other available remedies or penalties, including existing remedies for enforcement of Renton Municipal Code chapters. 9. The statute of limitations for any enforcement action shall be five (5) years. Section 9. A new section is added to Renton Municipal Code (RMC) Section 5-5-4 as follows: 1. The Finance Director may deny, suspend, or revoke any license under this chapter for violation of this ordinance. 2. The Finance Director must deny, suspend, or revoke any license under this chapter for repeated intentional violations of this ordinance. 3. Any action by the Finance Director under this section shall be subject to th®procedures and requirements of RMC subsection 5-5-3.E, as well as other due process rights that a court may require. Section 10. Definitions. For the purposes of this chapter, the following terms shall have the following meanings: "City" means the City of Renton. "Covered employer" means an employer that either (1) employs at least 15 employees regardless of where those employees are employed, or (2) has annual gross revenue over $2 million. "Effective date" is the effective date of this ordinance. "Employee" is defined as set forth in RCW 49.46.010. An employer bears the burden of proof that the individual is, as a matter of economic reality, in business for oneself rather than dependent upon the alleged employer. "Employer" is defined as set forth in RCW 49.46.010. "Employer classification" includes the determination of whether an employer is a covered employer and whether a covered employer is a large employer. "Franchise" means an agreement, express or implied, oral or written by which: 1. A person is granted the right to engage in the business of offering, selling, or distributing goods or services under a marketing plan prescribed or suggested in substantial part by the grantor or its affiliate; 2. The operation of the business is substantially associated with a trademark, service mark, trade time, advertising, or other commercial symbol; designating, owned by, or licensed by the grantor or its affiliate; and 3. The person pays, agrees to pay, or is required to pay, directly or indirectly, a franchise fee. The term, "franchise fee" is meant to be construed broadly to include any instance in which the grantor or its affiliate derives income or profit from a person who enters into a franchise agreement with the grantor. "Hour worked within the City" is to be interpreted according to its ordinary meaning, including all hours worked within the geographic boundaries of the City, excluding time spent in the City solely for the purpose of traveling through the City from a point of origin outside the City to a destination outside the City, with no employment -related or commercial stops in the City except for refueling or the employee's personal meals or errands. "Large Employer" means all employers that employ more than 500 employees, regardless of where those employees are employed, and all franchisees associated with a franchisor or a network of franchises with franchisees that employ more than 500 employees in aggregate. "Other covered employer" means a covered employer that does not qualify as a large employer. "Service charge" is defined as set forth in RCW 49.46.160(2)(c). "Tips" means a verifiable sum to be presented by a customer as a gift or gratuity in recognition of some service performed for the customer by the employee receiving the tip. "Wage" is defined as set forth in RCW 49,46.010. Section 11. Other Legal Requirements. This ordinance shall not be construed to preempt, limit, or otherwise affect the applicability of any other law, regulation, requirement, policy, or standard that provides for greater wages or compensation; and nothing in this ordinance shall be interpreted or applied so as to create any power or duty in conflict with federal or state law. Section 12. Rulemaking. Within 180 days after the effective date, the City shall adopt rules and procedures to implement and ensure compliance with this chapter, which shall require employers to maintain adequate records and to annually certify compliance with this chapter. The City shall seek feedback from worker organizations and covered employers before finalizing the rules and procedures. Section 13. Constitutional Subject. For constitutional purposes, this measure's subject "concerns labor standards for certain employers." See Filo Foods, LLC v. City of SeaTac, 183 Wash. 2d 770, 783, 357 P.3d 1040, 1047 (2015) (upholding this statement of subject for an initiative that set a minimum wage and addressed employees' access to hours). Section 14. Codification. All sections of this ordinance except section 9 shall be codified in a new chapter of the Renton Municipal Code. Section 15. Election date. In the event that the election on this measure takes place later than November 7, 2023, the Finance Department must establish and publish the initial minimum wage within 30 days of the effective date. Section 16. Severability. The provisions of this ordinance are declared to be separate and severable. If any clause, sentence, paragraph, subdivision, section, subsection, or portion of this ordinance, or the application thereof to any employer, employee, or circumstance, is held to be invalid, it shall not affect the validity of the remainder of this ordinance, or the validity of its application to other persons or circumstances. Name Of pr Date Canvasser Email and Phon, �c Raising The Minimum Wage In Renton 6; INITIATIVE PETITION FOR SUBMISSION TO THE RENTON CITY COUNCIL TO: The City Council of the City of Renton: ®1cc0 933-M e the undersigned registered voters of the City of Renton, State of Washington, residing at the addresses set forth opposite our respective names, being equal to fifteen percent (15%) of the total number of names of persons listed as registered voters within the City on the day of the last preceding City general election, respectfully request that the following ordinance be enacted by the City Council or, if not so enacted, be submitted to a vote of the residents of the City. The title of the said ordinance is as follows: ORDINANCE CONCERNING LABOR STANDARDS FOR CERTAIN EMPLOYEES A full, true and correct copy of the ordinance is attached to this Petition. Each of us for himself or herself says: I have personally signed this petition; I am a registered voter of the City of Renton, State of Washington; and my residence is correctly stated. Signature Printed Name Street and Number city Phone Number Email Date s `xwa Printed Name 1234 Anywhere St. Renton 206-555-1234 maria@something.org 4/10/2023 1. �f Renton 'l� .Y• 2. " V�� `\ JD���W�.��\Z ; V `' i, Renton �NJ 1� i� 3. Renton 2l%D-377,-` 670 4. 11111111L,411471vovic'J I l Renton s. �'�f` I/(�V��c��2��7 i��54 �� �� Renton 6. 1 Nc n PRenton Z122-3 'AS C2 �tw o .Cpn, 4 7. J Renton CZ6 23 f Renton / 9. _ 1) X 01 V k° f J�U� I �l (AU Renton 2—(J �2 �/ bl/�k 10. �1�,ti�"t ° t `���• Renton Warning Every person who signs this petition with any other than his or her true name, or who knowingly signs more than one of these petitions, or signs a petition seek- ing an election when he or she is not a legal voter, or signs a petition when he or she is otherwise not qualified to sign, or who makes herein any false statement, shall be guilty of a misdemeanor. AN ORDINANCE concerning labor standards for certain employees. Section 1. Findings. 1. The people of the City of Renton hereby adopt this citizen initiative addressing labor standards for certain employees, for the purpose of ensuring that, to the extent reasonably practicable, people employed in Renton have good wages and access to sufficient hours of work. 2. The City of Renton is one of the largest job centers in Washington State, with thousands of shoppers and workers visiting daily to participate in the local economy. Renton is home to The Landing shopping center, the historic Downtown Urban Center, as well as retail and commercial office and warehouse districts around the Rainier/Grady Way Junction. The City is a net importer ofjobs, with nearly 60,000 employed workers. Renton has a wide array of both long established and new and evolving business sectors. Retail businesses, restaurants and bars, auto sales, hospitality, healthcare, and office workers me well represented. 3. The statewide minimum wage is not sufficient to afford rising rents and costs of living in Renton. According to the National Low Income Housing Coalition's Out of Reach 2022 report, a worker making Washington's minimum wage would have to work 72 hours each week (up from 70 hours each week in 2021) to afford a modest one -bedroom rental home at Fair Market Rent. 4. When working families earn insufficient income due to low wages and involuntary under -employment, they struggle to pay for basic necessities like health care, child care, and groceries, and they are more likely to be evicted and become homeless. 5. Nearby King County cities of SeaTac, Seattle, and Tukwila enacted higher minimum wages in 2013, 2014, and 2022 respectively, but until now Renton has not followed suit. 6. Children growing up in poverty experience insecurity with housing, nutrition, and health care while enduring other hardships that prevent their ability to learn in school. Full time working parents must be able to reasonably provide for their family to ensure access to the opportunities and promise of public education. Section 2. Intent. It is the intent of the people to establish fair labor standards and protect the rights of workers by: (1) ensuring that the vast majority of employees in the City of Renton receive a minimum wage comparable to employees in the nearby cities of Tukwila, SeaTac, and Seattle; (2) requiring covered employers to offer additional hours of work to qualified part-time employees before hiring new employees to fill those hours; and (3) adopting enforcement requirements. Section 3. Large Employers Shall Pay Minimum Wages Comparable to Those in Nearby Cities. 1. Effective July 1, 2024, every large employer shall pay to each employee an hourly wage of not less than the 2023 new minimum wage rate in the City of Tukwila, established by City of Tukwila Initiative Measure No. 1, approved by voters in November 2022, adjusted for 2024 by the annual rate of inflation. 2. On January 1, 2025, and on each January 1 thereafter, the hourly minimum wage shall increase by the annual rate of inflation to maintain employee purchasing power. 3. By December 31, 2023, and by October 15 of each year thereafter, the Finance Department shall establish and publish the applicable hourly minimum wage for the following year using the annual rate of inflation. 4. For purposes of this chapter, the annual rate of inflation means 100 percent of the annual average growth rate of the bi-monthly Seattle -Tacoma -Bellevue Area Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers, termed CPI-W, for the 12-month period ending in August, provided that the percentage increase shall not be less than zero. An employer must pay to its employees: a. All tips and gratuities; and b. All service charges as defined under RCW 49.46.160 except those that, pursuant to RCW 49.46.160, we itemized as not being payable to the employee or employees servicing the customer. Tips and service charges paid to an employee are in addition to, and may not count towards, the employee's hourly minimum wage. Section 4. Other Covered Employers Shall Have a Multiyear Phase -In Period. Other covered employers shall phase in the new minimum wage, as follows: 1. Effective July 1, 2024, other covered employers shall pay employees not less than the hourly minimum wage established under Section 3 minus Two Dollars ($2) per hour. 2. Effective July 1, 2025, other covered employers shall pay employees not less than the hourly minimum wage established under Section 3 minus One Dollar ($I) per hour. 3. Effective July 1, 2026, and thereafter, all covered employers shall pay employees not less than the hourly minimum wage established under Section 3. Section 5. Coverage and Employer Classifications. 1. Covered employers must pay employees at least the minimum wage established by this chapter for each hour worked within the City. 2. Employer classification for the current calendar year will be calculated based upon the average number of employees during all weeks in the previous calendar year in which the employer had at least one employee. For employers that did not have any employees during the previous calendar year, classification will be based upon the average number of employees during the most recent three months of the current year. In this determination, all employees will be counted, regardless of their location, and including employees who worked in full-time employment, part-time employment, joint employment, temporary employment, or through the services of a temporary services or staffing agency or similar entity. 3. Employer classification for the current calendar year will be calculated based upon the gross revenue for the previous year. For employers that did not have gross revenue during the previous calendar year, annual gross revenue will be calculated from the gross revenue during the most recent three months of the current year. 4. For the purposes of employer classification, separate entities will be considered a single employer if they form an integrated enterprise or they are underjoint control by one of those entities or a separate entity. The factors to consider in making this assessment include, but are not limited to: a. Degree of interrelation between the operations of multiple entities; b. Degree to which the entities share common management; C. Centralized control of labor relations; and d. Degree of common ownership or financial control over the entities. Section 6. Part -Time Employees Shall Have Fair Access to Additional Hours. 1. Before hiring additional employees or subcontractors, including hiring through the use of temporary services or staffing agencies, covered employers must offer additional hours of work to existing employees who, in the employer's good faith and reasonable judgment, have the skills and experience to perform the work, and shall use a reasonable, transparent, and nondiscriminatory process to distribute the hours of work among those existing employees. 2. This section shall not be construed to require any employer to offer an employee work hours if the employer would be required to compensate the employee at time -and -a -half or other premium rate under any law or collective bargaining agreement, nor to prohibit any employer from offering such work hours. Section 7. Retaliation Prohibited. 1. No employer or any other person shall interfere. with, restrain, or deny the exercise of, or the attempt to exercise, any right protected under this chapter. 2. No employer or any other person shall take any adverse action against any person because the person has exercised in good faith the rights under this chapter. Such rights include but are not limited to the right to make inquiries about the rights protected under this chapter; the right to inform others about their rights under this chapter; the right to inform the person's employer, union, or similar organization, and/or the person's legal counsel or any other person about an alleged violation of this chapter; the right to bring a civil action for an alleged violation of this chapter; the right to testify in a proceeding under or related to this chapter; the right to refuse to participate in an activity that would result in a violation of city, state, or federal law; and the right to oppose any policy, practice, or act that is unlawful under this chapter. 3. For the purposes of this section, an adverse action means denying a job or promotion, demoting, terminating, failing to rehire after a seasonal interruption of work, threatening, penalizing, retaliating, engaging in unfair immigration -related practices, filing a false report with a government agency, changing an employee's status to nonemployce, decreasing or declining to provide additional work hours when they otherwise would have been offered, scheduling an employee for hours outside of their availability, or otherwise discriminating against any person for any reason prohibited by this chapter. "Adverse action" for an employee may involve any aspect of employment, including pay, work hours, responsibilities, or other material change in the terms and conditions of employment. 4. No employer or any other person shall communicate to a person exercising rights protected under this chapter, directly or indirectly, the willingness to inform a government employee that the person is not lawfully in the United States, or to report, or to make an implied or express assertion of a willingness to report, suspected citizenship or immigration status of the person or a family member of the person to a federal, state, or local agency because the person has exercised a right under this chapter. 5. There shall be a rebuttable presumption of unlawful retaliation if an employer or any other person takes an adverse action against a person within 90 days of the person's exercise of any right protected in this chapter. However, in the case of seasonal work that ended before the close of the 90-day period, the presumption also applies if the employer fails to rehire a former employee at the next opportunity for work in the same position. The employer may rebut the presumption with clear and convincing evidence that the adverse action was taken for a permissible purpose. 6. Standard of Proof. Proof of retaliation under this chapter shall be sufficient upon a showing that an employer or any other person has taken an adverse action against a person and the person's exercise of rights protected in this chapter was a motivating factor in the adverse action, unless the employer can prove that the action would have been taken in the absence of such protected activity. 7. The protections afforded under this section shall apply to any person who mistakenly but in good faith alleges violations of this chapter. Section 8. Enforcement. 1. Any person or class of persons that suffers financial injury as a result of a violation of this chapter or is the subject of prohibited retaliation under this chapter, or any other individual or entity acting on their behalf, may bring a civil action in a court of competent jurisdiction against the employer or other person violating this chapter and, upon prevailing, shall be awarded reasonable attorney fees and costs and such legal or equitable relief as may be appropriate to remedy the violation including, without limitation, the payment of any unpaid wages plus interest due to the person and liquidated damages in an additional amount of up to twice the unpaid wages; compensatory damages; and a penalty payable to any aggrieved party of up to $5,000 if the aggrieved party was subject to prohibited retaliation. For the purposes of this section, an aggrieved party means an employee or other person who suffers tangible or intangible harm due to an employer or other person's violation of this chapter. Interest shall accrue from the date the unpaid wages were first due at the higher of twelve percent per annum or the maximum rate permitted under RCW 19.52.020. 2. For purposes of determining membership within a class of persons entitled to bring an action under this section, two or more employees are similarly situated if they: a. Are or were employed by the same employer or employers, whether concurrently or otherwise, at some point during the applicable statute of limitations period; b. Allege one or more violations that raise similar questions as to liability; and C. Seek similar forms of relief. d. Employees shall not be considered dissimilar solely because their claims seek damages that differ in amount, or theirjob titles or other means of classifying employees differ in ways that are unrelated to their claims. 3. Each covered employer shall retain records as required by RCW 49.46.070, as well as such information as the City may require to confirm compliance with this chapter. If an employer fails to retain such records, there shall be a presumption, rebuttable by clear and convincing evidence, that the employer violated this chapter for the periods and for each employee for whom records were not retained. 4. Employers shall permit authorized City representatives access to work sites and relevant records for the purpose of monitoring compliance with the chapter and investigating complaints of noncompliance, including production for inspection and copying of employment records. The City may designate representatives, including city contractors and representatives of unions or worker advocacy organizations, to access the worksite and relevant records. 5. Complaints that any provision of this chapter has been violated may also be presented to the City Attorney, who is hereby authorized to investigate and, if they deem appropriate, initiate legal or other action to remedy any violation of this chapter. 6. The City has the authority to issue administrative citations and to order injunctive relief including reinstatement, restitution, payment of back wages, or other forms of relief. 7. The City may, in the exercise of its authority and performance of its functions and services, agree by contract or otherwise to participate jointly or in cooperation with Washington State, King County, or any city, town, or other incorporated place, or subdivision thereof, or engage outside counsel, to enforce this chapter. 8. The remedies and penalties provided under this chapter are cumulative and are not intended to be exclusive of any other available remedies or penalties, including existing remedies for enforcement of Renton Municipal Code chapters. 9. The statute of limitations for any enforcement action shall be five (5) years. Section 9. A new section is added to Renton Municipal Code (RMC) Section 5-5-4 as follows: 1. The Finance Director may deny, suspend, or revoke any license under this chapter for violation of this ordinance. 2. The Finance Director must deny, suspend, or revoke any license under this chapter for repeated intentional violations of this ordinance. 3. Any action by the Finance Director under this section shall be subject to the procedures and requirements of RMC subsection 5-5-3.E, as well as other due process rights that a court may require. Section 10. Definitions. For the purposes of this chapter, the following terms shall have the following meanings: "City" means the City of Renton. "Covered employer" means an employer that either (1) employs at least 15 employees regardless of where those employees are employed, or (2) has annual gross revenue over $2 million. "Effective date" is the effective date of this ordinance. "Employee" is defined as set forth in RCW 49.46.010. An employer bears the burden of proof that the individual is, as a matter of economic reality, in business for oneself rather than dependent upon the alleged employer. "Employer" is defined as set forth in RCW 49.46.010. "Employer classification" includes the determination of whether an employer is a covered employer and whether a covered employer is a large employer. "Franchise" means an agreement, express or implied, oral or written by which: 1. A person is granted the right to engage in the business of offering, selling, or distributing goods or services under a marketing plan prescribed or suggested in substantial part by the grantor or its affiliate; 2. The operation of the business is substantially associated with a trademark, service mark, trade name, advertising, or other commercial symbol; designating, owned by, or licensed by the grantor or its affiliate; and 3. The person pays, agrees to pay, or is required to pay, directly or indirectly, a franchise fee. The term, "franchise fee" is meant to be construed broadly to include any instance in which the grantor or its affiliate derives income or profit from a person who enters into a franchise agreement with the grantor. "Hour worked within the City" is to be interpreted according to its ordinary meaning, including all hours worked within the geographic boundaries of the City, excluding time spent in the City solely for the purpose of traveling through the City from a point of origin outside the City to a destination outside the City, with no employment -related or commercial stops in the City except for refueling or the employee's personal meals or errands. "Large Employer" means all employers that employ more than 500 employees, regardless of where those employees are employed, and all franchisees associated with a franchisor or a network of franchises with franchisees that employ more than 500 employees in aggregate. "Other covered employer" means a covered employer that does not qualify as a large employer. "Service charge" is defined as set forth in RCW 49.46.160(2)(c). "Tips" means a verifiable sum to be presented by a customer as a gift or gratuity in recognition of some service performed for the customer by the employee receiving the tip. "Wage" is defined as set forth in RCW 49.46.010. Section 11. Other Legal Requirements. This ordinance shall not be construed to preempt, limit, or otherwise affect the applicability of any other law, regulation, requirement, policy, or standard that provides for greater wages or compensation; and nothing in this ordinance shall be interpreted or applied so as to create any power or duty in conflict with federal or state law. Section 12. Rulemaking. Within 180 days after the effective date, the City shall adopt rules and procedures to implement and ensure compliance with this chapter, which shall require employers to maintain adequate records and to annually certify compliance with this chapter. The City shall seek feedback from worker organizations and covered employers before finalizing the rules and procedures. Section 13. Constitutional Subject. For constitutional purposes, this measure's subject "concerns labor standards for certain employers." See Filo Foods, LLC v. City of SeaTac, 183 Wash. 2d 770, 783, 357 P.3d 1040, 1047 (2015) (upholding this statement of subject for an initiative that set a minimum wage and addressed employees' access to hours). Section 14. Codification. All sections of this ordinance except section 9 shall be codified in a new chapter of the Renton Municipal Code. Section 15. Election date. In the event that the election on this measure takes place later than November 7, 2023, the Finance Department must establish and publish the initial minimum wage within 30 days of the effective date. Section 16. Severability. The provisions of this ordinance are declared to be separate and severable. If any clause, sentence, paragraph, subdivision, section, subsection, or portion of this ordinance, or the application thereof to any employer, employee, or circumstance, is held to be invalid, it shall not affect the validity of the remainder of this ordinance, or the validity of its application to other persons or circumstances. Raising The Minimum Wage In Renton 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. s. 9. 10. INITIATIVE PETITION FOR SUBMISSION TO THE RENTON CITY COUNCIL TO: The City Council of the City of Renton: ®—cccn'er 933-M aegnwuvvxma' We, the undersigned registered voters of the City of Renton, State of Washington, residing at the addresses set forth opposite our respective names, being equal to fifteen percent (15%) of the total number of names of persons listed as registered voters within the City on the day of the last preceding City general election, respectfully request that the following ordinance be enacted by the City Council or, if not so enacted, be submitted to a vote of the residents of the City. The title of the said ordinance is as follows: ORDINANCE CONCERNING LABOR STANDARDS FOR CERTAIN EMPLOYEES A full, true and correct copy of the ordinance is attached to this Petition. Each of us for himself or herself says: I have personally signed this petition; I am a registered voter of the City of Renton, State of Washington; and my residence is correctly stated SignatAire Printed Name Street and Number City Phone Number Email Date S Printed Name 1234 Anywhere St. Renton 206-555-1234 maria@something.org 4/10/2023 _CLU1a, GQnZ4ael,I 1 ", elG V\ GHQ Yk, Renton i71 b�2�gRl t Cr a � � 12 2 I Renton 510 L-)3 ✓o�"".�!' �y(r' !� t `�I�u�L�/`�vJ /� �/ Renton Renton SZ��w12'rU�3��( ,ICGidl� (o "Z.3 �- p'I Renton Renton OVIA Renton zim-30('(Z3 2-( 11i Renton i tY Renton i ��a �., eq Renton L/ . ��18� Warning Every person who signs this petition with any other than his or her true name, or who knowingly signs more than one of these petitions, or signs a petition seek- ing an election when he or she is not a legal voter, or signs a petition when he or she is otherwise not qualified to sign, or who makes herein any false statement, shall be guilty of a misdemeanor. -r AN ORDINANCE concerning labor standards for certain employees. Section 1. Findings. 1. The people of the City of Renton hereby adopt this citizen initiative addressing labor standards for certain employees, for the purpose of ensuring that, to the extent reasonably practicable, people employed in Renton have good wages and access to sufficient hours of work. 2. The City of Renton is one of the largest job centers in Washington State, with thousands of shoppers and workers visiting daily to participate in the local economy. Renton is home to The Landing shopping center, the historic Downtown Urban Center, as well as retail and commercial office and warehouse districts around the Rainier/Grady Way Junction. The City is a net importer ofjobs, with nearly 60,000 employed workers. Renton has a wide may of both long established and new and evolving business sectors. Retail businesses, restaurants and bars, auto sales, hospitality, healthcare, and office workers are well represented. 3. The statewide minimum wage is not sufficient to afford rising rents and costs of living in Renton. According to the National Low Income Housing Coalition's Out of Reach 2022 report, a worker making Washington's minimum wage would have to work 72 hours each week (up from 70 hours each week in 2021) to afford a modest one -bedroom rental home at Fair Market Rent. 4. When working families earn insufficient income due to low wages and involuntary under -employment, they struggle to pay for basic necessities like health care, child care, and groceries, and they are more likely to be evicted and become homeless. 5. Nearby King County cities of SeaTac, Seattle, and Tukwila enacted higher minimum wages in 2013, 2014, and 2022 respectively, but until now Renton has not followed suit. 6. Children growing up in poverty experience insecurity with housing, nutrition, and health care while enduring other hardships that prevent their ability to learn in school. Full time working parents must be able to reasonably provide for their family to ensure access to the opportunities and promise of public education. Section 2. Intent. It is the intent of the people to establish fair labor standards and protect the rights of workers by: (1) ensuring that the vast majority of employees in the City of Renton receive a minimum wage comparable to employees in the nearby cities of Tukwila, SeaTac, and Seattle; (2) requiring covered employers to offer additional hours of work to qualified part-time employees before hiring new employees to fill those hours; and (3) adopting enforcement requirements. Section 3. Large Employers Shall Pay Minimum Wages Comparable to Those in Nearby Cities. I. Effective July 1, 2024, every large employer shall pay to each employee an hourly wage of not less than the 2023 new minimum wage rate in the City of Tukwila, established by City of Tukwila Initiative Measure No. 1, approved by voters in November 2022, adjusted for 2024 by the annual rate of inflation. 2. On January 1, 2025, and on each January 1 thereafter, the hourly minimum wage shall increase by the annual rate of inflation to maintain employee purchasing power. 3. By December 31, 2023, and by October 15 of each year thereafter, the Finance Department shall establish and publish the applicable hourly minimum wage for the following year using the annual rate of inflation. 4. For purposes of this chapter, the annual rate of inflation means 100 percent of the annual average growth rate of the bi-monthly Seattle -Tacoma -Bellevue Area Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers, termed CPI-W, for the 12-month period ending in August, provided that the percentage increase shall not be less than zero. 5. An employer must pay to its employees: a. All tips and gratuities; and b. All service charges as defined under RCW 49.46.160 except those that, pursuant to RCW 49.46.160, are itemized as not being payable to the employee or employees servicing the customer. Tips and service charges paid to an employee are in addition to, and may not count towards, the employee's hourly minimum wage. Section 4. Other Covered Employers Shall Have a Multiyear Phase -In Period. Other covered employers shall phase in the new minimum wage, as follows: 1. Effective July 1, 2024, other covered employers shall pay employees not less than the hourly minimum wage established under Section 3 minus Two Dollars ($2) per hour. 2. Effective July 1, 2025, other covered employers shall pay employees not less than the hourly minimum wage established under Section 3 minus One Dollar ($I) per hour. 3. Effective July 1, 2026, and thereafter, all covered employers shall pay employees not less than the hourly minimum wage established under Section 3. Section 5. Coverage and Employer Classifications. 1. Covered employers must pay employees at least the minimum wage established by this chapter for each hour worked within the City. 2. Employer classification for the current calendar year will be calculated based upon the average number of employees during all weeks in the previous calendar year in which the employer had at least one employee. For employers that did not have any employees during the previous calendar year, classification will be based upon the average number of employees during the most recent three months of the current year. In this determination, all employees will be counted, regardless of their location, and including employees who worked in full-time employment, part-time employment, joint employment, temporary employment, or through the services of a temporary services or staffing agency or similar entity. 3. Employer classification for the current calendar year will be calculated based upon the gross revenue for the previous year. For employers that did not have gross revenue during the previous calendar year, annual gross revenue will be calculated from the gross revenue during the most recent three months of the current year. 4. For the purposes of employer classification, separate entities will be considered a single employer if they form an integrated enterprise or they are under joint control by one of those entities or a separate entity. The factors to consider in making this assessment include, but are not limited to: a. Degree of interrelation between the operations of multiple entities; b. Degree to which the entities share common management; C. Centralized control of labor relations; and d. Degree of common ownership or financial control over the entities. Section 6. Part -Time Employees Shall Have Fair Access to Additional Hours. 1. Before hiring additional employees or subcontractors, including hiring through the use of temporary services or staffing agencies, covered employers must offer additional hours of work to existing employees who, in the employer's good faith and reasonable judgment, have the skills and experience to perform the work, and shall use a reasonable, transparent, and nondiscriminatory process to distribute the hours of work among those existing employees. 2. This section shall not be construed to require any employer to offer an employee work hours if the employer would be required to compensate the employee at time -and -a -half or other premium rate under any law or collective bargaining agreement, nor to prohibit any employer from offering such work hours. Section 7. Retaliation Prohibited. 1, No employer or any other person shall interfere with, restrain, or deny the exercise of, or the attempt to exercise, any right protected under this chapter. 2. No employer or any other person shall take any adverse action against any person because the person has exercised in good faith the rights under this chapter. Such rights include but are not limited to the right to make inquiries about the rights protected under this chapter; the right to inform others about their rights under this chapter; the right to inform the person's employer, union, or similar organization, and/or the person's legal counsel or any other person about an alleged violation of this chapter; the right to bring a civil action for an alleged violation of this chapter; the right to testify in a proceeding under or related to this chapter; the right to refuse to participate in an activity that would result in a violation of city, state, or federal law; and the right to oppose any policy, practice, or act that is unlawful under this chapter. 3. For the purposes of this section, an adverse action means denying a job or promotion, demoting, terminating, failing to rehire after a seasonal interruption of work, threatening, penalizing, retaliating, engaging in unfair immigration -related practices, filing a false report with a government agency, changing an employee's status to nonemployee, decreasing or declining to provide additional work hours when they otherwise would have been offered, scheduling an employee for hours outside of their availability, or otherwise discriminating against any person for any reason prohibited by this chapter. "Adverse action" for an employee may involve any aspect of employment, including pay, work hours, responsibilities, or other material change in the terns and conditions of employment. 4. No employer or any other person shall communicate to a person exercising rights protected under this chapter, directly or indirectly, the willingness to inform a government employee that the person is not lawfully in the United States, or to report, or to make an implied or express assertion of a willingness to report, suspected citizenship or immigration status of the person or a family member of the person to a federal, state, or local agency because the person has exercised a right under this chapter. 5. There shall be a rebuttable presumption of unlawful retaliation if an employer or any other person takes an adverse action against a person within 90 days of the person's exercise of any right protected in this chapter. However, in the case of seasonal work that ended before the close of the 90-day period, the presumption also applies if the employer fails to rehire a former employee at the next opportunity for work in the same position. The employer may rebut the presumption with clear and convincing evidence that the adverse action was taken for a permissible purpose. 6. Standard of Proof. Proof of retaliation under this chapter shall be sufficient upon a showing that an employer or any other person has taken an adverse action against a person and the person's exercise of rights protected in this chapter was a motivating factor in the adverse action, unless the employer can prove that the action would have been taken in the absence of such protected activity. 7. The protections afforded under this section shall apply to any person who mistakenly but in good faith alleges violations of this chapter. Section S. Enforcement. 1. Any person or class of persons that suffers financial injury as a result of a violation of this chapter or is the subject of prohibited retaliation under this chapter, or any other individual or entity acting on their behalf, may bring a civil action in a court of competent jurisdiction against the employer or other person violating this chapter and, upon prevailing, shall be awarded reasonable attorney fees and costs and such legal or equitable relief as may be appropriate to remedy the violation including, without limitation, the payment of any unpaid wages plus interest due to the person and liquidated damages in an additional amount of up to twice the unpaid wages; compensatory damages; and a penalty payable to any aggrieved party of up to $5,000 if the aggrieved party was subject to prohibited retaliation. For the purposes of this section, an aggrieved party means an employee or other person who suffers tangible or intangible harm due to an employer or other person's violation of this chapter. Interest shall accrue from the date the unpaid wages were first due at the higher of twelve percent per annum or the maximum rate permitted under RCW 19.52.020. 2. For purposes of determining membership within a class of persons entitled to bring an action under this section, two or more employees are similarly situated if they: a. Are or were employed by the same employer or employers, whether concurrently or otherwise, at some point during the applicable statute of limitations period; b. Allege one or more violations that raise similar questions as to liability; and C. Seek similar forms of relief. d. Employees shall not be considered dissimilar solely because their claims seek damages that differ in amount, or theirjob titles or other means of classifying employees differ in ways that are unrelated to their claims. 3. Each covered employer shall retain records as required by RCW 49.46.070, as well as such information as the City may require to confirm compliance with this chapter. If an employer fails to retain such records, there shall be a presumption, rebuttable by clear and convincing evidence, that the employer violated this chapter for the periods and for each employee for whom records were not retained. 4. Employers shall permit authorized City representatives access to work sites and relevant records for the purpose of monitoring compliance with the chapter and investigating complaints of noncompliance, including production for inspection and copying of employment records. The City may designate representatives, including city contractors and representatives of unions or worker advocacy organizations, to access the worksite and relevant records. 5. Complaints that any provision of this chapter has been violated may also be presented to the City Attorney, who is hereby authorized to investigate and, if they deem appropriate, initiate legal or other action to remedy any violation of this chapter. 6. The City has the authority to issue administrative citations and to order injunctive relief including reinstatement, restitution, payment of back wages, or other forms of relief. 7. The City may, in the exercise of its authority and performance of its functions and services, agree by contract or otherwise to participate jointly or in cooperation with Washington State, King County, or any city, town, or other incorporated place, or subdivision thereof, or engage outside counsel, to enforce this chapter. 8. The remedies and penalties provided under this chapter are cumulative and are not intended to be exclusive of any other available remedies or penalties, including existing remedies for enforcement of Renton Municipal Code chapters. 9. The statute of limitations for any enforcement action shall be five (5) years. Section 9. A new section is added to Renton Municipal Code (RMC) Section 5-5-4 as follows: 1. The Finance Director may deny, suspend, or revoke any license under this chapter for violation of this ordinance. 2. The Finance Director must deny, suspend, or revoke any license under this chapter for repeated intentional violations of this ordinance. 3. Any action by the Finance Director under this section shall be subject to the procedures and requirements of RMC subsection 5-5-3.E, as well as other due process rights that a court may require. Section 10. Definitions. For the purposes of this chapter, the following terms shall have the following meanings: "City" means the City of Renton. "Covered employer" means an employer that either (1) employs at least 15 employees regardless of where those employees are employed, or (2) has annual gross revenue over $2 million. "Effective date" is the effective date of this ordinance. "Employee" is defined as set forth in RCW 49.46.010. An employer bears the burden of proof that the individual is, as a matter of economic reality, in business for oneself rather than dependent upon the alleged employer. "Employer" is defined as set forth in RCW 49.46.010. "Employer classification" includes the determination of whether an employer is a covered employer and whether a covered employer is a large employer. "Franchise" means an agreement, express or implied, oral or written by which: 1. A person is granted the right to engage in the business of offering, selling, or distributing goods or services under a marketing plan prescribed or suggested in substantial part by the grantor or its affiliate; 2. The operation of the business is substantially associated with a trademark, service mark, trade name, advertising, or other commercial symbol; designating, owned by, or licensed by the grantor or its affiliate; and 3. The person pays, agrees to pay, or is required to pay, directly or indirectly, a franchise fee. The term, "franchise fee" is meant to be construed broadly to include any instance in which the grantor or its affiliate derives income or profit from a person who enters into a franchise agreement with the grantor. "Hour worked within the City" is to be interpreted according to its ordinary meaning, including all hours worked within the geographic boundaries of the City, excluding time spent in the City solely for the purpose of traveling through the City from a point of origin outside the City to a destination outside the City, with no employment -related or commercial stops in the City except for refueling or the employee's personal meals or errands. "Large Employer" means all employers that employ more than 500 employees, regardless of where those employees are employed, and all franchisees associated with a franchisor or a network of franchises with franchisees that employ more than 500 employees in aggregate. "Other covered employer" means a covered employer that does not qualify as a large employer. "Service charge" is defined as set forth in RCW 49.46.160(2)(c). "Tips" means a verifiable sum to be presented by a customer as a gift or gratuity in recognition of some service performed for the customer by the employee receiving the tip. "Wage" is defined as set forth in RCW 49.46.010. Section 11. Other Legal Requirements. This ordinance shall not be construed to preempt, limit, or otherwise affect the applicability of any other law, regulation, requirement, policy, or standard that provides for greater wages or compensation; and nothing in this ordinance shall be interpreted or applied so as to create any power or duty in conflict with federal or state law. Section 12. Rulemaking. Within 180 days after the effective date, the City shall adopt rules and procedures to implement and ensure compliance with this chapter, which shall require employers to maintain adequate records and to annually certify compliance with this chapter. The City shall seek feedback from worker organizations and covered employers before finalizing the rules and procedures. Section 13. Constitutional Subject. For constitutional purposes, this measure's subject "concerns labor standards for certain employers." See File Foods, LLC v. City of SeaTac, 183 Wash. 2d 770, 783, 357 P.3d 1040, 1047 (2015) (upholding this statement of subject for an initiative that set a minimum wage and addressed employees' access to hours). Section 14. Codification. All sections of this ordinance except section 9 shall be codified in a new chapter of the Renton Municipal Code. Section 15. Election date. In the event that the election on this measure takes place later than November 7, 2023, the Finance Department must establish and publish the initial minimum wage within 30 days of the effective date. Section 16. Severability. The provisions of this ordinance are declared to be separate and severable. If any clause, sentence, paragraph, subdivision, section, subsection, or portion of this ordinance, or the application thereof to any employer, employee, or circumstance, is held to be invalid, it shall not affect the validity of the remainder of this ordinance, or the validity of its application to other persons or circumstances. Name Di rmerl and Ph Raising The Minimum Wage In Renton �- INITIATIVE PETITION FOR SUBMISSION TO THE RENTON CITY COUNCIL TO: The City Council of the City of Renton: ® cccne� 933-M We, the undersigned registered voters of the City of Renton, State of Washington, residing at the addresses set forth opposite our respective names, being equal to fifteen percent (15%) of the total number of names of persons listed as registered voters within the City on the day of the last preceding City general election, respectfully request that the following ordinance be enacted by the City Council or, if not so enacted, be submitted to a vote of the residents of the City. The title of the said ordinance is as follows: ORDINANCE CONCERNING LABOR STANDARDS FOR CERTAIN EMPLOYEES A full, true and correct copy of the ordinance is attached to this Petition. Each of us for himself or herself says: I have personally signed this petition; I am a registered voter of the City of Renton, State of Washington; and my residence is correctly stated. Signature 5a00&?i0t0c Printed Name Printed Name Street and Number 1234 Anywhere St. City Phone Number Email Renton 206-555-1234 maria@something.org Date 4/10/2023 Renton C ,1 Renton �-rj o cq ee@Gtw o,k� <aH �Cil 3 2. � .. Ll� C . C�-�. �. S-e���e ti� 1M L��e e 1 � � ,� ..� ICU t� �t 3 �-�l-a1 t ct vn 7 I� _? ! Renton �Z �3. ql/ 4. v+ H � 3 z u Lekr1S+L Tf "t,y Renton,,7&t66 6 b iU/ 23 Renton j, `^ 6 ✓ ! •E ' / —7 21 Renton 7. ff Renton p^1G Y1cW�f r2�� 7i 8. C � Renton �° (" ''?�' l 9. n�5 �� C e-r) �n UUA- 'Tk)� " Renton 10. // % ro:,�c f /"`c ?Zi oc� Z_9 .S ra 2 � Oti 5 / Renton ��1Z '7 Warning Every person who signs this petition with any other than his or her true name, or who knowingly signs more than one of these petitions, or signs a petition seek- ing an election when he or she is not a legal voter, or signs a petition when he or she is otherwise not qualified to sign, or who makes herein any false statement, shall be guilty of a misdemeanor. AN ORDINANCE concerning labor standards for certain employees. Section 1. Findings. 1. The people of the City of Renton hereby adopt this citizen initiative addressing labor standards for certain employees, for the purpose of ensuring that, to the extent reasonably practicable, people employed in Renton have good wages and access to sufficient hours of work. 2. The City of Renton is one of the largest job centers in Washington State, with thousands of shoppers and workers visiting daily to participate in the local economy. Renton is home to The Landing shopping center, the historic Downtown Urban Center, as well as retail and commercial office and warehouse districts around the Rainier/Grady Way Junction. The City is a net importer ofjobs, with nearly 60,000 employed workers. Renton has a wide array of both long established and new and evolving, business sectors. Retail businesses, restaurants and bus, auto sales, hospitality, healthcare, and office workers are well repr8sented. 3. The statewide minimum wage is not sufficient to afford rising rents and costs of living in Renton. According to the National Low Income Housing Coalition's Out of Reach 2022 report, a worker making Washington's minimum wage would have to work 72 hours each week (up from 70 hours each week in 2021) to afford a modest one -bedroom rental home at Fair Market Rent. 4. When working families earn insufficient income -due to low wages and involuntary under -employment, they straggle to pay for basic necessities like health care, child care, and groceries, and they are more likely to be evicted and become homeless. 5. Nearby King County cities of SeaTac, Seattle, and Tukwila enacted higher minimum wages in 2013, 2014, and 2022 respectively, but will now Renton has not followed suit. 6. Children growing up in poverty experience insecurity with housing, nutrition, and health care while enduring other hardships that prevent their ability to learn in school. Full time working parents must be able to reasonably provide for their family to ensure access to the opportunities and promise of public education. Section 2. Intent. It is the intent of the people to establish fair labor standards and protect the rights of workers by: (1) ensuring that the vast majority of employees in the City of Renton receive a minimum wage comparable to employees in the nearby cities of Tukwila, SeaTac, and Seattle; (2) requiring covered employers to offer additional hours of work to qualified part-time employees before hiring new employees to fill those hours; and (3) adopting enforcement requirements. Section 3. Large Employers Shall Pay Minimum Wages Comparable to Those in Nearby Cities. 1. Effective July 1, 2024, every large employer shall pay to each employee an hourly wage of not less than the 2023 new minimum wage rate in the City of Tukwila, established by City of Tukwila Initiative Measure No. 1, approved by voters in November 2022, adjusted for 2024 by the annual rate of inflation. 2. On January 1, 2025, and on each January 1 thereafter, the hourly minimum wage shall increase by the annual rate of inflation to maintain employee purchasing power. 3. By December 31, 2023, and by October 15 of each year thereafter, the Finance Department shall establish and publish the applicable hourly minimum wage for the following year using the annual rate of inflation. 4. For purposes of this chapter, the annual rate of inflation means 100 percent of the annual average growth rate of the bi-monthly Seattle -Tacoma -Bellevue Area Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers, termed CPI-W, for the 12-month period ending in August, provided that the percentage increase shall not be less than zero. 5. An employer must pay to its employees: a. All tips and gratuities; and b. All service charges as defined under RCW 49.46.160 except those that, pursuant to RCW 49.46.160, are itemized as not being payable to the employee or employees servicing the customer. Tips and service charges paid to an employee are in addition to, and may not count towards, the employee's hourly minimum wage. Section 4. Other Covered Employers Shall Have a Multiyear Phase -In Period. Other covered employers shall phase in the new minimum wage, as follows: 1. Effective July 1, 2024, other covered employers shall pay employees not less than the hourly minimum wage established under Section 3 minus Two Dollars ($2) per how. 2. Effective July 1, 2025, other covered employers shall pay employees not less than the hourly minimum wage established under Section 3 minus One Dollar ($1) per hour. 3. Effective July 1, 2026, and thereafter, all covered employers shall pay employees not less than the hourly minimum wage established under Section 3. Section S. Coverage and Employer Classifications. 1. Covered employers must pay employees at least the minimum wage established by this chapter for each hour worked within the City. 2. Employer classification for the current calendar year will be calculated based upon the average number of employees during all weeks in the previous calendar you in which the employer had at least one employee. For employers that did not have any employees during the previous calendar year, classification will be based upon the average number of employees during the most recent three months of the current year. In this determination, all employees will be counted, regardless of their location, and including employees who worked in full-time employment, part-time employment, joint employment, temporary employment, or through the services of a temporary services or staffing agency or similar entity. 3. Employer classification for the current calendar year will be calculated based upon the gross revenue for the previous year For employers that did not have gross revenue during the previous calendar yea, annual gross revenue will be calculated from the gross revenue during the most recent three months of the current yew. 4. For the purposes of employer classification, separate entities will be considered a single employer if they form an integrated enterprise or they are underjoint control by one of those entities or a separate entity. The factors to consider in making this assessment include, but are not limited to: a. Degree of interrelation between the operations of multiple entities; b. Degree to which the entities share common management; C. Centralized control of labor relations; and d. Degree of common ownership or financial control over the entities. Section 6. Part -Time Employees Shall Have Fair Access to Additional Hours. 1. Before hiring additional employees or subcontractors, including hiving through the use of temporary services or staffing agencies, covered employers must offer additional hours of work to existing employees who, in the employer's good faith and reasonable judgment, have the skills and experience to perform the work, and shall use a reasonable, transparent, and nondiscriminatory process to distribute the hours of work among those existing employees. 2. This section shall not be construed to require any employer to offer an employee work hours if the employer would be required to compensate the employee at time -and -a -half or other premium rate under any law or collective bargaining agreement, nor to prohibit any employer from offering such work hours. Section 7. Retaliation Prohibited. 1. No employer or any other person shall interfere with, restrain, or deny the exercise of, or the attempt to exercise, any right protected under this chapter. 2. No employer or any other person shall take any adverse action against any person because the person has exercised in good faith the rights under this chapter, Such rights include but are not limited to the right to make inquiries about the rights protected under this chapter; the right to inform others about their rights under this chapter; the right to inform the person's employer, union, or similar organization, and/or the person's legal counsel or any other person about an alleged violation of this chapter; the right to bring a civil action for an alleged violation of this chapter; the right to testify in a proceeding under or related to this chapter; the right to refuse to participate in an activity that would result in a violation of city, state, or federal law; and the right to oppose any policy, practice, or act that is unlawful under this chapter. 3. For the purposes of this section, an adverse action means denying ajob or promotion, demoting, terminating, failing to rehire after a seasonal interruption of work, threatening, penalizing, retaliating, engaging in unfair immigration -related practices, filing a false report with a government agency, changing an employee's status to nonemployee, decreasing or declining to provide additional work hours when they otherwise would have been offered, scheduling an employee for hours outside of their availability, or otherwise discriminating against any person for any reason prohibited by this chapter. "Adverse action" for an employee may involve any aspect of employment, including pay, work hours, responsibilities, or other material change in the terms and conditions of employment. 4. No employer or any other person shall communicate to a person exercising rights protected under this chapter, directly or indirectly, the willingness to inform a government employee that the person is not lawfully in the United States, or to report, or to make an implied or express assertion of a willingness to report, suspected citizenship or immigration status of the person or a family member of the person to a federal, state, or local agency because the person has exercised a right under this chapter. 5. There shall be a rebuttable presumption of unlawful retaliation if an employer or any other person takes an adverse action against a person within 90 days of the person's exercise of any right protected in this chapter. However, in the case of seasonal work that ended before the close of the 90-day period, the presumption also applies if the employer fails to rehire a former employee at the next opportunity for work in the same position. The employer may rebut the presumption with clear and convincing evidence that the adverse action was taken for a permissible purpose. 6. Standard of Proof Proof of retaliation under this chapter shall be sufficient upon a showing that an employer or any other person has taken an adverse action against a person and the person's exercise of rights protected in this chapter was a motivating factor in the adverse action, unless the employer can prove that the action would have been taken in the absence of such protected activity. 7. The protections afforded under this section shall apply to any person who mistakenly but in good faith alleges violations of this chapter. Section 8. Enforcement. 1. Any person or class of persons that suffers financial injury as a result of a violation of this chapter or is the subject of prohibited retaliation under this chapter, or any other individual or entity acting on their behalf, may bring a civil action in a court of competentjurist iction against the employer or other person violating this chapter and, upon prevailing, shall be awarded reasonable attorney fees and costs and such legal or equitable relief as may be appropriate to remedy the violation including, without limitation, the payment of any unpaid wages plus interest due to the person and liquidated damages in an additional amount of up to twice the unpaid wages; compensatory damages; and a penalty payable to any aggrieved party of up to $5,000 if the aggrieved party was subject to prohibited retaliation. For the purposes of this section, an aggrieved party means an employee or other person who suffers tangible or intangible harm due to an employer or other person's violation of this chapter. Interest shall accrue from the date the unpaid wages were first due at the higher of twelve percent per annum or the maximum rate permitted under RCW 19.52.020. 2. For purposes of determining membership within a class of persons entitled to bring an action under this section, two or more employees are similarly situated if they: a. Are or were employed by the same employer or employers, whether concurrently or otherwise, at some point during the applicable statute of limitations period; b. Allege one or more violations that raise similar questions as to liability; and C. Seek similar forms of relief. d. Employees shall not be considered dissimilar solely because their claims seek damages that differ in meant, or theirjob titles or other means of classifying employees differ in ways that are uurelated to their claims. 3. Each covered employer shall retain records as required by RCW 49.46.070, as well as such information as the City may require to confirm compliance with this chapter. If an employer fails to retain such records, there shall be a presumption, rebuttable by clear and convincing evidence, that the employer violated this chapter for the periods and for each employee for whom records were not retained. 4. Employers shall permit authorized City representatives access to work sites and relevant records for the purpose of monitoring compliance with the chapter and investigating complaints of noncompliance, including production for inspection and copying of employment records. The City may designate representatives, including city contractors and representatives of unions or worker advocacy organizations, to access the worksite and relevant records. 5. Complaints that any provision of this chapter has been violated may also be presented to the City Attorney, who is hereby authorized to investigate and, if they deem appropriate, initiate legal or other action to remedy any violation of this chapter. 6. The City has the authority to issue administrative citations and to order injunctive relief including reinstatement, restitution, payment of back wages, or other forms of relief. 7. The City may, in the exercise of its authority and performance of its functions and services, agree by contract or otherwise to participate jointly or in cooperation with Washington State, King County, or any city, town, or other incorporated place, or subdivision thereof, or engage outside counsel, to enforce this chapter. 8. The remedies and penalties provided under this chapter are cumulative and are not intended to be exclusive of any other available remedies or penalties, including existing remedies for enforcement of Renton Municipal Code chapters. 9. The statute of limitations for any enforcement action shall be five (5) years. Section 9. A new section is added to Renton Municipal Code (RMC) Section 5-5-4 as follows: I . The Finance Director may deny, suspend, or revoke any license under this chapter for violation of this ordinance. 2. The Finance Director must deny, suspend, or revoke any license under this chapter for repeated intentional violations of this ordinance. 3. Any action by the Finance Director under this section shall be subject to the procedures and requirements of RMC subsection 5-5-3.E, as well as other due process rights that a court may require. Section 10. Definitions. For the purposes of this chapter, the following terms shall have the following meanings: "City" means the City of Renton. "Covered employer" means an employer that either (1) employs at least 15 employees regardless of where those employees are employed, or (2) has annual gross revenue over $2 million. "Effective date" is the effective date of this ordinance. "Employee" is defined as set forth in RCW 49.46.010. An employer bears the burden of proof that the individual is, as a matter of economic reality, in business for oneself rather than dependent upon the alleged employer. "Employer" is defined as set forth in RCW 49.46.010. "Employer classification" includes the determination of whether an employer is a covered employer and whether a covered employer is a large employer. "Franchise" means an agreement, express or implied, oral or written by which: 1. A person is granted the right to engage in the business of offering, selling, or distributing goods or services under a marketing plan prescribed or suggested in substantial part by the grantor or its affiliate; 2. The operation of the business is substantially associated with a trademark, service mark, trade time, advertising, or other commercial symbol; designating, owned by, or licensed by the grantor or its affiliate; and 3. The person pays, agrees to pay, or is required to pay, directly or indirectly, a franchise fee. The term, "franchise fee" is meant to be construed broadly to include any instance in which the grantor or its affiliate derives income or profit from a person who enters into a franchise agreement with the grantor. "Hour worked within the City" is to be interpreted according to its ordinary meaning, including all hours worked within the geographic boundaries of the City, excluding time spent in the City solely for the purpose of traveling through the City from a point of origin outside the City to a destination outside the City, with no employment -related or commercial stops in the City except for refueling or the employee's personal meals or errands. "Large Employer" means all employers that employ more than 500 employees, regardless of where those employees are employed, and all franchisees associated with a franchisor or a network of franchises with franchisees that employ more than 500 employees in aggregate. "Other covered employer" means a covered employer that does not qualify as a large employer. "Service charge" is defined as set forth in RCW 49.46.160(2)(c). "Tips" means a verifiable sum to be presented by a customer as a gift or gratuity in recognition of some service performed for the customer by the employee receiving the tip. "Wage" is defined as set forth in RCW 49.46.010. Section 11. Other Legal Requirements. This ordinance shall not be construed to preempt, limit, or otherwise affect the applicability of any other law, regulation, requirement, policy, or standard that provides for greater wages or compensation; and nothing in this ordinance shall be interpreted or applied so as to create any power or duty in conflict with federal or state law. Section 12. Rulemaking. Within 180 days after the effective date, the City shall adopt rules and procedures to implement and ensure compliance with this chapter, which shall require employers to maintain adequate records and to annually certify compliance with this chapter. The City shall seek feedback from worker organizations and covered employers before finalizing the rules and procedures. Section 13. Constitutional Subject. For constitutional purposes, this measure's subject "concerns labor standards for certain employers." See File Foods, LLC v. City of SeaTac, 183 Wash. 2d 770, 783, 357 P.3d 1040, 1047 (2015) (upholding this statement of subject for an initiative that set a minimum wage and addressed employees' access to hours). Section 14. Codification. All sections of this ordinance except section 9 shall be codified in a new chapter of the Renton Municipal Code, Section 15. Election date. In the event that the election on this measure takes place later than November 7, 2023, the Finance Department must establish and publish the initial minimum wage within 30 days of the effective date. Section 16. Severability. The provisions of this ordinance are declared to be separate and severable. If any clause, sentence, paragraph, subdivision, section, subsection, or portion of this ordinance, or the application thereof to any employer, employee, or circumstance, is held to be invalid, it shall not affect the validity of the remainder of this ordinance, or the validity of its application to other persons or circumstances. Raising The Minimum Wage In Renton INITIATIVE PETITION FOR SUBMISSION TO THE RENTON CITY COUNCIL TO: The City Council of the City of Renton: ® Qn..Pll 933-M We, the undersigned registered voters of the City of Renton, State of Washington, residing at the addresses set forth opposite our respective names, being equal to fifteen percent (15%) of the total number of names of persons listed as registered voters within the City on the day of the last preceding City general election, respectfully request that the following ordinance be enacted by the City Council or, if not so enacted, be submitted to a vote of the residents of the City. The title of the said ordinance is as follows: ORDINANCE CONCERNING LABOR STANDARDS FOR CERTAIN EMPLOYEES A full, true and correct copy of the ordinance is attached to this Petition. Each of us for himself or herself says: I have personally signed this petition; I am a registered voter of the City of Renton, State of Washington; and my residence is correctly stated. Signature Printed Name Street and Number City Phone Number Email Date SaNr�iee`l/otrx Printed Name 1234 Anywhere St. Renton 206-555-1234 maria@something.org 4/10/2023 Renton ��U27' �aoj l 13�`tL C6YY L47zj ��r�� 2. `' " l I �i l ) ` - Z %J(32'I Renton 1J6�7)&-'� 3. (Z- C/1 U II 'I_ �✓U V Ill�Alvvl,� 1/ef� Renton aG�2r�� �`/05 ll g _ 3 4 2 4. C �� ic, �Z `,>�S�i �� Renton LI I Zit (ZS �1C� �'-� l -i e� Lana ��/YGtL 375 t)ltiia✓� : JQ c� �O�o Renton n�-586—�5�13 tc,nc�C�rfrt.L1 �v m -4 ID ZC'L_ 5. ca �' 11 f 6. Fab I a l �l I Z Renton �f�ef Zw� .A,e ��18 Gtb,C hn 7. v c�oY-�G �cr�e����0.5 \2�\2 22�c� Aye Renton �� Sy3 �O�c� ck l\c�sg vva��-eom i-f�2t12� ( f Q _/ V orrwrt 8. S J % �U�.�U� J l� Renton J l lO Q7rn �V( l �\ rV o �O � 6 S Renton 10. QfP(ldVLO� (7 RjD S�JIPS RBI Renton1l'IN jVI Gl �il�CDyv1 �lZ�l�l Warning Every person who signs this petition with any other than his or her true name, or who knowingly signs more than one of these petitions, or signs a petition seek- ing an election when he or she is not a legal voter, or signs a petition when he or she is otherwise not qualified to sign, or who makes herein any false statement, shall be guilty of a misdemeanor. AN ORDINANCE concerning labor standards for certain employees. Section 1. Findings. 1. The people of the City of Renton hereby adopt this citizen initiative addressing labor standards for certain employees, for the purpose of ensuring that, to the extent reasonably practicable, people employed in Renton have good wages and access to sufficient hours of work. 2. The City of Renton is one of the largestjob centers in Washington State, with thousands of shoppers and workers visiting daily to participate in the local economy. Renton is home to The Landing shopping center, the historic Downtown Urban Center, as well as retail and commercial office and warehouse districts around the Rainier/Grady Way Junction. The City is a net importer ofjobs, with newly 60,000 employed workers. Renton has a wide array of both long established and new and evolving business sectors. Retail businesses, restaurants and bars, auto sales, hospitality, healthcare, and office workers are well represented. 3. The statewide minimum wage is not sufficient to afford rising rents and costs of living in Renton. According to the National Low Income Housing Coalition's Out of Reach 2022 report, a worker making Washington's minimum wage would have to work 72 bows each week (up from 70 hours each week in 2021) to afford a modest one -bedroom rental home at Fair Market Rent. 4. When working families earn insufficient income due to low wages and involuntary under -employment, they struggle to pay for basic necessities like health cue, child care, and groceries, and they are more likely to be evicted and become homeless. 5. Nearby King County cities of SeaTac, Seattle, and Tukwila enacted higher minimum wages in 2013, 2014, and 2022 respectively, but until now Renton has not followed suit. 6. Children growing up in poverty experience insecurity with housing, nutrition, and health cue while enduring other hardships that prevent their ability to learn in school. Full time working parents must be able to reasonably provide for their family to ensure access to the opportunities and promise of public education. Section 2. Intent. It is the intent of the people to establish fair labor standards and protect the rights of workers by: (1) ensuring that the vast majority of employees in the City of Renton receive a minimum wage comparable to employees in the nearby cities of Tukwila, SeaTac, and Seattle; (2) requiring covered employers to offer additional hours of work to qualified part-time employees before hiring new employees to fill those hours; and (3) adopting enforcement requirements. Section 3. Large Employers Shall Pay Minimum Wages Comparable to Those in Nearby Cities. I. Effective July 1, 2024, every large employer shall pay to each employee an hourly wage of not less than the 2023 new minimum wage rate in the City of Tukwila, established by City of Tukwila Initiative Measure No. 1, approved by voters in November 2022, adjusted for 2024 by the annual rate of inflation. 2. On January 1, 2025, and on each January 1 thereafter, the hourly minimum wage shall increase by the annual rate of inflation to maintain employee purchasing power, 3. By December 31, 2023, and by October 15 of each yew thereafter, the Finance Department shall establish and publish the applicable hourly minimum wage for the following year using the annual rate of inflation. 4. For purposes of this chapter, the annual rate of inflation means 100 percent of the annual average growth rate of the bi-monthly Seattle -Tacoma -Bellevue Area Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers, termed CPI-W, for the 12-month period ending in August, provided that the percentage increase shall not be less than zero. 5. An employer must pay to its employees: a. All tips and gratuities; and b. All service charges as defined under RCW 49.46.160 except those that, pursuant to RCW 49.46.160, are itemized as not being payable to the employee or employees servicing the customer. Tips and service charges paid to an employee are in addition to, and may not count towards, the employee's hourly minimum wage. Section 4. Other Covered Employers Shall Have a Multiyear Phase -In Period. Other covered employers shall phase in the new minimum wage, as follows: 1. Effective July 1, 2024, other covered employers shall pay employees not less than the hourly minimum wage established under Section 3 minus Two Dollars ($2) per how. 2. Effective July 1, 2025, other covered employers shall pay employees not less than the howly minimum wage established order Section 3 minus One Dollar ($1) per hour. 3. Effective July 1, 2026, and thereafter, all covered employers shall pay employees not less than the hourly minimum wage established under Section 3. Section 5. Coverage and Employer Classifications. 1. Covered employers must pay employees at least the minimum wage established by this chapter for each hour worked within the City. 2. Employer classification for the current calendar year will be calculated based upon the average number of employees timing all weeks in the previous calendar year in which the employer had at least one employee. For employers that did not have any employees during the previous calendar year, classification will be based upon the average number of employees during the most recent three months of the current year. In this determination, all employees will be counted, regardless of their location, and including employees who worked in full-time employment, part-time employment, joint employment, temporary employment, or through the services of a temporary services or staffing agency or similar entity. 3. Employer classification for the current calendar year will be calculated based upon the gross revenue for the previous year. For employers that did not have gross revenue during the previous calendar year, annual gross revenue will be calculated from the gross revenue during the most recent three months of the current yen. 4. For the purposes of employer classification, separate entities will be considered a single employer if they form an integrated enterprise or they are underjoint control by one of those entities or a separate entity. The factors to consider in making this assessment include, but are not limited to: a. Degree of interrelation between the operations of multiple entities; b. Degree to which the entities share common management; C. Centralized control of labor relations; and d. Degree of common ownership or financial control over the entities. Section 6. Part -Time Employees Shall Have Fair Access to Additional Hours. 1. Before hiring additional employees or subcontractors, including hiring through the use of temporary services or staffing agencies, covered employers must offer additional hours of work to existing employees who, in the employer's good faith and reasonable judgment, have the skills and experience to perform the work, and shall use a reasonable, transparent, and nondiscriminatory process to distribute the hours of work among those existing employees. 2. This section shall not be construed to require any employer to offer an employee work hours if the employer would be required to compensate the employee at time -and -a -half or other premium rate under any law or collective bargaining agreement, nor to prohibit any employer from offering such work hours. Section 7. Retaliation Prohibited. 1. No employer or any other person shall interfere with, restrain, or deny the exercise of, or the attempt to exercise, any right protected under this chapter. 2. No employer or any other person shall take any adverse action against any person because the person has exercised in good faith the rights under this chapter. Such rights include but are not limited to the right to make inquiries about the rights protected under this chapter; the right to inform others about their rights under this chapter; the right to inform the person's employer, union, or similar organization, and/or the person's legal counsel or any other person about an alleged violation of this chapter; the right to bring a civil action for an alleged violation of this chapter; the right to testify in a proceeding under or related to this chapter; the right to refuse to participate in an activity that would result in a violation of city, state, or federal law; and the right to oppose any policy, practice, or act that is unlawful under this chapter. 3. For the purposes of this section, an adverse action means denying ajob or promotion, demoting, terminating, failing to rehire after a seasonal interruption of work, threatening, penalizing, retaliating, engaging in unfair immigration -related practices, filing a false report with a government agency, changing an employee's status to nonemployee, decreasing or declining to provide additional work hours when they otherwise would have been offered, scheduling an employee for hours outside of their availability, or otherwise discriminating against any person for any reason prohibited by this chapter. "Adverse action" for an employee may involve any aspect of employment, including pay, work hours, responsibilities, or other material change in the terms and conditions of employment. 4. No employer or any other person shall communicate to a person exercising rights protected under this chapter, directly or indirectly, the willingness to inform a government employee that the person is not lawfully in the United States, or to report, or to make an implied or express assertion of a willingness to report, suspected citizenship or immigration status of the person or a family member of the person to a federal, state, or local agency because the person has exercised a right under this chapter. 5. There shall be a rebuttable presumption of unlawful retaliation if an employer or any other person takes an adverse action against a person within 90 days of the person's exercise of any right protected in this chapter. However, in the case of seasonal work that ended before the close of the 90-day period, the presumption also applies if the employer fails to rehire a former employee at the next opportunity for work in the same position. The employer may rebut the presumption with clear and convincing evidence that the adverse action was taken for a permissible purpose. 6. Standard of Proof. Proof of retaliation under this chapter shall be sufficient upon a showing that an employer or any other person has taken an adverse action against a person and the person's exercise of rights protected in this chapter was a motivating factor in the adverse action, unless the employer can prove that the action would have been taken in the absence of such protected activity. 7. The protections afforded under this section shall apply to any person who mistakenly but in good faith alleges violations of this chapter. Section 8. Enforcement. 1. Any person or class of persons that suffers financial injury as a result of a violation of this chapter or is the subject of prohibited retaliation under this chapter, or any other individual or entity acting on their behalf, may bring a civil action in a court of competent jurisdiction against the employer or other person violating this chapter and, upon prevailing, shall be awarded reasonable attorney fees and costs and such legal or equitable relief as may be appropriate to remedy the violation including, without limitation, the payment of any unpaid wages plus interest due to the person and liquidated damages in an additional amount of up to twice the unpaid wages; compensatory damages; and a penalty payable to any aggrieved party of up to $5,000 if the aggrieved party was subject to prohibited retaliation. For the purposes of this section, an aggrieved party means an employee or other person who suffers tangible or intangible harm due to an employer or other person's violation of this chapter. Interest shall accrue from the date the unpaid wages were first due at the higher of twelve percent per annum or the maximum rate permitted under RCW 19.52.020. 2. For purposes of determining membership within a class of persons entitled to bring an action under this section, two or more employees are similarly situated if they: a. Are or were employed by the same employer or employers, whether concurrently or otherwise, at some point during the applicable statute of limitations period; b. Allege one or more violations that raise similar questions as to liability; and C. Seek similar forms of relief. d. Employees shall not be considered dissimilar solely because their claims seek damages that differ in amount, or their job titles or other means of classifying employees differ in ways that we unrelated to their claims. 3. Each covered employer shall retain records as required by RCW 49.46.070, as well as such information as the City may require to confirm compliance with this chapter. If an employer fails to retain such records, there shall be a presumption, rebuttable by clear and convincing evidence, that the employer violated this chapter for the periods and for each employee for whom records were not retained. 4. Employers shall permit authorized City representatives access to work sites and relevant records for the purpose of monitoring compliance with the chapter and investigating complaints of noncompliance, including production for inspection and copying of employment records. The City may designate representatives, including city contractors and representatives of unions or worker advocacy organizations, to access the worksite and relevant records. 5. Complaints that any provision of this chapter has been violated may also be presented to the City Attorney, who is hereby authorized to investigate and, if they deem appropriate, initiate legal or other action to remedy any violation of this chapter. 6. The City has the authority to issue administrative citations and to order injunctive relief including reinstatement, restitution, payment of back wages, or other forms of relief, 7. The City may, in the exercise of its authority and performance of its functions and services, agree by contract or otherwise to participate jointly or in cooperation with Washington State, King County, or any city, town, or other incorporated place, or subdivision thereof, or engage outside counsel, to enforce this chapter. 8. The remedies and penalties provided under this chapter are cumulative and are not intended to be exclusive of any other available remedies or penalties, including existing remedies for enforcement of Renton Municipal Code chapters. 9. The statute of limitations for any enforcement action shall be five (5) years. Section 9. A new section is added to Renton Municipal Code (RMC) Section 5-5-4 as follows: 1. The Finance Director may deny, suspend, or revoke any license under this chapter for violation of this ordinance. 2. The Finance Director must deny, suspend, or revoke any license under this chapter for repeated intentional violations of this ordinance. 3. Any action by the Finance Director under this section shall be subject to the procedures and requirements of RMC subsection 5-5-3.E, as well as other due process rights that a court may require. Section 10. Definitions. For the purposes of this chapter, the following terms shall have the following meanings: "City" means the City of Renton. "Covered employer" means an employer that either (1) employs at least 15 employees regardless of where those employees we employed, or (2) has annual gross revenue over $2 million. "Effective date" is the effective date o£this ordinance. "Employee" is defined as set forth in RCW 49.46.010. An employer bears the burden of proof that the individual is, as a matter of economic reality, in business for oneself rather than dependent upon the alleged employer. "Employer" is defined as set forth in RCW 49.46.010. "Employer classification" includes the determination of whether an employer is a covered employer and whether a covered employer is a large employer. "Franchise" means an agreement, express or implied, oral or written by which: 1. A person is granted the right to engage in the business of offering, selling, or distributing goods or services under a marketing plan prescribed or suggested in substantial part by the grantor or its affiliate; 2. The operation of the business is substantially associated with a trademark, service mark, trade time, advertising, or other commercial symbol; designating, owned by, or licensed by the grantor or its affiliate; and 3. The person pays, agrees to pay, or is required to pay, directly or indirectly, a franchise fee. The term, "franchise fee" is meant to be construed broadly to include any instance in which the grantor or its affiliate derives income or profit from a person who enters into a franchise agreement with the grantor. "How worked within the City" is to be interpreted according to its ordinary meaning, including all hours worked within the geographic boundaries of the City, excluding time spent in the City solely for the purpose of traveling through the City from a point of origin outside the City to a destination outside the City, with no employment -related or commercial stops in the City except for refueling or the employee's personal meals or errands. "Large Employer" means all employers that employ more than 500 employees, regardless of where those employees are employed, and all franchisees associated with a franchisor or a network of franchises with franchisees that employ more than 500 employees in aggregate. "Other covered employer" means a covered employer that does not qualify as a large employer. "Service charge" is defined as set forth in RCW 49.46.160(2)(c). "Tips" means a verifiable sum to be presented by a customer as a gift or gratuity in recognition of some service performed for the customer by the employee receiving the tip. "Wage" is defined as set forth in RCW 49.46.010. Section 11. Other Legal Requirements. This ordinance shall not be construed to preempt, limit, or otherwise affect the applicability of any other law, regulation, requirement, policy, or standard that provides for greater wages or compensation; and nothing in this ordinance shall be interpreted or applied so as to create any power or duty in conflict with federal or state law. Section 12. Rulemaking. Within 180 days after the effective date, the City shall adopt rules and procedures to implement and ensue compliance with this chapter, which shall require employers to maintain adequate records and to annually certify compliance with this chapter. The City shall seek feedback from worker organizations and covered employers before finalizing the rules and procedures. Section 13. Constitutional Subject. For constitutional purposes, this measure's subject "concerns labor standards for certain employers." See Filo Foods, LLC v. City of SeaTac, 183 Wash. 2d 770, 783, 357 P.3d 1040, 1047 (2015) (upholding this statement of subject for an initiative that set a minimum wage and addressed employees' access to hours). Section 14. Codification. All sections of this ordinance except section 9 shall be codified in a new chapter of the Renton Municipal Code. Section 15. Election date. In the event that the election on this measure takes place later than November 7, 2023, the Finance Department must establish and publish the initial minimum wage within 30 days of the effective date. Section 16. Severability. The provisions of this ordinance are declared to be separate and severable. If any clause, sentence, paragraph, subdivision, section, subsection, or portion of this ordinance, or the application thereof to any employer, employee, or circumstance, is held to be invalid, it shall not affect the validity of the remainder of this ordinance, or the validity of its application to other persons or circumstances. i Raising The Minimum Wage In Renton INITIATIVE PETITION FOR SUBMISSION TO THE RENTON CITY COUNCIL TO: The City Council of the City of Renton: ® GC ER 933-M We, the undersigned registered voters of the City of Renton, State of Washington, residing at the addresses set forth opposite our respective names, being equal to fifteen percent (15%) of the total number of names of persons listed as registered voters within the City on the day of the last preceding City general election, respectfully request that the following ordinance be enacted by the City Council or, if not so enacted, be submitted to a vote of the residents of the City. The title of the said ordinance is as follows: ORDINANCE CONCERNING LABOR STANDARDS FOR CERTAIN EMPLOYEES A full, true and correct copy of the ordinance is attached to this Petition. Each of us for himself or herself says: I have personally signed this petition; I am a registered voter of the City of Renton, State of Washington; and my residence is correctly stated. Signature Printed Name Street and Number City Phone Number Email Date Printed Name 1234 Anywhere St. Renton 206-555-1234 maria@something.org 4/10/2023 1. h Renton � 2. �C,LW CAA (,cws�n IL�3 ti 10 Renton � Z - It/ /Z3 E�or 7 I i420 Si1ELTONVrL NE Renton�2%/23 3. 7. 8._ 9. i e_ t 'edfiao 4o05 Park 1�ve- J J' H!cC�`-'//S c=� Renton Renton 'f3S-S — A I�-lO ('6'C' Di K Renton sj y U ;/ /� `i 3a Z Renton Rento ' �=/ Warning Every person who signs this petition with any other than his or her true name, or who knowingly signs more than one of these petitions, or signs a petition seek- ing an election when he or she is not a legal voter, or signs a petition when he or she is otherwise not qualified to sign, or who makes herein any false statement, shall be guilty of a misdemeanor. AN ORDINANCE concerning labor standards for certain employees. Section 1. Findings. 1. The people of the City of Renton hereby adopt this citizen initiative addressing labor standards for certain employees, for the purpose of ensuring that, to the extent reasonably practicable, people employed in Renton have good wages and access to sufficient hours of work. 2. The City of Renton is one of the largestjob centers in Washington State, with thousands of shoppers and workers visiting daily to participate in the local economy. Renton is home to The Landing shopping center, the historic Downtown Urban Center, as well as retail and commercial office and warehouse districts around the Rainier/Grady Way Junction. The City is a net importer ofjobs, with nearly 60,000 employed workers. Renton has a wide array of both long established and new and evolving business sectors. Retail businesses, restaurants and bars, auto sales, hospitality, healthcare, and office workers are well represented. 3. The statewide minimum wage is not sufficient to afford rising rents and costs of living in Renton. According to the National Low Income Housing Coalition's Out of Reach 2022 report, a worker making Washington's minimum wage would have to work 72 hours each week (up from 70 hours each week in 2021) to afford a modest one -bedroom rental home at Fair Market Rent. 4. When working families earn insufficient income due to low wages and involuntary under -employment, they struggle to pay for basic necessities like health care, child care, and groceries, and they are more likely to be evicted and become homeless. 5. Nearby King County cities of SeaTac, Seattle, and Tukwila enacted higher minimum wages in 2013, 2014, and 2022 respectively, but until now Renton has not followed suit. 6. Children growing up in poverty experience insecurity with housing, nutrition, and health care while enduring other hardships that prevent their ability to learn in school. Full time working parents must be able to reasonably provide for their family to ensure access to the opportunities and promise of public education. Section 2. Intent. It is the intent of the people to establish fair labor standards and protect the rights of workers by: (1) ensuring that the vast majority of employees in the City of Renton receive a minimum wage comparable to employees in the nearby cities of Tukwila, SeaTac, and Seattle; (2) requiring covered employers to offer additional hours of work to qualified part-time employees before hiring new employees to fill those hours; and (3) adopting enforcement requirements. Section 3. Large Employers Shall Pay Minimum Wages Comparable to Those in Nearby Cities. 1. Effective July 1, 2024, every large employer shall pay to each employee an hourly wage of not less than the 2023 new minimum wage rate in the City of Tukwila, established by City of Tukwila Initiative Measure No. 1, approved by voters in November 2022, adjusted for 2024 by the annual rate of inflation. 2. On January 1, 2025, and on each January 1 thereafter, the hourly minimum wage shall increase by the annual rate of inflation to maintain employee purchasing power. 3. By December 31, 2023, and by October 15 of each year thereafter, the Finance Department shall establish and publish the applicable hourly minimum wage for the following year using the annual rate of inflation. 4. For purposes of this chapter, the annual rate of inflation means 100 percent of the annual average growth rate of the bi-monthly Seattle -Tacoma -Bellevue Area Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers, termed CPI-W, for the 12-month period ending in August, provided that the percentage increase shall not be less than zero. 5. An employer must pay to its employees: a. All tips and gratuities; and b. All service charges as defined under RCW 49.46.160 except those that, pursuant to RCW 49.46.160, are itemized as not being payable to the employee or employees servicing the customer. Tips and service charges paid to an employee are in addition to, and may not count towards, the employee's hourly minimum wage. Section 4. Other Covered Employers Shall Have a Multiyear Phase -In Period. Other covered employers shall phase in the new minimum wage, as follows: I. Effective July 1, 2024, other covered employers shall pay employees not less than the hourly minimum wage established under Section 3 minus Two Dollars ($2) per how. 2. Effective July 1, 2025, other covered employers shall pay employees not less than the hourly minimum wage established under Section 3 minus One Dollar ($1) per hour. 3. Effective July 1, 2026, and thereafter, all covered employers shall pay employees not less than the hourly minimum wage established under Section 3. Section 5. Coverage and Employer Classifications. 1. Covered employers must pay employees at least the minimum wage established by this chapter for each hour worked within the City. 2. Employer classification for the current calendar year will be calculated based upon the average number of employees during all weeks in the previous calendar year in which the employer had at least one employee. For employers that did not have any employees during the previous calendar yew, classification will be based upon the average number of employees during the most recent three months of the current year. In this determination, all employees will be counted, regardless of their location, and including employees who worked in full-time employment, part-time employment, joint employment, temporary employment, or through the services of a temporary services or staffing agency or similar entity. 3. Employer classification for the current calendar yew will be calculated based upon the gross revenue for the previous year. For employers that did not have gross revenue during the previous calendar year, annual gross revenue will be calculated from the gross revenue during the most recent three months of the current year. 4. For the purposes of employer classification, separate entities will be considered a single employer if they form an integrated enterprise or they are underjoint control by one of those entities or a separate entity. The factors to consider in making this assessment include, but are not limited to: a. Degree of interrelation between the operations of multiple entities; b. Degree to which the entities share common management; C. Centralized control of labor relations; and d. Degree of common ownership or financial control over the entities. Section 6. Part -Time Employees Shall Have Fair Access to Additional Hours. 1. Before hiving additional employees or subcontractors, including hiring through the use of temporary services or staffing agencies, covered employers must offer additional hours of work to existing employees who, in the employer's good faith and reasonable judgment, have the skills and experience to perform the work, and shall use a reasonable, transparent, and nondiscriminatory process to distribute the hours of work among those existing employees. 2. This section shall not be construed to require any employer to offer an employee work hours if the employer would be required to compensate the employee at time -and -a -half or other premium rate under any law or collective bargaining agreement, nor to prohibit any employer from offering such work hours. Section 7. Retaliation Prohibited. 1. No employer or any other person shall interfere with, restrain, or deny the exercise of, or the attempt to exercise, any right protected under this chapter. 2. No employer or any other person shall take any adverse action against any person because the person has exercised in good faith the rights under this chapter. Such rights include but are not limited to the right to make inquiries about the rights protected under this chapter; the right to inform others about their rights under this chapter; the right to inform the person's employer, union, or similar organization, and/or the person's legal counsel or any other person about an alleged violation of this chapter; the right to bring a civil action for an alleged violation of this chapter; the right to testify in a proceeding under or related to this chapter; the right to refuse to participate in an activity that would result in a violation of city, state, or federal law; and the right to oppose any policy, practice, or act that is unlawful under this chapter. 3. For the purposes of this section, an adverse action means denying a job or promotion, demoting, terminating, failing to rehire after a seasonal interruption of work, threatening, penalizing, retaliating, engaging in unfair immigration -related practices, filing a false report with a government agency, changing an employee's status to nonemployee, decreasing or declining to provide additional work hours when they otherwise would have been offered, scheduling an employee for hours outside of their availability, or otherwise discriminating against any person for any reason prohibited by this chapter. "Adverse action" for an employee may involve any aspect of employment, including pay, work hours, responsibilities, or other material change in the terms and conditions of employment. 4. No employer or any other person shall communicate to a person exercising rights protected under this chapter, directly or indirectly, the willingness to inform a government employee that the person is not lawfully in the United States, or to report, or to make an implied or express assertion of a willingness to report, suspected citizenship or immigration status of the person or a family member of the person to a federal, state, or local agency because the person has exercised a right under this chapter. 5. There shall be a rebuttable presumption of unlawful retaliation if an employer or any other person takes an adverse action against a person within 90 days of the person's exercise of any right protected in this chapter. However, in the case of seasonal work that ended before the close of the 90-day period, the presumption also applies if the employer fails to rehire a former employee at the next opportunity for work in the same position. The employer may rebut the presumption with clear and convincing evidence that the adverse action was taken for a permissible purpose. 6. Standard of Proof. Proof of retaliation under this chapter shall be sufficient upon a showing that an employer or any other person has taken an adverse action against a person and the person's exercise of rights protected in this chapter was a motivating factor in the adverse action, unless the employer can prove that the action would have been taken in the absence of such protected activity. 7. The protections afforded under this section shall apply to any person who mistakenly but in good faith alleges violations of this chapter. Section 8. Enforcement. 1. Any person or class of persons that suffers financial injury as a result of a violation of this chapter or is the subject of prohibited retaliation under this chapter, or any other individual or entity acting on their behalf, may bring a civil action in a court of competent jurisdiction against the employer or other person violating this chapter and, upon prevailing, shall be awarded reasonable attorney fees and costs and such legal or equitable relief as may be appropriate to remedy the violation including, without limitation, the payment of any unpaid wages plus interest due to the person and liquidated damages in an additional amount of up to twice the unpaid wages; compensatory damages; and a penalty payable to any aggrieved party of up to $5,000 if the aggrieved party was subject to prohibited retaliation. For the purposes of this section, an aggrieved party means an employee or other person who suffers tangible or intangible harm due to an employer or other person's violation of this chapter. Interest shall accrue from the date the unpaid wages were first due at the higher of twelve percent per annum or the maximum rate permitted under RCW 19.52.020. 2. For purposes of determining membership within a class of persons entitled to bring an action under this section, two or more employees are similarly situated if they: a. Are or were employed by the same employer or employers, whether concurrently or otherwise, at some point during the applicable statute of limitations period; b. Allege one or more violations that raise similar questions as to liability; and c. Seek similar forms of relief. it. Employees shall not be considered dissimilar solely because thew claims seek damages that differ in amount, or their job titles or other means of classifying employees differ in ways that are unrelated to their claims. 3. Each covered employer shall retain records as required by RCW 49.46.070, as well as such information as the City may require to confirm compliance with this chapter. If an employer fails to retain such records, there shall be a presumption, rebuttable by clear and convincing evidence, that the employer violated this chapter for the periods and for each employee for whom records were not retained. 4. Employers shall permit authorized City representatives access to work sites and relevant records for the purpose of monitoring compliance with the chapter and investigating complaints of noncompliance, including production for inspection and copying of employment records. The City may designate representatives, including city contractors and representatives of unions or worker advocacy organizations, to access the worksite and relevant records. 5. Complaints that any provision of this chapter has been violated may also be presented to the City Attorney, who is hereby authorized to investigate and, if they deem appropriate, initiate legal or other action to remedy any violation of this chapter. 6. The City has the authority to issue administrative citations and to order injunctive relief including reinstatement, restitution, payment of back wages, or other forms of relief. 7. The City may, in the exercise of its authority and performance of its functions and services, agree by contract or otherwise to participate jointly or in cooperation with Washington State, King County, or any city, town, or other incorporated place, or subdivision thereof, or engage outside counsel, to enforce this chapter. 8. The remedies and penalties provided under this chapter are cumulative and are not intended to be exclusive of any other available remedies or penalties, including existing remedies for enforcement of Renton Municipal Code chapters. 9. The statute of limitations for any enforcement action shall be five (5) years. Section 9. A new section is added to Renton Municipal Code (RMC) Section 5-5-4 as follows: 1. The Finance Director may deny, suspend, or revoke any license under this chapter for violation of this ordinance. 2. The Finance Director must deny, suspend, or revoke any license under this chapter for repeated intentional violations of this ordinance. 3. Any action by the Finance Director under this section shall be subject to the procedures and requirements of RMC subsection 5-5-3.E, as well as other due process rights that a court may require. Section 10. Definitions. For the purposes of this chapter, the following terms shall have the following meanings: "City" means the City of Renton. "Covered employer" means an employer that either (1) employs at least 15 employees regardless of where those employees are employed, or (2) has annual gross revenue over $2 million. "Effective date" is the effective date of this ordinance. "Employee" is defined as set forth in RCW 49.46.010. An employer bears the burden of proof that the individual is, as a matter of economic reality, in business for oneself rather than dependent upon the alleged employer. "Employer" is defined as set forth in RCW 49,46.010. "Employer classification" includes the determination of whether an employer is a covered employer and whether a covered employer is a large employer. "Franchise" means an agreement, express or implied, oral or written by which: 1. A person is granted the right to engage in the business of offering, selling, or distributing goods or services under a marketing plan prescribed or suggested in substantial part by the grantor or its affiliate; 2. The operation of the business is substantially associated with a trademark, service mark, trade name, advertising, or other commercial symbol; designating, owned by, or licensed by the grantor or its affiliate; and 3. The person pays, agrees to pay, or is required to pay, directly or indirectly, a franchise fee. The term, "franchise fee" is meant to be construed broadly to include any instance in which the grantor or its affiliate derives income or profit from a person who enters into a franchise agreement with the grantor. "How worked within the City" is to be interpreted according to its ordinary meaning, including all hours worked within the geographic boundaries of the City, excluding time spent in the City solely for the purpose of traveling through the City from a point of origin outside the City to a destination outside the City, with no employment -related or commercial stops in the City except for refueling or the employee's personal meals or errands. "Large Employer" means all employers that employ more than 500 employees, regardless of where those employees are employed, and all franchisees associated with a franchisor or a network of franchises with franchisees that employ more than 500 employees in aggregate. "Other covered employer" means a covered employer that does not qualify as a large employer, "Service charge" is defined as set forth in RCW 49.46.160(2)(c). "Tips" means a verifiable sum to be presented by a customer as a gift or gratuity in recognition of some service performed for the customer by the employee receiving the tip. "Wage" is defined as set forth in RCW 49.46.010. Section 11. Other Legal Requirements. This ordinance shall not be construed to preempt, limit, or otherwise affect the applicability of any other law, regulation, requirement, policy, or standard that provides for greater wages or compensation; and nothing in this ordinance shall be interpreted or applied so as to create any power or duty in conflict with federal or state law. Section 12. Rulemaking. Within 180 days after the effective date, the City shall adopt rules and procedures to implement and ensure compliance with this chapter, which shall require employers to maintain adequate records and to annually certify compliance with this chapter. The City shall seek feedback from worker organizations and covered employers before finalizing the rules and procedures. Section 13. Constitutional Subject. For constitutional purposes, this measure's subject "concerns labor standards for certain employers." See File Foods, LLC v. City of SeaTac, 183 Wash. 2d 770, 783, 357 P.3d 1040, 1047 (2015) (upholding this statement of subject for an initiative that set a minimum wage and addressed employees' access to hours). Section 14. Codification. All sections of this ordinance except section 9 shall be codified in a new chapter of the Renton Municipal Code. Section 15. Election date. In the event that the election on this measure takes place later than November 7, 2023, the Finance Department must establish and publish the initial minimum wage within 30 days of the effective date. Section 16. Severabllity. The provisions of this ordinance are declared to be separate and severable. If any clause, sentence, paragraph, subdivision, section, subsection, or portion of this ordinance, or the application thereof to any employer, employee, or circumstance, is held to be invalid, it shall not affect the validity of the remainder of this ordinance, or the validity of its application to other persons or circumstances. Nan ivasser Email and 40 Raising The Minimum Wage In Renton 1 2 3 7 {7 INITIATIVE PETITION FOR SUBMISSION TO THE RENTON CITY COUNCIL TO: The City Council of the City of Renton: ® I.E.D0 933-M We, the undersigned registered voters of the City of Renton, State of Washington, residing at the addresses set forth opposite our respective names, being equal to fifteen percent (15%) of the total number of names of persons listed as registered voters within the City on the day of the last preceding City general election, respectfully request that the following ordinance be enacted by the City Council or, if not so enacted, be submitted to a vote of the residents of the City. The title of the said ordinance is as follows: ORDINANCE CONCERNING LABOR STANDARDS FOR CERTAIN EMPLOYEES A full, true and correct copy of the ordinance is attached to this Petition. Each of us for himself or herself says: I have personally signed this petition; I am a registered voter of the City of Renton, State of Washington; and my residence is correctly stated. Signature Printed Name sa'RAFe?iatt Printed Name Street and Number 1234 Anywhere St. city Renton Phone Number 206-555-1234 Email maria@something.org Date 4/10/2023 Warning Every person who signs this petition with any other than his or her true name, or who knowingly signs more than one of these petitions, or signs a petition seek- ing an election when he or she is not a legal voter, or signs a petition when he or she is otherwise not qualified to sign, or who makes herein any false statement, shall be guilty of a misdemeanor. AN ORDINANCE concerning labor standards for certain employees. Section 1. Findings. 1. The people of the City of Renton hereby adopt this citizen initiative addressing labor standards for certain employees, for the purpose of ensuring that, to the extent reasonably practicable, people employed in Renton have good wages and access to sufficient hours of work. 2. The City of Renton is one of the largest job centers in Washington State, with thousands of shoppers and workers visiting daily to participate in the local economy. Renton is home to The Landing shopping center, the historic Downtown Urban Center, as well as retail and commercial office and warehouse districts wound the Rainier/Grady Way Junction. The City is a net importer ofjobs, with nearly 60,000 employed workers. Renton has a wide array of both long established and new and evolving business sectors. Retail businesses, restaurants and bars, auto sales, hospitality, healthcare, and office workers are well represented. 3. The statewide minimum wage is not sufficient to afford rising rents and costs of living in Renton. According to the National Low Income Housing Coalition's Out of Reach 2022 report, a worker making Washington's minimum wage would have to work 72 hours each week (up from 70 hours each week in 2021) to afford a modest one -bedroom rental home at Fair Market Rent. 4. When working families earn insufficient income due to low wages and involuntary under -employment, they struggle to pay for basic necessities like health cue, child care, and groceries, and they are more likely to be evicted and become homeless. 5. Nearby King County cities of SeaTac, Seattle, and Tukwila enacted higher minimum wages in 2013, 2014, and 2022 respectively, but until now Renton has not followed suit. 6. Children growing up in poverty experience insecurity with housing, nutrition, and health cue while enduring other hardships that prevent their ability to learn in school. Full time working parents must be able to reasonably provide for their family to ensure access to the opportunities and promise of public education. Section 2. Intent. It is the intent of the people to establish fair labor standards and protect the rights of workers by: (1) ensuring that the vast majority of employees in the City of Renton receive a minimum wage comparable to employees in the nearby cities of Tukwila, SeaTac, and Seattle; (2) requiring covered employers to offer additional hours of work to qualified part-time employees before hiring new employees to fill those hours; and (3) adopting enforcement requirements. Section 3. Large Employers Shall Pay Minimum Wages Comparable to Those in Nearby Cities. 1. Effective July 1, 2024, every large employer shall pay to each employee an hourly wage of not less than the 2023 new minimum wage rate in the City of Tukwila, established by City of Tukwila Initiative Measure No. 1, approved by voters in November 2022, adjusted for 2024 by the annual rate of inflation. 2. On January 1, 2025, and on each January 1 thereafter, the hourly minimum wage shall increase by the annual rate of inflation to maintain employee purchasing power. 3. By December 31, 2023, and by October 15 of each year thereafter, the Finance Department shall establish and publish the applicable hourly minimum wage for the following year using the annual rate of inflation. 4. For purposes of this chapter, the annual rate of inflation means 100 percent of the annual average growth rate of the bi-monthly Seattle -Tacoma -Bellevue Area Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers, termed CPI-W, for the 12-month period ending in August, provided that the percentage increase shall not be less than zero. 5. An employer must pay to its employees: a. All tips and gratuities; and b. All service charges as defined under RCW 49,46.160 except those that, pursuant to RCW 49.46.160, are itemized as not being payable to the employee or employees servicing the customer. Tips and service charges paid to an employee are in addition to, and may not count towards, the employee's hourly minimum wage. Section 4. Other Covered Employers Shall Have a Multiyear Phase -In Period. Other covered employers shall phase in the new minimum wage, as follows: 1. Effective July 1, 2024, other covered employers shall pay employees not less than the hourly minimum wage established under Section 3 minus Two Dollars ($2) per hour. 2. Effective July 1, 2025, other covered employers shall pay employees not less than the hourly minimum wage established under Section 3 minus One Dollar ($1) per hour. 3. Effective July 1, 2026, and thereafter, all covered employers shall pay employees not less than the hourly minimum wage established under Section 3. Section 5. Coverage and Employer Classifications. 1. Covered employers must pay employees at least the minimum wage established by this chapter for each hour worked within the City. 2. Employer classification for the current calendar year will be calculated based upon the average number of employees during all weeks in the previous calendar yen in which the employer had at least one employee. For employers that did not have any employees during the previous calendar year, classification will be based upon the average number of employees during the most recent three months of the current year. In this determination, .all employees will be counted, regardless of their location, and including employees who worked in full-time employment, part-time employment, joint employment, temporary employment, or through the services of a temporary services or staffing agency or similar entity. 3. Employer classification for the current calendar year will be calculated based upon the gross revenue for the previous year. For employers that did not have gross revenue during the previous calendar year, annual gross revenue will be calculated from the gross revenue during the most recent three months of the current year. 4. For the purposes of employer classification, separate entities will be considered a single employer if they form an integrated enterprise or they are under joint control by one of those entities or a separate entity. The factors to consider in making this assessment include, but we not limited to: a. Degree of interrelation between the operations of multiple entities; b. Degree to which the entities share common management; C. Centralized control of labor relations; and d. Degree of common ownership or financial control over the entities. Section 6. Part -Time Employees Shall Have Fair Access to Additional Hours. 1. Before hiring additional employees or subcontractors, including hiring through the use of temporary services or staffing agencies, covered employers must offer additional hours of work to existing employees who, in the employer's good faith and reasonable judgment, have the skills and experience to perform the work, and shall use a reasonable, transparent, and nondiscriminatory process to distribute the hours of work among those existing employees. 2. This section shall not be construed to require any employer to offer an employee work hours if the employer would be required to compensate the employee at time -and -a -half or other premium rate under any law or collective bargaining agreement, nor to prohibit any employer from offering such work hours. Section 7. Retaliation Prohibited. 1. No employer or any other person shall interfere with, restrain, or deny the exercise of, or the attempt to exercise, any right protected under this chapter. 2. No employer or any other person shall take any adverse action against any person because the person has exercised in good faith the rights under this chapter. Such rights include but are not limited to the right to make inquiries about the rights protected under this chapter; the right to inform others about their rights under this chapter; the right to inform the person's employer, union, or similar organization, and/or the person's legal counsel or any other person about an alleged violation of this chapter; the right to bring a civil action for an alleged violation of this chapter; the right to testify in a proceeding under or related to this chapter; the right to refuse to participate in an activity that would result in a violation of city, state, or federal law; and the right to oppose any policy, practice, or act that is unlawful under this chapter. 3. For the purposes of this section, an adverse action means denying a job or promotion, demoting, terminating, failing to rehire after a seasonal interruption of work, threatening, penalizing, retaliating, engaging in unfair immigration -related practices, filing a false report with a government agency, changing an employee's status to nonemployee, decreasing or declining to provide additional work hours when they otherwise would have been offered, scheduling an employee for hours outside of their availability, or otherwise discriminating against any person for any reason prohibited by this chapter. "Adverse action" for an employee may involve any aspect of employment, including pay, work hours, responsibilities, or other material change in the terms and conditions of employment. 4. No employer or any other person shall communicate to a person exercising rights protected under this chapter, directly or indirectly, the willingness to inform a government employee that the person is not lawfully in the United States, or to report, or to make an implied or express assertion of a willingness to report, suspected citizenship or immigration status of the person or a family member of the person to a federal, state, or local agency because the person has exercised a right under this chapter. 5. There shall be a rebuttable presumption of unlawful retaliation if an employer or any other person takes an adverse action against a person within 90 days of the person's exercise of any right protected in this chapter. However, in the case of seasonal work that ended before the close of the 90-day period, the presumption also applies if the employer fails to rehire a former employee at the next opportunity for work in the same position. The employer may rebut the presumption with clear and convincing evidence that the adverse action was taken for a permissible purpose. 6. Standard of Proof. Proof of retaliation under this chapter shall be sufficient upon a showing that an employer or any other person has taken an adverse action against a person and the person's exercise of rights protected in this chapter was a motivating factor in the adverse action, unless the employer can prove that the action would have been taken in the absence of such protected activity. 7. The protections afforded under this section shall apply to any person who mistakenly but in good faith alleges violations of this chapter. Section S. Enforcement. 1. Any person or class of persons that suffers financial injury as a result of a violation of this chapter or is the subject of prohibited retaliation under this chapter, or any other individual or entity acting on their behalf, may bring a civil action in a court of competent jurisdiction against the employer or other person violating this chapter and, upon prevailing, shall be awarded reasonable attorney fees and costs and such legal or equitable relief as may be appropriate to remedy the violation including, without limitation, the payment of any unpaid wages plus interest due to the person and liquidated damages in an additional amount of up to twice the unpaid wages; compensatory damages; and a penalty payable to any aggrieved party of up to $5,000 if the aggrieved party was subject to prohibited retaliation. For the purposes of this section, an aggrieved party means an employee or other person who suffers tangible or intangible harm due to an employer or other person's violation of this chapter. Interest shall accrue from the date the unpaid wages were first due at the higher of twelve percent per annum or the maximum rate permitted under RCW 19.52.020. 2. For purposes of determining membership within a class of persons entitled to bring an action under this section, two or more employees are similarly situated if they: a. Are or were employed by the same employer or employers, whether concurrently or otherwise, at some point during the applicable statute of limitations period; b. Allege one or more violations that raise similar questions as to liability; and C. Seek similar forms of relief. d. Employees shall not be considered dissimilar solely because their claims seek damages that differ in amount, or their job titles or other means of classifying employees differ in ways that are unrelated to their claims. 3. Each covered employer shall retain records as required by RCW 49.46.070, as well as such information as the City may require to confirm compliance with this chapter. If an employer fails to retain such records, there shall be a presumption, rebuttable by clear and convincing evidence, that the employer violated this chapter for the periods and for each employee for whom records were not retained. 4. Employers shall permit authorized City representatives access to work sites and relevant records for the purpose of monitoring compliance with the chapter and investigating complaints of noncompliance, including production for inspection and copying of employment records. The City may designate representatives, including city contractors and representatives of unions or worker advocacy organizations, to access the worksite and relevant records. 5. Complaints that any provision of this chapter has been violated may also be presented to the City Attorney, who is hereby authorized to investigate and, if they deem appropriate, initiate legal or other action to remedy any violation of this chapter. 6. The City has the authority to issue administrative citations and to order injunctive relief including reinstatement, restitution, payment of back wages, or other forms of relief. 7. The City may, in the exercise of its authority and performance of its functions and services, agree by contract or otherwise to participate jointly or in cooperation with Washington State, King County, or any city, town, or other incorporated place, or subdivision thereof, or engage outside counsel, to enforce this chapter. 8. The remedies and penalties provided under this chapter are cumulative and are not intended to be exclusive of any other available remedies or penalties, including existing remedies for enforcement of Renton Municipal Code chapters. 9. The statute of limitations for any enforcement action shall be five (5) years. Section 9. A new section is added to Renton Municipal Code (RMC) Section 5-5-4 as follows: 1. The Finance Director may deny, suspend, or revoke any license under this chapter for violation of this ordinance. 2. The Finance Director must deny, suspend, or revoke any license under this chapter for repeated intentional violations of this ordinance. 3. Any action by the Finance Director under this section shall be subject to the procedures and requirements of RMC subsection 5-5-3.E, as well as other due process rights that a court may require. Section 10. Definitions. For the purposes of this chapter, the following terms shall have the following meanings: "City" means the City of Renton. "Covered employer" means an employer that either (1) employs at least 15 employees regardless of where those employees are employed, or (2) has annual gross revenue over $2 million. "Effective date" is the effective date of this ordinance. "Employee" is defined as set forth in RCW 49.46.010. An employer bears the burden of proof that the individual is, as a matter of economic reality, in business for oneself rather than dependent upon the alleged employer. "Employer" is defined as set forth in RCW 49.46.010. "Employer classification" includes the determination of whether an employer is a covered employer and whether a covered employer is a large employer. "Franchise" means an agreement, express or implied, oral or written by which: 1. A person is granted the right to engage in the business of offering, selling, or distributing goods or services under a marketing plan prescribed or suggested in substantial part by the grantor or its affiliate; 2. The operation of the business is substantially associated with a trademark, service mark, trade time, advertising, or other commercial symbol; designating, owned by, or licensed by the grantor or its affiliate; and 3. The person pays, agrees to pay, or is required to pay, directly or indirectly, a franchise fee. The term, "franchise fee" is meant to be construed broadly to include any instance in which the grantor or its affiliate derives income or profit from a person who enters into a franchise agreement with the grantor. "Hour worked within the City" is to be interpreted according to its ordinary meaning, including all hours worked within the geographic boundaries of the City, excluding time spent in the City solely for the purpose of traveling through the City from a point of origin outside the City to a destination outside the City, with no employment -related or commercial stops in the City except for refueling or the employee's personal meals or erands. "Large Employer" means all employers that employ more than 500 employees, regardless of where those employees are employed, and all franchisees associated with a franchisor or a network of franchises with franchisees that employ more than 500 employees in aggregate. "Other covered employer" means a covered employer that does not qualify as a large employer. "Service charge" is defined as set forth in RCW 49.46.160(2)(c). "Tips" means a verifiable sum to be presented by a customer as a gift or gratuity in recognition of some service performed for the customer by the employee receiving the tip. "Wage" is defined as set forth in RCW 49.46.010. Section 11. Other Legal Requirements. This ordinance shall not be construed to preempt, limit, or otherwise affect the applicability of any other law, regulation, requirement, policy, or standard that provides for greater wages or compensation; and nothing in this ordinance shall be interpreted or applied so as to create any power or duty in conflict with federal or state law. Section 12. Rulemaking. Within 180 days after the effective date, the City shall adopt rules and procedures to implement and ensure compliance with this chapter, which shall require employers to maintain adequate records and to annually certify compliance with this chapter. The City shall seek feedback from worker organizations and covered employers before finalizing the rules and procedures. Section 13. Constitutional Subject. For constitutional purposes, this measure's subject "concerns labor standards for certain employers." See File Foods, LLC v. City of SeaTac, 183 Wash. 2d 770, 783, 357 P.3d 1040, 1047 (2015) (upholding this statement of subject for an initiative that set a minimum wage and addressed employees' access to hours). Section 14. Codification. All sections of this ordinance except section 9 shall be codified in a new chapter of the Renton Municipal Code. Section 15. Election date. In the event that the election on this measure takes place later than November 7, 2023, the Finance Department must establish and publish the initial minimum wage within 30 days of the effective date. Section 16. Severability. The provisions of this ordinance are declared to be separate and severable. If any clause, sentence, paragraph, subdivision, section, subsection, or portion of this ordinance, or the application thereof to any employer, employee, or circumstance, is held to be invalid, it shall not affect the validity of the remainder of this ordinance, or the validity of its application to other persons or circumstances. Name M vasser Email and Ph Raising The Minimum Wage In Renton INITIATIVE PETITION FOR SUBMISSION TO THE RENTON CITY COUNCIL TO: The City Council of the City of Renton: o CCC/IBT 933-M We, the undersigned registered voters of the City of Renton, State of Washington, residing at the addresses set forth opposite our respective names, being equal to fifteen percent (15%) of the total number of names of persons listed as registered voters within the City on the day of the last preceding City general election, respectfully request that the following ordinance be enacted by the City Council or, if not so enacted, be submitted to a vote of the residents of the City. The title of the said ordinance is as follows: ORDINANCE CONCERNING LABOR STANDARDS FOR CERTAIN EMPLOYEES A full, true and correct copy of the ordinance is attached to this Petition. Each of us for himself or herself says: I have personally signed this petition; I am a registered voter of the City of Renton, State of Washington; and my residence is correctly stated. Signature SaNr�ife?/orez 1. 2. C 3. 4. Printed Name Printed Name %ul 61"d 6. V 1 ( 7. c 4 CI (M i C C 8. LA I i , ' I ' \ I[, i_M 9 10. HA Street and Number 1234 Anywhere St. ?�L� V�o I /ni /l 1 ✓t S V QA ll� 4 AVL S W 2177q NE ZgI L" 5 City Phone Number Email Renton 206-555-1234 maria@something.org Renton � W_' Renton �20O773-( �i9 Renton �-ok 31-� _ ` 35L Renton 2()& 3365 Renton 20(_ Renton /.'I r -7 D Renton 2U9_400 _M(o Renton Date 4/10/2023 )'Lt / �-3 /4/� Zo MH- Z3 Warning Every person who signs this petition with any other than his or her true name, or who knowingly signs more than one of these petitions, or signs a petition seek- ing an election when he or she is not a legal voter, or signs a petition when he or she is otherwise not qualified to sign, or who makes herein any false statement, shall be guilty of a misdemeanor. AN ORDINANCE concerning labor standards for certain employees. Section 1. Findings. 1. The people of the City of Renton hereby adopt this citizen initiative addressing labor standards for certain employees, for the purpose of ensuring that, to the extent reasonably practicable, people employed in Renton have good wages and access to sufficient hours of work. 2. The City of Renton is one of the largest job centers in Washington State, with thousands of shoppers and workers visiting daily to participate in the local economy. Renton is home to The Landing shopping center, the historic Downtown Urban Center, as well as retail and commercial office and warehouse districts wound the Rainier/Grady Way Junction. The City is a net importer ofjobs, with nearly 60,000 employed workers. Renton has a wide array of both long established and new and evolving business sectors. Retail businesses, restaurants and bars, auto sales, hospitality, healthcare, and office workers are well represented. 3. The statewide minimum wage is not sufficient to afford rising rents and costs of living in Renton. According to the National Low Income Housing Coalition's Out of Reach 2022 report, a worker making Washington's minimum wage would have to work 72 hours each week (up from 70 hours each week in 2021) to afford a modest one -bedroom rental home at Fair Market Rent. 4. When working families earn insufficient income due to low wages and involuntary under -employment, they struggle to pay for basic necessities like healthcare, child care, and groceries, and they are more likely to be evicted and become homeless. 5. Newby King County cities of SeaTac, Seattle, and Tukwila enacted higher minimum wages in 2013, 2014, and 2022 respectively, but until now Renton has not followed suit. 6. Children growing up in poverty experience insecurity with housing, nutrition, and health care while enduring other hardships that prevent their ability to learn in school. Full time working parents must be able to reasonably provide for their family to ensure access to the opportunities and promise of public education. Section 2. Intent. It is the intent of the people to establish fair labor standards and protect the rights of workers by: (1) ensuring that the vast majority of employees in the City of Renton receive a minimum wage comparable to employees in the nearby cities of Tukwila, SeaTac, and Seattle; (2) requiring covered employers to offer additional hours of work to qualified part-time employees before hiring new employees to fill those hours; and (3) adopting enforcement requirements. Section 3. Large Employers Shall Pay Minimum Wages Comparable to Those in Nearby Cities. 1. Effective July 1, 2024, every large employer shall pay to each employee an hourly wage of not less than the 2023 new minimum wage rate in the City of Tukwila, established by City of Tukwila Initiative Measure No. 1, approved by voters in November 2022, adjusted for 2024 by the annual rate of inflation. 2. On January 1, 2025, and on each January 1 thereafter, the hourly minimum wage shall increase by the annual rate of inflation to maintain employee purchasing power. 3. By December 31, 2023, and by October 15 of each year thereafter, the Finance Department shall establish and publish the applicable hourly minimum wage for the following year using the annual rate of inflation. 4. For purposes of this chapter, the annual rate of inflation means 100 percent of the annual average growth rate of the bi-monthly Seattle -Tacoma -Bellevue Area Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers, termed CPI-W, for the 12-month period ending in August, provided that the percentage increase shall not be less than zero. 5. An employer must pay to its employees: a. All tips and gratuities; and b. All service charges as defined under RCW 49.46.160 except those that, pursuant to RCW 49.46.160, are itemized as not being payable to the employee or employees servicing the customer. Tips and service charges paid to an employee are in addition to, and may not count towards, the employee's hourly minimum wage. Section 4. Other Covered Employers Shall Have a Multiyear Phase -In Period. Other covered employers shall phase in the new minimum wage, as follows: 1. Effective July 1, 2024, other covered employers shall pay employees not less than the hourly minimum wage established under Section 3 minus Two Dollars ($2) per hour. 2. Effective July 1, 2025, other covered employers shall pay employees not less than the hourly minimum wage established under Section 3 minus One Dollar ($1) per hour. 3. Effective July 1, 2026, and thereafter, all covered employers shall pay employees not less than the hourly minimum wage established under Section 3. Section 5. Coverage and Employer Classifications. 1. Covered employers must pay employees at least the minimum wage established by this chapter for each hour worked within the City. 2. Employer classification for the current calendar year will be calculated based upon the average number of employees during all weeks in the previous calendar year in which the employer had at least one employee. For employers that did not have any employees during the previous calendar year, classification will be based upon the average number of employees during the most recent three months of the current year. In this determination, all employees will be counted, regardless of their location, and including employees who worked in full-time employment, part-time employment, joint employment, temporary employment, or through the services of a temporary services or staffing agency or similar entity. 3. Employer classification for the current calendar year will be calculated based upon the gross revenue for the previous year. For employers that did not have gross revenue during the previous calendar year, annual gross revenue will be calculated from the gross revenue during the most recent three months of the current year. 4. For the purposes of employer classification, separate entities will be considered a single employer if they for an integrated enterprise or they are underjoint control by one of those entities or a separate entity. The factors to consider in making this assessment include, but are not limited to: a. Degree of interrelation between the operations of multiple entities; b. Degree to which the entities share common management; c. Centralized control of labor relations; and it. Degree of common ownership or financial control over the entities. Section 6. Part -Time Employees Shall Have Fair Access to Additional Hours. 1. Before hiring additional employees or subcontractors, including hiring through the use of temporary services or staffing agencies, covered employers must offer additional hours of work to existing employees who, in the employer's good faith and reasonable judgment, have the skills and experience to perform the work, and shall use a reasonable, transparent, and nondiscriminatory process to distribute the hours of work among those existing employees. 2. This section shall not be construed to require any employer to offer an employee work hours if the employer would be required to compensate the employee at time -and -a -half or other premium rate under any law or collective bargaining agreement, nor to prohibit any employer from offering such work hours. Section 7. Retaliation Prohibited. I. No employer or any other person shall interfere with, restrain, or deny the exercise of, or the attempt to exercise, any right protected under this chapter. 2. No employer or any other person shall take any adverse action against any person because the person has exercised in good faith the rights under this chapter. Such rights include but are not limited to the right to make inquiries about the rights protected under this chapter; the right to inform others about their rights under this chapter; the right to inform the person's employer, union, or similar organization, and/or the person's legal counsel or any other person about an alleged violation of this chapter; the right to bring a civil action for an alleged violation of this chapter; the right to testify in a proceeding under or related to this chapter; the right to refuse to participate in an activity that would result in a violation of city, state, or federal law; and the right to oppose any policy, practice, or act that is unlawful under this chapter. 3. For the purposes of this section, an adverse action means denying a job or promotion, demoting, terminating, failing to rehire after a seasonal interruption of work, threatening, penalizing, retaliating, engaging in unfair immigration -related practices, filing a false report with a government agency, changing an employee's status to nonemployee, decreasing or declining to provide additional work hours when they otherwise would have been offered, scheduling an employee for hours outside of their availability, or otherwise discriminating against any person for any reason prohibited by this chapter. "Adverse action" for an employee may involve any aspect of employment, including pay, work hours, responsibilities, or other material change in the terms and conditions of employment. 4. No employer or any other person shall communicate to a person exercising rights protected under this chapter, directly or indirectly, the willingness to inform a government employee that the person is not lawfully in the United States, or to report, or to make an implied or express assertion of a willingness to report, suspected citizenship or immigration status of the person or a family member of the person to a federal, state, or local agency because the person has exercised a right under this chapter. 5. There shall be a rebuttable presumption of unlawful retaliation if an employer or any other person takes an adverse action against a person within 90 days of the person's exercise of any right protected in this chapter. However, in the case of seasonal work that ended before the close of the 90-day period, the presumption also applies if the employer fails to rehire a former employee at the next opportunity for work in the same position. The employer may rebut the presumption with clear and convincing evidence that the adverse action was taken for a permissible purpose. 6. Standard of Proof. Proof of retaliation under this chapter shall be sufficient upon a showing that an employer or any other person has taken an adverse action against a person and the person's exercise of rights protected in this chapter was a motivating factor in the adverse action, unless the employer can prove that the action would have been taken in the absence of such protected activity. 7. The protections afforded under this section shall apply to any person who mistakenly but in good faith alleges violations of this chapter. Section 8. Enforcement. 1. Any person or class of persons that suffers financial injury as a result of a violation of this chapter or is the subject of prohibited retaliation under this chapter, or any other individual or entity acting on their behalf, may bring a civil action in a court of competent jurisdiction against the employer or other person violating this chapter and, upon prevailing, shall be awarded reasonable attorney fees and costs and such legal or equitable relief as may be appropriate to remedy the violation including, without limitation, the payment of any unpaid wages plus interest due to the person and liquidated damages in an additional amount of up to twice the unpaid wages; compensatory damages; and a penalty payable to any aggrieved party of up to $5,000 if the aggrieved party was subject to prohibited retaliation. For the purposes of this section, an aggrieved party means an employee or other person who suffers tangible or intangible harm due to an employer or other person's violation of this chapter. Interest shall accrue from the date the unpaid wages were first due at the higher of twelve percent per arum or the maximum rate permitted under RCW 19.52.020. 2. For purposes of determining membership within a class of persons entitled to bring an action under this section, two or more employees are similarly situated if they: a. Are or were employed by the same employer or employers, whether concurrently or otherwise, at some point during the applicable statute of limitations period; b. Allege one or more violations that raise similar questions as to liability; and C. Seek similar forms of relief. d. Employees shall not be considered dissimilar solely because their claims seek damages that differ in amount, or their job titles or other means of classifying employees differ in ways that are unrelated to their claims. 3. Each covered employer shall retain records as required by RCW 49.46.070, as well as such information as the City may require to confirm compliance with this chapter. If an employer fails to retain such records, there shall be a presumption, rebuttable by clear and convincing evidence, that the employer violated this chapter for the periods and for each employee for whom records were not retained. 4. Employers shall permit authorized City representatives access to work sites and relevant records for the purpose of monitoring compliance with the chapter and investigating complaints of noncompliance, including production for inspection and copying of employment records. The City may designate representatives, including city contractors and representatives of unions or worker advocacy organizations, to access the worksite and relevant records. 5. Complaints that any provision of this chapter has been violated may also be presented to the City Attorney, who is hereby authorized to investigate and, if they deem appropriate, initiate legal or other action to remedy any violation of this chapter. 6. The City has the authority to issue administrative citations and to order injunctive relief including reinstatement, restitution, payment of back wages, or other forms of relief. 7. The City may, in the exercise of its authority and performance of its functions and services, agree by contract or otherwise to participate jointly or in cooperation with Washington State, King County, or any city,town, or other incorporated place, or subdivision thereof, or engage outside counsel, to enforce this chapter. 8. The remedies and penalties provided under this chapter are cumulative and are not intended to be exclusive of any other available remedies or penalties, including existing remedies for enforcement of Renton Municipal Code chapters. 9. The statute of limitations for any enforcement action shall be five (5) years. Section 9. A new section is added to Renton Municipal Code (RMC) Section 5-5-4 as follows: 1. The Finance Director may deny, suspend, or revoke any license under this chapter for violation of this ordinance. 2. The Finance Director must deny, suspend, or revoke any license ander this chapter for repeated intentional violations of this ordinance. 3. Any action by the Finance Director under this section shall be subject to the procedures and requirements of RMC subsection 5-5-3.E, as well as other due process rights that a court may require. Section 10. Definitions. For the purposes of this chapter, the following terms shall have the following meanings: "City" means the City of Renton. "Covered employer" means an employer that either (1) employs at least 15 employees regardless of where those employees are employed, or (2) has annual gross revenue over $2 million. "Effective date" is the effective date of this ordinance. "Employee" is defined as set forth in RCW 49.46.010. An employer bears the burden of proof that the individual is, as a matter of economic reality, in business for oneself rather than dependent upon the alleged employer. "Employer" is defined as set forth in RCW 49.46.010. "Employer classification" includes the determination of whether an employer is a covered employer and whether a covered employer is a large employer. "Franchise" means an agreement, express or implied, oral or written by which: 1. A person is granted the right to engage in the business of offering, selling, or distributing goods or services under a marketing plan prescribed or suggested in substantial part by the grantor or its affiliate; 2. The operation of the business is substantially associated with a trademark, service mark, trade name, advertising, or other commercial symbol; designating, owned by, or licensed by the grantor or its affiliate; and 3. The person pays, agrees to pay, or is required to pay, directly or indirectly, a franchise fee. The term, "franchise fee" is meant to be construed broadly to include any instance in which the grantor or its affiliate derives income or profit from a person who enters into a franchise agreement with the grantor. "Hour worked within the City" is to be interpreted according to its ordinary meaning, including all hours worked within the geographic boundaries of the City, excluding time spent in the City solely for the purpose of traveling through the City from a point of origin outside the City to a destination outside the City, with no employment -related or commercial stops in the City except for refueling or the employee's personal meals or errands. "Large Employer" means all employers that employ more than 500 employees, regardless of where those employees are employed, and all franchisees associated with a franchisor or a network of franchises with franchisees that employ more than 500 employees in aggregate. "Other covered employer" means a covered employer that does not qualify as a large employer. "Service charge" is defined as set forth in RCW 49.46.160(2)(c). "Tips" means a verifiable sum to be presented by a customer as a gift or gratuity in recognition of some service performed for the customer by the employee receiving the tip. "Wage" is defined as set forth in RCW 49.46.010. Section 11. Other Legal Requirements. This ordinance shall not be construed to preempt, limit, or otherwise affect the applicability of any other law, regulation, requirement, policy, or standard that provides for greater wages or compensation; and nothing in this ordinance shall be interpreted or applied so as to create any power or duty in conflict with federal or state law. Section 12. Rulemaking. Within 180 days after the effective date, the City shall adopt rules and procedures to implement and ensure compliance with this chapter, which shall require employers to maintain adequate records and to annually certify compliance with this chapter. The City shall seek feedback from worker organizations and covered employers before finalizing the rules and procedures. Section 13. Constitutional Subject. For constitutional purposes, this measure's subject "concerns labor standards for certain employers." See Filo Foods, LLC v. City of SeaTac, 183 Wash. 2d 770, 783, 357 P.3d 1040, 1047 (2015) (upholding this statement of subject for an initiative that set a minimum wage and addressed employees' access to hours). Section 14. Codification. All sections of this ordinance except section 9 shall be codified in a new chapter of the Renton Municipal Code. Section 15. Election date. In the event that the election on this measure takes place later than November 7, 2023, the Finance Department must establish and publish the initial minimum wage within 30 days of the effective date. Section 16. Severability. The provisions of this ordinance are declared to be separate and severable. If any clause, sentence, paragraph, subdivision, section, subsection, or portion of this ordinance, or the application thereof to any employer, employee, or circumstance, is held to be invalid, it shall not affect the validity of the remainder of this ordinance, or the validity of its application to other persons or circumstances. Name Of Date rv-se'r Email and Phom h Raising The Minimum Wage In Renton INITIATIVE PETITION FOR SUBMISSION TO THE RENTON CITY COUNCIL TO: The City Council of the City of Renton: ®933-M eauweuveM^`O We, the undersigned registered voters of the City of Renton, State of Washington, residing at the addresses set forth opposite our respective names, being equal to fifteen percent (15%) of the total number of names of persons listed as registered voters within the City on the day of the last preceding City general election, respectfully request that the following ordinance be enacted by the City Council or, if not so enacted, be submitted to a vote of the residents of the City. The title of the said ordinance is as follows: ORDINANCE CONCERNING LABOR STANDARDS FOR CERTAIN EMPLOYEES A full, true and correct copy of the ordinance is attached to this Petition. Each of us for himself or herself says: I have personally signed this petition; I am a registered voter of the City of Renton, State of Washington; and my residence is correctly stated. Signature saw'hPe `Uot�c 1. 2 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. a Printed Name Printed Name k� B�n-e- SC(VV1 PrA e `� nrf- L�b Ar\z f J Street and Number 1234 Anywhere St. l h'T5 sE; (ii-61"v City Phone Number Email Date Renton 206-555-1234 maria@something.org 4/10/2023 Renton �'73 Renton 1�6436ot12_� d>jWl©-KW-C. Wi '52,0 /z WI J� . Renton GjQ��iO (6 Z5 � 205 H PL Sc p 0, �a Renton Renton '506 5 >bI / Warning Every person who signs this petition with any other than his or her true name, or who knowingly signs more than one of these petitions, or signs a petition seek- ing an election when he or she is not a legal voter, or signs a petition when he or she is otherwise not qualified to sign, or who makes herein any false statement, shall be guilty of a misdemeanor. �1zo f z3 5120123 I dC Z� AN ORDINANCE concerning labor standards for certain employees. Section 1. Findings. 1. The people of the City of Renton hereby adopt this citizen initiative addressing labor standards for certain employees, for the purpose of ensuring that, to the extent reasonably practicable, people employed in Renton have good wages and access to sufficient hours of work. 2. The City of Renton is one of the largestjob centers in Washington State, with thousands of shoppers and workers visiting daily to participate in the local economy. Renton is home to The Landing shopping center, the historic Downtown Urban Center, as well as retail and commercial office and warehouse districts around the Rainier/Grady Way Junction. The City is a net importer of jobs, with nearly 60,000 employed workers. Renton has a wide array of both long established and new and evolving business sectors. Retail businesses, restaurants and bars, auto sales, hospitality, healthcare, and office workers are well represented. 3. The statewide minimum wage is not sufficient to afford rising rents and costs of living in Renton. According to the National Low Income Housing Coalition's Out of Reach 2022 report, a worker making Washington's minimum wage would have to work 72 hours each week (up from 70 hours each week in 2021) to afford a modest one -bedroom rental home at Fair Market Rent. 4. When working families earn insufficient income due to low wages and involuntary under -employment, they struggle to pay for basic necessities like health care, child cue, and groceries, and they me more likely to be evicted and become homeless. 5. Nearby King County cities of SeaTac, Seattle, and Tukwila enacted higher minimum wages in 2013, 2014, and 2022 respectively, but until now Renton has not followed suit. 6. Children growing up in poverty experience insecurity with housing, nutrition, and health care while enduring other hardships that prevent their ability to learn in school. Full time working parents must be able to reasonably provide for their family to ensure access to the opportunities and promise of public education. Section 2. Intent. It is the intent of the people to establish fair labor standards and protect the rights of workers by: (1) ensuring that the vast majority of employees in the City of Renton receive a minimum wage comparable to employees in the nearby cities of Tukwila, SeaTac, and Seattle; (2) requiring covered employers to offer additional hours of work to qualified part-time employees before hiring new employees to fill those hours; and (3) adopting enforcement requirements. Section 3. Large Employers Shall Pay Minimum Wages Comparable to Those in Nearby Cities. 1. Effective July 1, 2024, every large employer shall pay to each employee an hourly wage of not less than the 2023 new minimum wage rate in the City of Tukwila, established by City of Tukwila Initiative Measure No. 1, approved by voters in November 2022, adjusted for 2024 by the annual rate of inflation. 2. On January 1, 2025, and on each January 1 thereafter, the hourly minimum wage shall increase by the annual rate of inflation to maintain employee purchasing power. 3. By December 31, 2023, and by October 15 of each year thereafter, the Finance Department shall establish and publish the applicable hourly minimum wage for the following year using the annual rate of inflation. 4. For purposes of this chapter, the annual rate of inflation means 100 percent of the annual average growth rate of the bi-monthly Seattle-Tacoma-Bellewe Area Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers, termed CPI-W, for the 12-month period ending in August, provided that the percentage increase shall not be less than zero. 5. An employer must pay to its employees: a. All tips and gratuities; and b. All service charges as defined under RCW 49.46.160 except those that, pursuant to RCW 49.46.160, are itemized as not being payable to the employee or employees servicing the customer. Tips and service charges paid to an employee are in addition to, and may not count towards, the employee's hourly minimum wage. Section 4. Other Covered Employers Shall Have a Multiyear Phase -In Period. Other covered employers shall phase in the new minimum wage, as follows: 1. Effective July 1, 2024, other covered employers shall pay employees not less than the hourly minimum wage established under Section 3 minus Two Dollars ($2) per hour. 2. Effective July 1, 2025, other covered employers shall pay employees not less than the hourly minimum wage established under Section 3 minus One Dollar ($1) per hour. 3. Effective July 1, 2026, and thereafter, all covered employers shall pay employees not less than the hourly minimum wage established under Section 3. Section S. Coverage and Employer Classifications. 1. Covered employers must pay employees at least the minimum wage established by this chapter for each hour worked within the City, 2. Employer classification for the current calendar year will be calculated based upon the average number of employees during all weeks in the previous calendar year in which the employer had at least one employee. For employers that did not have any employees during the previous calendar year, classification will be based upon the average number of employees during the most recent three months of the current year. In this determination, all employees will be counted, regardless of their location, and including employees who worked in full-time employment, part-time employment, joint employment, temporary employment, or through the services of a temporary services or staffing agency or simllar entity. 3. Employer classification for the current calendar year will be calculated based upon the gross revenue for the previous year. For employers that did not have gross revenue during the previous calendar year, annual gross revenue will be calculated from the gross revenue during the most recent three months of the current year. 4. For the purposes of employer classification, separate entities will be considered a single employer if they form an integrated enterprise or they are underjoint control by one of those entities or a separate entity. The factors to consider in making this assessment include, but are not limited to: a. Degree of interrelation between the operations of multiple entities; b. Degree to which the entities share common management; C. Centralized control of labor relations; and d. Degree of common ownership or financial control over the entities. Section 6. Part -Time Employees Shall Have Fair Access to Additional Hours. 1. Before hiring additional employees or subcontractors, including hiring through the use of temporary services or staffing agencies, covered employers must offer additional hours of work to existing employees who, in the employer's good faith and reasonable judgment, have the skills and experience to perform the work, and shall use a reasonable, transparent, and nondiscriminatory process to distribute the hours of work among those existing employees. 2. This section shall not be construed to require any employer to offer an employee work hours if the employer would be required to compensate the employee at time -and -a -half or other premium rate under any law or collective bargaining agreement, nor to prohibit any employer from offering such work hours. Section 7. Retaliation Prohibited. I. No employer or any other person shall interfere with, restrain, or deny the exercise of, or the attempt to exercise, any right protected under this chapter. 2. No employer or any other person shall take any adverse action against any person because the person has exercised in good faith the rights under this chapter. Such rights include but are not limited to the right to make inquiries about the rights protected under this chapter; the right to inform others about their rights under this chapter, the right to inform the person's employer, union, or similar organization, and/or the person's legal counsel or any other person about an alleged violation of this chapter; the right to bring a civil action for an alleged violation of this chapter; the right to testify in a proceeding under or related to this chapter; the right to refuse to participate in an activity that would result in a violation of city, state, or federal law; and the right to oppose any policy, practice, or act that is unlawful under this chapter. 3. For the purposes of this section, an adverse action means denying ajob or promotion, demoting, terminating, failing to rehire after a seasonal interruption of work, threatening, penalizing, retaliating, engaging in unfair immigration -related practices, filing a false report with a government agency, changing an employee's status to nonemployee, decreasing or declining to provide additional work hours when they otherwise would have been offered, scheduling an employee for hours outside of their availability, or otherwise discriminating against any person for any reason prohibited by this chapter. "Adverse action" for an employee may involve any aspect of employment, including pay, work hours, responsibilities, or other material change in the terms and conditions of employment. 4. No employer or any other person shall communicate to a person exercising rights protected under this chapter, directly or indirectly, the willingness to inform a government employee that the person is not lawfully in the United States, or to report, or to make an implied or express assertion of a willingness to report, suspected citizenship or immigration status of the person or a family member of the person to a federal, state, or local agency because the person has exercised a right under this chapter. 5. There shall be a rebuttable presumption of unlawful retaliation if an employer or any other person takes an adverse action against a person within 90 days of the person's exercise of any right protected in this chapter. However, in the case of seasonal work that ended before the close of the 90-day period, the presumption also applies if the employer fails to rehire a former employee at the next opportunity for work in the same position. The employer may rebut the presumption with clear and convincing evidence that the adverse action was taken for a permissible purpose. 6. Standard of Proof. Proof of retaliation under this chapter shall be sufficient upon a showing that an employer or any other person has taken an adverse action against a person and the person's exercise of rights protected in this chapter was a motivating factor in the adverse action, unless the employer can prove that the action would have been taken in the absence of such protected activity. 7. The protections afforded under this section shall apply to any person who mistakenly but in good faith alleges violations of this chapter. Section 8. Enforcement. 1. Any person or class of persons that suffers financial injury as a result of a violation of this chapter or is the subject of prohibited retaliation under this chapter, or any other individual or entity acting on their behalf, may bring a civil action in a court of competentjmisdiction against the employer or other person violating this chapter and, upon prevailing, shall be awarded reasonable attorney fees and costs and such legal or equitable relief as may be appropriate to remedy the violation including, without limitation, the payment of any unpaid wages plus interest due to the person and liquidated damages in an additional amount of up to twice the unpaid wages; compensatory damages; and a penalty payable to any aggrieved party of up to $5,000 if the aggrieved party was subject to prohibited retaliation. For the purposes of this section, an aggrieved party means an employee or other person who suffers tangible or intangible harm due to an employer or other person's violation of this chapter. Interest shall accrue from the date the unpaid wages were first due at the higher of twelve percent per annum or the maximum rate permitted under RCW 19.52.020. 2. For purposes of determining membership within a class of persons entitled to bring an action under this section, two or more employees we similarly situated if they: a. Are or were employed by the same employer or employers, whether concurrently or otherwise, at some point during the applicable statute of limitations period; b. Allege one or more violations that raise similar questions as to liability; and C. Seek similar forms of relief. d. Employees shall not be considered dissimilar solely because their claims seek damages that differ in amount, or their job titles or other means of classifying employees differ in ways that are unrelated to their claims. 3. Each covered employer shall retain records as required by RCW 49.46.070, as well as such information as the City may require to confirm compliance with this chapter. If an employer fails to retain such records, there shall be a presumption, rebuttable by clear and convincing evidence, that the employer violated this chapter for the periods and for each employee for whom records were not retained. 4. Employers shall permit authorized City representatives access to work sites and relevant records for the purpose of monitoring compliance with the chapter and investigating complaints of noncompliance, including production for inspection and copying of employment records. The City may designate representatives, including city contractors and representatives of unions or worker advocacy organizations, to access the worksite and relevant records. 5. Complaints that any provision of this chapter has been violated may also be presented to the City Attorney, who is hereby authorized to investigate and, if they deem appropriate, initiate legal or other action to remedy any violation of this chapter. 6. The City has the authority to issue administrative citations and to order injunctive relief including reinstatement, restitution, payment of back wages, or other forms of relief. 7. The City may, in the exercise of its authority and performance of its functions and services, agree by contract or otherwise to participate jointly or in cooperation with Washington State, King County, or any city, town, or other incorporated place, or subdivision thereof, or engage outside counsel, to enforce this chapter. 8. The remedies and penalties provided under this chapter are cumulative and are not intended to be exclusive of my other available remedies or penalties, including existing remedies for enforcement of Renton Municipal Code chapters. 9. The statute of limitations for any enforcement action shall be five (5) years. Section 9. A new section is added to Renton Municipal Code (RMC) Section 5-5-4 as follows: 1. The Finance Director may deny, suspend, or revoke any license under this chapter for violation of this ordinance. 2. The Finance Director must deny, suspend, or revoke any license under this chapter for repeated intentional violations of this ordinance. 3. Any action by the Finance Director under this section shall be subject to the procedures and requirements of RMC subsection 5-5-3.E, as well as other due process rights that a court may require. Section 10. Definitions. For the purposes of this chapter, the following terms shall have the following meanings: "City" means the City of Renton. "Covered employer" means an employer that either (1) employs at least 15 employees regardless of where those employees are employed, or (2) has annual gross revenue over $2 million. "Effective date" is the effective date of this ordinance. "Employee" is defined as set forth in RCW 49.46.010. An employer bears the burden of proof that the individual is, as a matter of economic reality, in business for oneself rather than dependent upon the alleged employer. "Employer" is defined as set forth in RCW 49.46.010. "Employer classification" includes the determination of whether an employer is a covered employer and whether a covered employer is a large employer. "Franchise" means an agreement, express or implied, oral or written by which: 1. A person is granted the right to engage in the business of offering, selling, or distributing goods or services under a marketing plan prescribed or suggested in substantial part by the grantor or its affiliate; 2. The operation of the business is substantially associated with a trademark, service mark, trade time, advertising, or other commercial symbol; designating, owned by, or licensed by the grantor or its affiliate; and 3. The person pays, agrees to pay, or is required to pay, directly or indirectly, a franchise fee. The term, "franchise fee" is meant to be construed broadly to include any instance in which the grantor or its affiliate derives income or profit from a person who enters into a franchise agreement with the grantor. "Hour worked within the City" is to be interpreted according to its ordinary meaning, including all hours worked within the geographic boundaries of the City, excluding time. spent in the City solely for the purpose of traveling through the City from a point of origin outside the City to a destination outside the City, with no employment -related or commercial stops in the City except for refueling or the employee's personal meals or errands. "Large Employer" means all employers that employ more than 500 employees, regardless of where those employees are employed, and all franchisees associated with a franchisor or a network of franchises with franchisees that employ more than 500 employees in aggregate. "Other covered employer" means a covered employer that does not qualify as a large employer. "Service charge" is defined as set forth in RCW 49.46.160(2)(c). "Tips" means a verifiable sum to be presented by a customer as a gift or gratuity in recognition of some service performed for the customer by the employee receiving the tip. "Wage" is defined as set forth in RCW 49.46.010. Section 11. Other Legal Requirements. This ordinance shall not be construed to preempt, limit, or otherwise affect the applicability of any other law, regulation, requirement, policy, or standard that provides for greater wages or compensation; and nothing in this ordinance shall be interpreted or applied so as to create any power or duty in conflict with federal or state law. Section 12. Rulemaking. Within 180 days after the effective date, the City shall adopt rules and procedures to implement and ensure compliance with this chapter, which shall require employers to maintain adequate records and to annually certify compliance with this chapter. The City shall seek feedback from worker organizations and covered employers before finalizing the rules and procedures. Section 13. Constitutional Subject. For constitutional purposes, this measure's subject "concerns labor standards for certain employers." See File Foods, LLC v. City of SeaTac, 183 Wash. 2d 770, 783, 357 P.3d 1040, 1047 (2015) (upholding this statement of subject for an initiative that set a minimum wage and addressed employees' access to hours). Section 14. Codification. All sections of this ordinance except section 9 shall be codified in a new chapter of the Renton Municipal Code. Section 15. Election date. In the event that the election on this measure takes place later than November 7, 2023, the Finance Department must establish and publish the initial minimum wage within 30 days of the effective date. Section 16. Severability. The provisions of this ordinance are declared to be separate and severable. If any clause, sentence, paragraph, subdivision, section, subsection, or portion of this ordinance, or the application thereof to any employer, employee, or circumstance, is held to be invalid, it shall not affect the validity of the remainder of this ordinance, or the validity of its application to other persons or circumstances. Raising The Minimum Wage In Renton 5 INITIATIVE PETITION FOR SUBMISSION TO THE RENTON CITY COUNCIL TO: The City Council of the City of Renton: We, the undersigned registered voters of the City of Renton, State of Washington, residing at the addresses set forth opposite our respective names, being equal to fifteen percent (15%) of the total number of names of persons listed as registered voters within the City on the day of the last preceding City general election, respectfully request that the following ordinance be enacted by the City Council or, if not so enacted, be submitted to a vote of the residents of the City. The title of the said ordinance is as follows: ORDINANCE CONCERNING LABOR STANDARDS FOR CERTAIN EMPLOYEES A full, true and correct copy of the ordinance is attached to this Petition. Each of us for himself or herself says: I have personally signed this petition; I am a registered voter of the City of Renton, State of Washington; and my residence is correctly stated. Signature Printed Name Street and Number City Phone Number Email Date Sacrcl�e?�oteh Printed Name 1234 Anywhere St. Renton 206-555-1234 maria@something.org 4/10/2023 cane Shay(- tinroo Hier_ 'S Renton ZGG-393-2S2�S ��^` ��v %Gj�✓o. �� `awn �L� 1 C��G'(l 7 ITZ 4 Sd Renton b5%lC/Z 3. ) l /- 1 ,0�� Renton 4. e`G� 1 72�AA Renton Renton �(L'.C� 1���2^'� r%'�� U l� l!%� Z S SL �Z.tdfigC Renton 6. '7 7. ',� V�If�eIIS ��i�j� I «�h�i��J.3C Renton a010 II(���fGi� eiYlvii�U��Lcau�.�v , S/���23 s. 1 JAz�f i 1 t t—t" n„�.� �� C�� l � l�b S� 7, Renton 05 ILI 15 9. % �� 3pj Renton ct S-73 7 Pc lOk !3 �z=%rE Renton t�2�-23 °cc�r.fad: Warning Every person who signs this petition with any other than his or her true name, or who knowingly signs more than one of these petitions, or signs a petition seek- ing an election when he or she is not a legal voter, or signs a petition when he or she is otherwise not qualified to sign, or who makes herein any false statement, shall be guilty of a misdemeanor. AN ORDINANCE concerning labor standards for certain employees. Section 1. Findings. 1. The people of the City of Renton hereby adopt this citizen initiative addressing labor standards for certain employees, for the purpose of ensuring that, to the extent reasonably practicable, people employed in Renton have good wages and access to sufficient hours of work. 2. The City of Renton is one of the largest job centers in Washington State, with thousands of shoppers and workers visiting daily to participate in the local economy. Renton is home to The Land'uig shopping center, the historic Downtown Urban Center, as well as retail and commercial office and warehouse districts around the Rainier/Grady Way Junction. The City is a net importer ofjobs, with nearly 60,000 employed workers. Renton has a wide may of both long established mid new and evolving business sectors. Retail businesses, restaurants and bars, auto sales, hospitality, healthcare, and office workers are well represented. 3. The statewide minimum wage is not sufficient to afford rising rents and costs of living in Renton. According to the National Low Income Housing Coalition's Out of Reach 2022 report, a worker making Washington's minimum wage would have to work 72 hours each week (up from 70 hours each week in 2021) to afford a modest one -bedroom rental home at Fair Market Rent. 4. When working families earn insufficient income due to low wages and involuntary under -employment, they struggle to pay for basic necessities like health cue, child care, and groceries, and they are more likely to be evicted and become homeless. - 5. Nearby King County cities of SeaTac, Seattle, and Tukwila enacted higher minimum wages in 2013, 2014, and 2022 respectively, but until now Renton has not followed suit. 6. Children growing up in poverty experience insecurity with housing, nutrition, and health care while enduring other hardships that prevent their ability to learn in school. Full time working parents must be able to reasonably provide for then family to ensure access to the opportunities and promise of public education, Section 2. Intent. It is the intent of the people to establish fair labor standards and protect the rights of workers by: (1) ensuring that the vast majority of employees in the City of Renton receive a minimum wage comparable to employees in the nearby cities of Tukwila, SeaTac, and Seattle; (2) requiring covered employers to offer additional hours of work to qualified part-time employees before hiving new employees to fill those hours; and (3) adopting enforcement requirements. Section 3. Large Employers Shall Pay Minimum Wages Comparable to Those in Nearby Cities. 1. Effective July 1, 2024, every large employer shall pay to each employee an hourly wage of not less than the 2023 new minimum wage rate in the City of Tukwila, established by City of Tukwila Initiative Measure No. 1, approved by voters in November 2022, adjusted for 2024 by the annual rate of inflation. 2. On January 1, 2025, and on each January 1 thereafter, the hourly minimum wage shall increase by the annual rate of inflation to maintain employee purchasing power. 3. By December 31, 2023, and by October 15 of each year thereafter, the Finance Department shall establish and publish the applicable hourly minimum wage for the following year using the annual rate of inflation. 4. For purposes of this chapter, the annual rate of inflation means 100 percent of the annual average growth rate of the bi-monthly Seattle -Tacoma -Bellevue Area Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers, termed CPI-W, for the 12-month period ending in August, provided that the percentage increase shall not be less than zero. 5. An employer must pay to its employees: a. All tips and gratuities; mid b. All service charges as defined under RCW 49.46.160 except those that, pursuant to RCW 49.46.160, are itemized as not being payable to the employee or employees servicing the customer. Tips and service charges paid to an employee are in addition to, and may not count towards, the employee's hourly minimum wage. Section 4. Other Covered Employers Shall Have a Multiyear Phase -In Period. Other covered employers shall phase in the new minimum wage, as follows: 1. Effective July 1, 2024, other covered employers shall pay employees not less than the hourly minimum wage established under Section 3 minus Two Dollars ($2) per hour. 2. Effective July 1, 2025, other covered employers shall pay employees not less than the hourly minimum wage established under Section 3 minus One Dollar ($1) per hour. 3. Effective July 1, 2026, and thereafter, all covered employers shall pay employees not less than the hourly minimum wage established under Section 3. Section 5. Coverage and Employer Classifications. 1. Covered employers must pay employees at least the minimum wage established by this chapter for each hour worked within the City. 2. Employer classification for the current calendar year will be calculated based upon the average number of employees during all weeks in the previous calendar year in which the employer had at least one employee. For employers that did not have any employees during the previous calendar year, classification will be based upon the average number of employees during the most recent three months of the current year. In this determination, all employees will be counted, regardless of their location, and including employees who worked in full-time employment, part-time employment, joint employment, temporary employment, or through the services of a temporary services or staffing agency or similar entity. 3. Employer classification for the current calendar year will be calculated based upon the gross revenue for the previous year. For employers that did not have gross revenue during the previous calendar year, annual gross revenue will be calculated from the gross revenue during the most recent three months of the current year, 4. For the purposes of employer classification, separate entities will be considered a single employer if they form an integrated enterprise or they are under joint control by one of those entities or a separate entity. The factors to consider in making this assessment include, but are not limited to: a. Degree of interrelation between the operations of multiple entities; b. Degree to which the entities share common management; C. Centralized control of labor relations; and d. Degree of common ownership or financial control over the entities. Section 6. Part -Time Employees Shall Have Fair Access to Additional Hours. 1. Before hiring additional employees or subcontractors, including hiring through the use of temporary services or staffing agencies, covered employers must offer additional hours of work to existing employees who, in the employer's good faith and reasonable judgment, have the skills and experience to perform the work, and shall use a reasonable, transparent, and nondiscriminatory process to distribute the hours of work among those existing employees. 2. This section shall not be construed to require any employer to offer an employee work hours if the employer would be required to compensate the employee at time -and -a -half or other premium rate under any law or collective bargaining agreement, nor to prohibit any employer from offering such work hours. Section 7. Retaliation Prohibited. 1. No employer or any other person shall interfere with, restrain, or deny the exercise of, or the attempt to exercise, any right protected under this chapter. 2. No employer or any other person shall take any adverse action against any person because the person has exercised in good faith the rights under this chapter. Such rights include but are not limited to the right to make inquiries about die rights protected under this chapter; the right to inform others about their rights under this chapter; the right to inform the person's employer, union, or similar organization, and/or the person's legal counsel or any other person about an alleged violation of this chapter; the right to bring a civil action for an alleged violation of this chapter; the right to testify in a proceeding under or related to this chapter; the right to refuse to participate in an activity that would result in a violation of city, state, or federal law; and the right to oppose any policy, practice, or act that is unlawful under this chapter. 3. For the purposes of this section, an adverse action means denying ajob or promotion, demoting, terminating, failing to rehire after a seasonal interruption of work, threatening, penalizing, retaliating, engaging in unfair immigration -related practices, filing a false report with a government agency, changing an employee's status to nonemployee, decreasing or declining to provide additional work hours when they otherwise would have been offered, scheduling an employee for hours outside of their availability, or otherwise discriminating against any person for any reason prohibited by this chapter. "Adverse action" for an employee may involve any aspect of employment, including pay, work hours, responsibilities, or other material change in the terms and conditions of employment. 4. No employer or any other person shall communicate to a person exercising rights protected under this chapter, directly or indirectly, the willingness to inform a government employee that the person is not lawfully in the United States, or to report, or to make an implied or express assertion of a willingness to report, suspected citizenship or immigration status of the person or a family member of the person to a federal, state, or local agency because the person has exercised a right under this chapter. 5. There shall be a rebuttable presumption of unlawful retaliation if an employer or any other person takes an adverse action against a person within 90 days of the person's exercise of any right protected in this chapter. However, in the case of seasonal work that ended before the close of the 90-day period, the presumption also applies if the employer fails to rehire a former employee at the next opportunity for work in the same position. The employer may rebut the presumption with clear and convincing evidence that the adverse action was taken for a permissible purpose. 6. Standard of Proof. Proof of retaliation under this chapter shall be sufficient upon a showing that an employer or any other person has taken an adverse action against a person and the person's exercise of rights protected in this chapter was a motivating factor in the adverse action, unless the employer can prove that the action would have been taken in the absence of such protected activity. 7. The protections afforded under this section shall apply to any person who mistakenly but in good faith alleges violations of this chapter. Section 8. Enforcement. 1. Any person or class of persons that suffers financial injury as a result of a violation of this chapter or is the subject of prohibited retaliation under this chapter, or any other individual or entity acting on their behalf, may bring a civil action in a court of competent jurisdiction against the employer or other person violating this chapter and, upon prevailing, shall be awarded reasonable attorney fees and costs and such legal or equitable relief as may be appropriate to remedy the violation including, without limitation, the payment of any unpaid wages plus interest due to the person and liquidated damages in an additional amount of up to twice the unpaid wages; compensatory damages; and a penalty payable to any aggrieved party of up to $5,000 if the aggrieved party was subject to prohibited retaliation. For the purposes of this section, an aggrieved party means an employee or other person who suffers tangible or intangible harm due to an employer or other person's violation of this chapter. Interest shall accrue from the date the unpaid wages were first due at the higher of twelve percent per antrum or the maximum rate permitted under RCW 19.52.020. 2. For purposes of determining membership within a class of persons entitled to bring an action under this section, two or more employees are similarly situated if they: a. Are or were employed by the same employer or employers, whether concurrently or otherwise, at some point during the applicable statute of limitations period; b. Allege one or more violations that raise similar questions as to liability; and C. Seek similar forms of relief. d. Employees shall not be considered dissimilar solely because their claims seek damages that differ in amount, or theirjob titles or other means of classifying employees differ in ways that are unrelated to their claims. 3. Each covered employer shall retain records as required by RCW 49.46.070, as well as such information as the City may require to confirm compliance with this chapter. If an employer fails to retain such records, there shall be a presumption, rebuttable by clear and convincing evidence, that the employer violated this chapter for the periods mid for each employee for whom records were not retained. 4. Employers shall permit authorized City representatives access to work sites and relevant records for the purpose of monitoring compliance with the chapter and investigating complaints of noncompliance, including production for inspection and copying of employment records. The City may designate representatives, including city contractors and representatives of unions or worker advocacy organizations, to access the workshe and relevant records. 5. Complaints that any provision of this chapter has been violated may also be presented to the City Attorney, who is hereby authorized to investigate and, if they deem appropriate, initiate legal or other action to remedy any violation of this chapter. 6. The City has the authority to issue administrative citations and to order injunctive relief including reinstatement, restitution, payment of back wages, or other forms of relief. 7. The City may, in the exercise of its authority and performance of its functions and services, agree by contract or otherwise to participate jointly or in cooperation with Washington State, King County, or any city, town, or other incorporated place, or subdivision thereof, or engage outside counsel, to enforce this chapter. 8. The remedies and penalties provided under this chapter are cumulative and are not intended to be exclusive of any other available remedies or penalties, including existing remedies for enforcement of Renton Municipal Code chapters. 9. The statute of limitations for any enforcement action shall be five (5) years. Section 9. A new section is added to Renton Municipal Code (RMC) Section 5-5-4 as follows: 1. The Finance Director may deny, suspend, or revoke any license under this chapter for violation of this ordinance. 2. The Finance Director must deny, suspend, or revoke any license under this chapter for repeated intentional violations of this ordinance. 3. Any action by the Finance Director under this section shall be subject to the procedures and requirements of RMC subsection 5-5-3.E, as well as other due process rights that a court may require. Section 10. Definitions. For the purposes of this chapter, the following terms shall have the following meanings: "City" means the City of Renton. "Covered employer" means an employer that either (1) employs at least 15 employees regardless of where those employees are employed, or (2) has annual gross revenue over $2 million. "Effective date" is the effective date of this ordinance. "Employee" is defined as set forth in RCW 49.46.010. An employer bears the burden of proof that the individual is, as a matter of economic reality, in business for oneself rather than dependent upon the alleged employer. "Employer" is defined as set forth in RCW 49.46.010. "Employer classification" includes the determination of whether an employer is a covered employer and whether a covered employer is a large employer. "Franchise" means an agreement, express or implied, oral or written by which: 1. A person is granted the right to engage in the business of offering, selling, or distributing goods or services under a marketing plan prescribed or suggested in substantial part by the grantor or its affiliate; 2. The operation of the business is substantially associated with a trademark, service mark, trade time, advertising, or other commercial symbol; designating, owned by, or licensed by the grantor or its affiliate; and 3. The person pays, agrees to pay, or is required to pay, directly or indirectly, a franchise fee. The term, "franchise fee" is meant to be construed broadly to include any instance in which the grantor or its affiliate derives income or profit from a person who enters into a franchise agreement with the grantor. "Hamworked within the City" is to be interpreted according to its ordinary meaning, including all hours worked within the geographic boundaries of the City, excluding time spent in the City solely for the purpose of traveling through the City from a point of origin outside the City to a destination outside the City, with no employment -related or commercial stops in the City except for refueling or the employee's personal meals or errands. "Large Employer" means all employers that employ more than 500 employees, regardless of where those employees me employed, and all franchisees associated with a franchisor or a network of franchises with franchisees that employ more than 500 employees in aggregate. "Other covered employer" means a covered employer that does not qualify as a large employer. "Service charge" is defined as set forth in RCW 49.46.160(2)(c). "Tips" means a verifiable sum to be presented by a customer as a gift or gratuity in recognition of some service performed for the customer by the employee receiving the tip. "Wage" is defined as set forth in RCW 49.46.010. Section 11. Other Legal Requirements. This ordinance shall not be construed to preempt, limit, or otherwise affect the applicability of any other law, regulation, requirement, policy, or standard that provides for greater wages or compensation; and nothing in this ordinance shall be interpreted or applied so as to create any power or duty in conflict with federal or state law. Section 12. Rulemaking. Within 180 days after the effective date, the City shall adopt roles and procedures to implement mid ensure compliance with this chapter, which shall require employers to maintain adequate records and to annually certify compliance with this chapter. The City shall seek feedback from worker organizations and covered employers before finalizing the rules and procedures. Section 13. Constitutional Subject. For constitutional purposes, this measure's subject "concerns labor standards for certain employers." See Filo Foods, LLC v. City of SeaTac, 183 Wash. 2d 770, 783, 357 P.3d 1040, 1047 (2015) (upholding this statement of subject for an initiative that set a minimum wage and addressed employees' access to hours). Section 14. Codification. All sections of this ordinance except section 9 shall be codified in a new chapter of the Renton Municipal Code. Section 15. Election date. In the event that the election on this measure takes place later than November 7, 2023, the Finance Department must establish and publish the initial minimum wage within 30 days of the effective date. Section 16. Severability. The provisions of this ordinance are declared to be separate and severable. If any clause, sentence, paragraph, subdivision, section, subsection, or portion of this ordinance, or the application thereof to any employer, employee, or circumstance, is held to be invalid, it shall not affect the validity of the remainder of this ordinance, or the validity of its application to other persons or circumstances. r� Name Of Canvasser If�,1 Date Canvassed:tA�, etvasser Email and Phone Number: t Raising The Minimum Wage In Renton INITIATIVE PETITION FOR SUBMISSION TO THE RENTON CITY COUNCIL TO: The City Council of the City of Renton: We, the undersigned registered voters of the City of Renton, State of Washington, residing at the addresses set forth opposite our respective names, being equal to fifteen percent (15%) of the total number of names of persons listed as registered voters within the City on the day of the last preceding City general election, respectfully request that the following ordinance be enacted by the City Council or, if not so enacted, be submitted to a vote of the residents of the City. The title of the said ordinance is as follows: ORDINANCE CONCERNING LABOR STANDARDS FOR CERTAIN EMPLOYEES A full, true and correct copy of the ordinance is attached to this Petition. Each of us for himself or herself says: I have personally signed this petition; I am a registered voter of the City of Renton, State of Washington; and my residence is correctly stated. Signature Printed Name Street and Number City Phone Number Email s v� Printed Name 1234 Anywhere St. Renton 206-555-1234 maria@something.org Z3DO Ktr , Renton 2©(0 -4�` (`7-i�c��� DcwclLAS,(C2 CA5Ch0 «1V"irNs,c-ot4_t 2. .� � �'�'IC-/AIto nt I W l .E (c Renton 3. p1� ��6N( 5 . Renton `Sob 1 n Ae x AJe V F 9oo56 Renton 11"I�� ����w�✓ 1�U�Z �l �i ���� S� I��� Renton 5. 0 7 10. 1rrr*et'cu 0nA NFL 1 95 3 se 1, -14- ( q . c,�6O�c� Renton76 tk 400 Al (()*ti enton Renton Renton yz�'Z�Z-g�2s Sydney ells@��v(al'�Can-, Date 4/10/2023 i o/LOU Vzolz's �(� u(���3r�7 (�, KUP�r��'�• GaM 5�1��Z3 Renton q Z �_ 56)6 - b `ti I 5/ZC)/z3 Warning Every person who signs this petition with any other than his or her true name, or who knowingly signs more than one of these petitions, or signs a petition seek- ing an election when he or she is not a legal voter, or signs a petition when he or she is otherwise not qualified to sign, or who makes herein any false statement, shall be guilty of a misdemeanor. AN ORDINANCE concerning labor standards for certain employees. Section 1. Findings. 1. The people of the City of Renton hereby adopt this citizen initiative addressing labor standards for certain employees, for the purpose of ensuring that, to the extent reasonably practicable, people employed in Renton have good wages and access to sufficient hours of work. 2. The City of Renton is one of the largest job centers in Washington State, with thousands of shoppers and workers visiting daily to participate in the local economy. Renton is home to The Landing shopping center, the historic Downtown Urban Center, as well as retail and commercial office and warehouse districts around the Rainier/Grady Way Junction. The City is a net importer ofjobs, with nearly 60,000 employed workers. Renton has a wide array of both long established and new and evolving business sectors. Retail businesses, restamants and bars, auto sales, hospitality, healthcare, and office workers ace well represented. 3. The statewide minimum wage is not sufficient to afford rising rents and costs of living in Renton. According to the National Low Income Housing Coalition's Out of Reach 2022 report, a worker making Washington's minimum wage would have to work 72 hours each week (up from 70 hours each week in 2021) to afford a modest one -bedroom rental home at Fair Market Rent. 4. When working Families earn insufficient income due to low wages and involuntary under -employment, they struggle to pay for basic necessities like health care, child care, and groceries, and they are more likely to be evicted and become homeless. 5. Nearby King County cities of SeaTac, Seattle, and Tukwila enacted higher minimum wages in 2013, 2014, and 2022 respectively, but until now Renton has not followed suit. 6. Children growing up in poverty experience insecurity with housing, nutrition, and health care while enduring other hardships that prevent their ability to learn in school. Full time working parents must be able to reasonably provide for their family to ensure access to the opportunities and promise of public education. Section 2. Intent. It is the intent of the people to establish fair labor standards and protect the rights of workers by: (1) ensuring that the vast majority of employees in the City of Renton receive a minimum wage comparable to employees in the nearby cities of Tukwila, SeaTac, and Seattle; (2) requiring covered employers to offer additional hours of work to qualified part-time employees before hiring new employees to fill those hours; and (3) adopting enforcement requirements. Section 3. Large Employers Shall Pay Minimum Wages Comparable to Those in Nearby Cities. 1. Effective July 1, 2024, every large employer shall pay to each employee an hourly wage of not less than the 2023 new minimum wage rate in the City of Tukwila, established by City of Tukwila Initiative Measure No. 1, approved by voters in November 2022, adjusted for 2024 by the annual rate of inflation. 2. On January 1, 2025, and on each January 1 thereafter, the hourly minimum wage shall increase by the annual rate of inflation to maintain employee purchasing power. 3. By December 31, 2023, and by October 15 of each year thereafter, the Finance Department shall establish and publish the applicable hourly minimum wage for the following year using the annual rate of inflation. 4. For purposes of this chapter, the annual rate of inflation means 100 percent of the annual average growth rate of the bi-monthly Seattle -Tacoma -Bellevue Area Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers, termed CPI-W, for the 12-month period ending in August, provided that the percentage increase shall not be less than zero. 5. An employer must pay to its employees: a. All tips and gratuities; and b. All service charges as defined under RCW 49.46.160 except those that, pursuant to RCW 49.46.160, are itemized as not being payable to the employee or employees servicing the customer. Tips and service charges paid to an employee are in addition to, and may not count towards, the employee's hourly minimum wage. Section 4. Other Covered Employers Shall Have a Multiyear Pbase-In Period. Other covered employers shall phase in the new minimum wage, as follows: I. Effective July 1, 2024, other covered employers shall pay employees not less than the hourly minimum wage established under Section 3 minus Two Dollars ($2) per hour. 2. Effective July 1, 2025, other covered employers shall pay employees not less than the hourly minimum wage established under Section 3 minus One Dollar ($1) per hour. 3. Effective July 1, 2026, and thereafter, all covered employers shall pay employees not less than the hourly minimum wage established under Section 3. Section 5. Coverage and Employer Classifications. I. Covered employers must pay employees at least the minimum wage established by this chapter for each hour worked within the City. 2. Employer classification for the current calendar year will be calculated based upon the average number of employees during all weeks in the previous calendar year in which the employer had at least one employee. For employers that did not have any employees during the previous calendar year, classification will be based upon the average number of employees during the most recent three months of the current year. In this determination, all employees will be counted, regardless of thew location, and including employees who worked in full-time employment, part-time employment, joint employment, temporary employment, or through the services of a temporary services or staffing agency or similar entity. 3. Employer classification for the current calendar year will be calculated based upon the gross revenue for the previous year. For employers that did not have gross revenue timing the previous calendar year, annual gross revenue will be calculated from the gross revenue during the most recent three months of the current year. 4. For the purposes of employer classification, separate entities will be considered a single employer if they form an integrated enterprise or they are under joint control by one of those entities or a separate entity. The factors to consider in making this assessment include, but are not limited to: a. Degree of interrelation between the operations of multiple entities; b. Degree to which the entities share common management; C. Centralized control of labor relations; and d. Degree of common ownership or financial control over the entities. Section 6. Part -Time Employees Shall Have Fair Access to Additional Hours. 1. Before hiring additional employees or subcontractors, including hiring through the use of temporary services or staffing agencies, covered employers must offer additional hours of work to existing employees who, in the employer's good faith and reasonable judgment, have the skills and experience to perform the work, and shall use a reasonable, transparent, and nondiscriminatory process to distribute the hours of work among those existing employees. 2. This section shall not be construed to require any employer to offer an employee work hours if the employer would be required to compensate the employee at time-and-a-halfor other premium rate under any law or collective bargaining agreement, nor to prohibit any employer from offering such work hours. Section 7. Retaliation Prohibited. I. No employer or any other person shall interfere with, restrain, or deny the exercise of, or the attempt to exercise, any right protected under this chapter. 2. No employer or any other person shall take any adverse action against any person because the person has exercised in good faith the rights under this chapter. Such rights include but are not limited to the right to make inquiries about the rights protected under this chapter; the right to inform others about their rights under this chapter', the right to inform the person's employer, union, or similar organization, and/or the person's legal counsel or any other person about an alleged violation of this chapter; the right to bring a civil action for an alleged violation of this chapter; the right to testify in a proceeding under or related to this chapter; the right to refuse to participate in an activity that would result in a violation of city, state, or federal law; and the right to oppose any policy, practice, or act that is unlawful under this chapter. 3. For the purposes of this section, an adverse action means denying ajob or promotion, demoting, terminating, failing to rehire after a seasonal interruption of work, threatening, penalizing, retaliating, engaging in unfair immigration -related practices, filing a false report with a government agency, changing an employee's status to nonemployee, decreasing or declining to provide additional work hours when they otherwise would have been offered, scheduling an employee for hours outside of their availability, or otherwise discriminating against any person for any reason prohibited by this chapter. "Adverse action" for an employee may involve any aspect of employment, including pay, work hours, responsibilities, or other material change in the terms and conditions of employment. 4. No employer or any other person shall communicate to a person exercising rights protected under this chapter, directly or indirectly, the willingness to inform a government employee that the person is not lawfully in the United States, or to report, or to make an implied or express assertion of a willingness to report, suspected citizenship or immigration status of the person or a family member of the person to a federal, state, or local agency because the person has exercised a right under this chapter. 5. There shall be a rebuttable presumption of unlawful retaliation if an employer or any other person takes an adverse action against a person within 90 days of the person's exercise of any right protected in this chapter. However, in the case of seasonal work that ended before the close of the 90-day period, the presumption also applies if the employer fails to rehire a former employee at the next opportunity for work in the same position. The employer may rebut the presumption with clear and convincing evidence that the adverse action was taken for a permissible purpose. 6. Standard of Proof. Proof of retaliation under this chapter shall be sufficient upon a showing that an employer or any other person has taken an adverse action against a person and the person's exercise of rights protected in this chapter was a motivating factor in the adverse action, unless the employer can prove that the action would have been taken in the absence of such protected activity. 7. The protections afforded under this section shall apply to any person who mistakenly but in good faith alleges violations of this chapter. Section 8. Enforcement. I. Any person or class of persons that suffers financial injury as a result of a violation of this chapter or is the subject of prohibited retaliation under this chapter, or any other individual or entity acting on their behalf, may bring a civil action in a court of competent jurisdiction against the employer or other person violating this chapter and, upon prevailing, shall be awarded reasonable attorney fees and costs and such legal or equitable relief as may be appropriate to remedy the violation including, without limitation, the payment of any unpaid wages plus interest due to the person and liquidated damages in an additional amount of up to twice the unpaid wages; compensatory damages; and a penalty payable to any aggrieved party of up to $5,000 if the aggrieved party was subject to prohibited retaliation. For the purposes of this section, an aggrieved party means an employee or other person who suffers tangible or intangible harm due to an employer or other person's violation of this chapter. Interest shall accrue from the date the unpaid wages were first due at the higher of twelve percent per arum or the maximum rate permitted under RCW 19.52.020. 2. For purposes of determining membership within a class of persons entitled to bring an action under this section, two or more employees are similarly situated if they: a. Are or were employed by the same employer or employers, whether concurrently or otherwise, at some point during the applicable statute of limitations period; b. Allege one or more violations that raise similar questions as to liability; and C. Seek similar forms of relief. it. Employees shall not be considered dissimilar solely because their claims seek damages that differ in amount, or theirjob titles or other means of classifying employees differ in ways that are unrelated to their claims. 3. Each covered employer shall retain records as required by RCW 49.46.070, as well as such information as the City may require to confirm compliance with this chapter. If an employer fails to retain such records, there shall be a presumption, rebuttable by clear and convincing evidence, that the employer violated this chapter for the periods and for each employee for whom records were not retained. 4. Employers shall permit authorized City representatives access to work sites and relevant records for the purpose of monitoring compliance with the chapter and investigating complaints of noncompliance, including production for inspection and copying of employment records. The City may designate representatives, including city contractors and representatives of unions or worker advocacy organizations, to access the worksite and relevant records. 5. Complaints that any provision of this chapter has been violated may also be presented to the City Attorney, who is hereby authorized to investigate and, if they deem appropriate, initiate legal or other action to remedy any violation of this chapter. 6. The City has the authority to issue administrative citations and to order injunctive relief including reinstatement, restitution, payment of back wages, or other forms of relief. 7. The City may, in the exercise of its authority and performance of its functions and services, agree by contract or otherwise to participate jointly or in cooperation with Washington State, King County, or any city, town, or other incorporated place, or subdivision thereof, or engage outside counsel, to enforce this chapter. S. The remedies and penalties provided under this chapter are cumulative and are not intended to be exclusive of any other available remedies or penalties, including existing remedies for enforcement of Renton Municipal Code chapters. 9. The statute of limitations for any enforcement action shall be five (5) years. Section 9. A new section is added to Renton Municipal Code (RMC) Section 5-5-4 as follows: 1. The Finance Director may deny, suspend, or revoke any license under this chapter for violation of this ordinance. 2. The Finance Director must deny, suspend, or revoke any license under this chapter for repeated intentional violations of this ordinance. 3, Any action by the Finance Director under this section shall be subject to the procedures and requirements of RMC subsection 5-5-3.E, as well as other due process rights that a court may require. Section 10. Definitions. For the purposes of this chapter, the following terms shall have the following meanings: "City" means the City of Renton. "Covered employer" means an employer that either (1) employs at least 15 employees regardless of where those employees are employed, or (2) has annual gross revenue over $2 million. "Effective date" is the effective date of this ordinance. "Employee" is defined as set forth in RCW 49.46.010. An employer bears the burden of proof that the individual is, as a matter of economic reality, in business for oneself rather than dependent upon the alleged employer. "Employer" is defined as set forth in RCW 49.46.010. "Employer classification" includes the determination of whether an employer is a covered employer and whether a covered employer is a large employer. "Franchise" means an agreement, express or implied, oral or written by which: 1. A person is granted the right to engage in the business of offering, selling, or distributing goods or services under a marketing plan prescribed or suggested in substantial part by the grantor or its affiliate; 2. The operation of the business is substantially associated with a trademark, service mark, trade name, advertising, or other commercial symbol; designating, owned by, or licensed by the grantor or its affiliate; and 3. The person pays, agrees to pay, or is required to pay, directly or indirectly, a franchise fee. The term, "franchise fee" is meant to be construed broadly to include any instance in which the grantor or its affiliate derives income or profit from a person who enters into a franchise agreement with the grantor. "Hour worked within the City" is to be interpreted according to its ordinary meaning, including all hours worked within the geographic boundaries of the City, excluding time spent in the City solely for the purpose of traveling through the City from a point of origin outside the City to a destination outside the City, with no employment -related or commercial stops in the City except for refueling or the employee's personal meals or errands. "Large Employer" means all employers that employ more than 500 employees, regardless of where those employees are employed, and all franchisees associated with a franchisor or a network of franchises with franchisees that employ more than 500 employees in aggregate. "Other covered employer" means a covered employer that does not qualify as a large employer. "Service charge" is defined as set forth in RCW 49.46.160(2)(c). "Tips" means a verifiable sum to be presented by a customer as a gift or gratuity in recognition of some service performed for the customer by the employee receiving the tip. "Wage" is defined as set forth in RCW 49.46.010. Section 11. Other Legal Requirements. This ordinance shall not be construed to preempt, limit, or otherwise affect the applicability of any other law, regulation, requirement, policy, or standard that provides for greater wages or compensation; and nothing in this ordinance shall be interpreted or applied so as to create any power or duty in conflict with federal or state law. Section 12. Rulemaking. Within 180 days after the effective date, the City shall adopt rules and procedures to implement and ensure compliance with this chapter, which shall require employers to maintain adequate records and to annually certify compliance with this chapter. The City shall seek feedback from worker organizations and covered employers before finalizing the rules and procedures. Section 13. Constitutional Subject. For constitutional purposes, this measure's subject "concerns labor standards for certain employers." See File Foods, LLC v. City of SeaTac, 183 Wash. 2d 770, 783, 357 P.3d 1040, 1047 (2015) (upholding this statement of subject for an initiative that set a minimum wage and addressed employees' access to hours). Section 14. Codification. All sections of this ordinance except section 9 shall be codified in a new chapter of the Renton Municipal Code. Section 15. Election date. In the event that the election on this measure takes place later than November 7, 2023, the Finance Department must establish and publish the initial minimum wage within 30 days of the effective date. Section 16. Severability. The provisions of this ordinance are declared to be separate and severable. If any clause, sentence, paragraph, subdivision, section, subsection, or portion of this ordinance, or the application thereof to any employer, employee, or circumstance, is held to be invalid, it shall not affect the validity of the remainder of this ordinance, or the validity of its application to other persons or circumstances. Name Of Canvasser: Date Canvassed: Canvasser Email and Phone Number: Raising The Minimum Wage In Renton INITIATIVE PETITION FOR SUBMISSION TO THE RENTON CITY COUNCIL TO: The City Council of the City of Renton: We, the undersigned registered voters of the City of Renton, State of Washington, residing at the addresses set forth opposite our respective names, being equal to fifteen percent (15%) of the total number of names of persons listed as registered voters within the City on the day of the last preceding City general election, respectfully request that the following ordinance be enacted by the City Council or, if not so enacted, be submitted to a vote of the residents of the City. The title of the said ordinance is as follows: ORDINANCE CONCERNING LABOR STANDARDS FOR CERTAIN EMPLOYEES A full, true and correct copy of the ordinance is attached to this Petition. Each of us for himself or herself says: I have personally signed this petition; I am a registered voter of the City of Renton, State of Washington; and my residence is correctly stated. Signature Printed Name Street and Number City Phone Number Email Date S400&'vetet Printed Name 1234 Anywhere St. Renton 206-555-1234 maria@something.org 4/10/2023 1. (,1 Lvj -'� "i �L2. { 3. i dVL 4. 5. 7 6. 7. 8. r reA- J vt, U ro L4 t1�2 )orb/ -(n LA o4a--, UQo' . 5.1 9S l51 s I 0 J LOOk 1T6 r, d 4r I JCS aoo '�jIQS IllpS2 I�� s�' 10. �A/ A ��7 Renton Renton IOrdI, , Renton Renton 111N k �Ishe�icA in l Co> Lhosm000lafe a�g, l.Com /C) E Renton V)i '\ 1. Carr1 Renton _� (�'•-5'zZ-?Kd�f /yacu`.�SFCA Renton LILS Z33- �S75g �(O(OV-k-' IaS -q Renton q2S 5D 2%5�� Renton 'bqg> ` Warning Every person who signs this petition with any other than his or her true name, or who knowingly signs more than one of these petitions, or signs a petition seek- ing an election when he or she is not a legal voter, or signs a petition when he or she is otherwise not qualified to sign, or who makes herein any false statement, shall be guilty of a misdemeanor. a"2> �7D 19-6 / AN ORDINANCE concerning labor standards for certain employees. Section 1. Findings. 1. The people of the City of Renton hereby adopt this citizen initiative addressing labor standards for certain employees, for the purpose of ensuring that, to the extent reasonably practicable, people employed in Renton have good wages and access to sufficient hours of work. 2. The City of Renton is one of the largest job centers in Washington State, with thousands of shoppers and workers visiting daily to participate in the local economy. Renton is home to The Landing shopping center, the historic Downtown Urban Center, as well as retail and commercial office and warehouse districts around the Rainier/Grady Way Junction. The City is a net importer ofjobs, with nearly 60,000 employed workers. Renton has a wide array of both long established and new and evolving business sectors. Retail businesses, restaurants and bars, auto sales, hospitality, healthcare, and office workers are well represented'. 3. The statewide minimum wage is not sufficient to afford rising rents and costs of living in Renton. According to the National Low Income Housing Coalition's Out of Reach 2022 report, a worker making Washington's minimum wage would have to work 72 hours each week (up from 70 hours each week in 2021) to afford a modest one -bedroom rental home at Fair Market Rent, 4. When working families earn insufficient income due to low wages and involuntary under -employment, they struggle to pay for basic necessities like health care, child care, and groceries, and they are more likely to be evicted and become homeless. 5. Nearby King County cities of SeaTac, Seattle, and Tukwila enacted higher minimum wages in 2013, 2014, and 2022 respectively, but until now Renton has not followed suit. 6. Children growing up in poverty experience insecurity with housing, nutrition, and health care while enduring other hardships that prevent their ability to learn in school. Full time working parents must be able to reasonably provide for their family to ensure access to the opportunities and promise of public education. Section 2. Intent. It is the intent of the people to establish fair labor standards and protect the rights of workers by: (1) ensuring that the vast majority of employees in the City of Renton receive a minimum wage comparable to employees in the nearby cities of Tukwila, SeaTac, and Seattle; (2) requiring covered employers to offer additional hours of work to qualified part-time employees before hiring new employees to fill those hours; and (3) adopting enforcement requirements. Section 3. Large Employers Shall Pay Minimum Wages Comparable to Those in Nearby Cities. 1. Effective July 1, 2024, every large employer shall pay to each employee an hourly wage of not less than the 2023 new minimum wage rate in the City of Tukwila, established by City of Tukwila Initiative Measure No. 1, approved by voters in November 2022, adjusted for 2024 by the annual rate of inflation. 2. On January 1, 2025, and on each January I thereafter, the hourly minimum wage shall increase by the annual rate of inflation to maintain employee purchasing power. 3. By December 31, 2023, and by October 15 of each year thereafter, the Finance Department shall establish and publish the applicable hourly minimum wage for the following year using the annual rate of inflation. 4. For purposes of this chapter, the annual rate of inflation means 100 percent of the annual average growth rate of the bi-monthly Seattle -Tacoma -Bellevue Area Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers, termed CPI-W, for the 12-month period ending in August, provided that the percentage increase shall not be less than zero. 5. An employer must pay to its employees: a. All tips and gratuities; and b. All service charges as defined wider RCW 49.46.160 except those that, pursuant to RCW 49.46.160, are itemized as not being payable to the employee or employees servicing the customer. Tips and service charges paid to an employee are in addition to, and may not count towards, the employee's hourly minimum wage. Section 4. Other Covered Employers Shall Have a Multiyear Phase -In Period. Other covered employers shall phase in the new minimum wage, as follows: 1. Effective July 1, 2024, other covered employers shall pay employees not less than the hourly minimum wage established under Section 3 minus Two Dollars ($2) per hour. 2. Effective July 1, 2025, other covered employers shall pay employees not less than the hourly minimum wage established under Section 3 minus One Dollar ($1) per hour. 3. Effective July 1, 2026, and thereafter, all covered employers shall pay employees not less than the hourly minimum wage established under Section 3. Section 5. Coverage and Employer Classifications. 1. Covered employers must pay employees at least the minimum wage established by this chapter for each hour worked within the City. 2. Employer classification for the current calendar year will be calculated based upon the average number of employees. during all weeks in the previous calendar year in which the employer had at least one employee. For employers that did not have any employees during the previous calendar year, classification will be based upon the average number of employees during the most recent three months of the current year. In this determination, all employees will be counted, regardless of their location, and including employees who worked in full-time employment, part-time employment, joint employment, temporary employment, or through the services of a temporary services or staffing agency or similar entity. 3. Employer classification for the current calendar year will be calculated based upon the gross revenue for the previous year. For employers that did not have gross revenue during the previous calendar year, annual gross revenue will be calculated from the gross revenue during the most recent three months of the current year. 4. For the purposes of employer classification, separate entities will be considered a single employer if they form an integrated enterprise or they are under joint control by one of those entities or a separate entity. The factors to consider in making this assessment include, but are not limited to: a. Degree of interrelation between the operations of multiple entities; b. Degree to which the entities share common management; c, Centralized control of labor relations; and d. Degree of common ownership or financial control over the entities. Section 6. Part -Time Employees Shall Have Fair Access to Additional Hours. 1. Before hiring additional employees or subcontractors, including hiring through the use of temporary services or staffing agencies, covered employers must offer additional hours of work to existing employees who, in the employer's good faith and reasonable judgment, have the skills and experience to perform the work, and shall use a reasonable, transparent, and nondiscriminatory process to distribute the hours of work among those existing employees. 2. This section shall not be construed to require any employer to offer an employee work hours if the employer would be required to compensate the employee at time -and -a -half or other premium rate under any law or collective bargaining agreement, nor to prohibit any employer from offering such work hours. Section 7. Retaliation Prohibited. 1. No employer or any other person shall interfere with, restrain, or deny the exercise of, or the attempt to exercise, any right protected under this chapter. 2. No employer or any other person shall take any adverse action against any person because the person has exercised in good faith the rights under this chapter. Such rights include but we not limited to the right to make inquiries about the rights protected under this chapter; the right to inform others about their rights under this chapter; the right to inform the person's employer, union, or similar organization, and/or the person's legal counsel or any other person about an alleged violation of this chapter; the right to bring a civil action for an alleged violation of this chapter; the right to testify in a proceeding under or related to this chapter; the right to refuse to participate in an activity that would result in a violation of city, state, or federal law; and the right to oppose any policy, practice, or act that is unlawful wider this chapter. 3. For the purposes of this section, an adverse action means denying ajob or promotion, demoting, terminating, failing to rehire after a seasonal interruption of work, threatening, penalizing, retaliating, engaging in unfair immigration -related practices, filing a false report with a government agency, changing an employee's status to nonemployee, decreasing or declining to provide additional work hours when they otherwise would have been offered, scheduling an employee for hours outside of their availability, or otherwise discriminating against any person for any reason prohibited by this chapter. "Adverse action" for an employee may involve any aspect of employment, including pay, work hours, responsibilities, or other material change in the terms and conditions of employment. 4. No employer or any other person shall communicate to a person exercising rights protected under this chapter, directly or indirectly, the willingness to inform a government employee that the person is not lawfully in the United States, or to report, or to make an implied or express assertion of a willingness to report, suspected citizenship or immigration status of the person or a family member of the person to a federal, state, or local agency because the person has exercised a right under this chapter. 5. There shall be a rebuttable presumption of unlawful retaliation if an employer or any other person takes an adverse action against a person within 90 days of the person's exercise of any right protected in this chapter. However, in the case of seasonal work that ended before the close of the 90-day period, the presumption also applies if the employer fails to rehire a former employee at the next opportunity for work in the same position. The employer may rebut the presumption with clear and convincing evidence that the adverse action was taken for a permissible purpose. 6. Standard of Proof. Proof of retaliation under this chapter shall be sufficient upon a showing that an employer or any other person has taken an adverse action against a person and the person's exercise of rights protected in this chapter was a motivating factor in the adverse action, unless the employer can prove that the action would have been taken in the absence of such protected activity. 7. The protections afforded under this section shall apply to any person who mistakenly but in good faith alleges violations of this chapter. Section 8. Enforcement. 1. Any person or class of persons that suffers financial injury as a result of a violation of this chapter or is the subject of prohibited retaliation under this chapter, or any other individual or entity acting on their behalf, may bring a civil action in a court of competent jurisdiction against the employer or other person violating this chapter and, upon prevailing, shall be awarded reasonable attorney fees and costs and such legal or equitable relief as may be appropriate to remedy the violation including, without limitation, the payment of any unpaid wages plus interest due to the person and liquidated damages in an additional amount of up to twice the unpaid wages; compensatory damages; and a penalty payable to any aggrieved party of up to $5,000 if the aggrieved party was subject to prohibited retaliation. For the purposes of this section, an aggrieved party means an employee or other person who suffers tangible or intangible harm due to an employer or other person's violation of this chapter. Interest shall accrue from the date the unpaid wages were first due at the higher of twelve percent per antrum or the maximum rate permitted under RCW 19.52.020. 2. For purposes of determining membership within a class of persons entitled to bring an action under this section, two or more employees are similarly situated if they: a. Are or were employed by the same employer or employers, whether concurrently or otherwise, at some point during the applicable statute of limitations period; b. Allege one or more violations that raise similar questions as to liability; and C. Seek similar forms of relief. d. Employees shall not be considered dissimilar solely because their claims seek damages that differ in amount, or theirjob titles or other means of classifying employees differ in ways that are unrelated to their claims. 3. Each covered employer shall retain records as required by RCW 49.46.070, as well as such information as the City may require to confirm compliance with this chapter. If an employer fails to retain such records, there shall be a presumption, rebuttable by clear and convincing evidence, that the employer violated this chapter for the periods and for each employee for whom records were not retained. 4. Employers shall permit authorized City representatives access to work sites and relevant records for the purpose of monitoring compliance with the chapter and investigating complaints of noncompliance, including production for inspection and copying of employment records. The City may designate representatives, including city contractors and representatives of unions or worker advocacy organizations, to access the worksite and relevant records. 5. Complaints that any provision of this chapter has been violated may also be presented to the City Attorney, who is hereby authorized to investigate and, if they deem appropriate, initiate legal or other action to remedy any violation of this chapter. 6. The City has the authority to issue administrative citations and to order injunctive relief including reinstatement, restitution, payment of back wages, or other forms of relief. 7. The City may, in the exercise of its authority and performance of its functions and services, agree by contract or otherwise to participate jointly or in cooperation with Washington State, King County, or any city, town, or other incorporated place, or subdivision thereof, or engage outside counsel, to enforce this chapter. 8. The remedies and penalties provided under this chapter are cumulative and are not intended to be exclusive of any other available remedies or penalties, including existing remedies for enforcement of Renton Municipal Code chapters. 9. The statute of limitations for any enforcement action shall be five (5) years. Section 9. A new section is added to Renton Municipal Code (RMC) Section 5-5-4 as follows: 1. The Finance Director may deny, suspend, or revoke any license under this chapter for violation of this ordinance. 2. The Finance Director must deny, suspend, or revoke any license under this chapter for repeated intentional violations of this ordinance. 3. Any action by the Finance Director under this section shall be subject to the procedures and requirements of RMC subsection 5-5-3,E, as well as other due process rights that a court may require. Section 10. Definitions. For the purposes of this chapter, the following terms shall have the following meanings: "City" means the City of Renton. "Covered employer" means an employer that either (1) employs at least 15 employees regardless of where those employees are employed, or (2) has annual gross revenue over $2 million. "Effective date" is the effective date of this ordinance. "Employee" is defined as set forth in RCW 49.46.010. An employer bears the burden of proof that the individual is, as a matter of economic reality, in business for oneself rather than dependent upon the alleged employer. "Employer" is defined as set forth in RCW 49.46.010. "Employer classification" includes the determination of whether an employer is a covered employer and whether a covered employer is a large employer. "Franchise" means an agreement, express or implied, oral or written by which: I. A person is granted the right to engage in the business of offering, selling, or distributing goods or services under a marketing plan prescribed or suggested in substantial part by the grantor or its affiliate; 2. The operation of the business is substantially associated with a trademark, service mark, trade time, advertising, or other commercial symbol; designating, owned by, or licensed by the grantor or its affiliate; and 3. The person pays, agrees to pay, or is required to pay, directly or indirectly, a franchise fee. The term, "franchise fee" is meant to be construed broadly to include any instance in which the grantor or its affiliate derives income or profit from a person who enters into a franchise agreement with the grantor. "Hour worked within the City" is to be interpreted according to its ordinary meaning, including all hours worked within the geographic boundaries of the City, excluding time spent in the City solely for the purpose of traveling through the City from a point of origin outside the City to a destination outside the City, with no employment -related or commercial stops in the City except for refueling or the employee's personal meals or errands. "Large Employer" means all employers that employ more than 500 employees, regardless of where those employees are employed, and all franchisees associated with a franchisor or a network of franchises with franchisees that employ more than 500 employees in aggregate. "Other covered employer" means a covered employer that does not qualify as a large employer. "Service charge" is defined as set forth in RCW 49.46.160(2)(c). "Tips" means a verifiable sum to be presented by a customer as a gift or gratuity in recognition of some service performed for the customer by the employee receiving the tip. "Wage" is defined as set forth in RCW 49.46.010. Section 11. Other Legal Requirements. This ordinance shall not be construed to preempt, limit, or otherwise affect the applicability of any other law, regulation, requirement, policy, or standard that provides for greater wages or compensation; and nothing in this ordinance shall be interpreted or applied so as to create any power or duty in conflict with federal or state law. Section 12. Rulemaking. Within 180 days after the effective date, the City shall adopt rules and procedures to implement and ensure compliance with this chapter, which shall require employers to maintain adequate records and to amorally certify compliance with this chapter. The City shall seek feedback from worker organizations and covered employers before finalizing the rules and procedures. Section 13. Constitutional Subject. For constitutional purposes, this measure's subject "concerns labor standards for certain employers." See Filo Foods, LLC v. City of SeaTac, 183 Wash. 2d 770, 783, 357 P.3d 1040, 1047 (2015) (upholding this statement of subject for an initiative that set a minimum wage and addressed employees' access to hours). Section 14. Codification. All sections of this ordinance except section 9 shall be codified in a new chapter of the Renton Municipal Code. Section 15. Election date. In the event that the election on this measure takes place later than November 7, 2023, the Finance Department must establish and publish the initial minimum wage within 30 days of the effective date. Section 16. Severability. The provisions of this ordinance are declared to be separate and severable. If any clause, sentence, paragraph, subdivision, section, subsection, or portion of this ordinance, or the application thereof to any employer, employee, or circumstance, is held to be invalid, it shall not affect the validity of the remainder of this ordinance, or the validity of its application to other persons or circumstances. Raising The Minimum Wage In Renton 2. 3. INITIATIVE PETITION FOR SUBMISSION TO THE RENTON CITY COUNCIL TO: The City Council of the City of Renton: p O 933-M We, the undersigned registered voters of the City of Renton, State of Washington, residing at the addresses set forth opposite our respective names, being equal to fifteen percent (15%) of the total number of names of persons listed as registered voters within the City on the day of the last preceding City general election, respectfully request that the following ordinance be enacted by the City Council or, if not so enacted, be submitted to a vote of the residents of the City. The title of the said ordinance is as follows: ORDINANCE CONCERNING LABOR STANDARDS FOR CERTAIN EMPLOYEES A full, true and correct copy of the ordinance is attached to this Petition. Each of us for himself or herself says: I have personally signed this petition; I am a registered voter of the City of Renton, State of Washington; and my residence is correctly stated. Signature -Ir inted Name Street and Number City � Phone Number Email Date 54MAe`!/0&m rinted Name 1234 Anywhere St. Renton 206-555-1234 maria@something.org 4/10/2023 ,7J%��`��/c,,� l TIVC + Renton ��J ��ir�.,.�/mil/� l� Renton Effi✓ li-S6• cd,, 7' S . i C kQ C I\ /� 1 Al� ''' Renton _ �kr�e ��hoOL� o S/lz�/zs 4. S Renton 5. Renton YY1lr,U 6.k /� I ( n Gls _ J Renton ._... `40c)-',a-`!o� I'ru� r,w Renton 7. ti A c e_ .'i !i O�� AY\'Gll1')Q CA10C[1AR+VC wh. t>,.ckvA AVe K1F Renton 28. 3 v Ag�vsI) er �(ti0�t �j 0.�� l 5 Rent on /2 v ! L3 9. Y if IlIcl} j}t> -�A a l� 10• _� i� DS N t�l CD N Renton Warning Every person who signs this petition with any other than his or her true name, or who knowingly signs more than one of these petitions, or signs a petition seek- ing an election when he or she is not a legal voter, or signs a petition when he or she is otherwise not qualified to sign, or who makes herein any false statement, shall be guilty of a misdemeanor. AN ORDINANCE concerning labor standards for certain employees. Section 1. Findings. 1. The people of the City of Renton hereby adopt this citizen initiative addressing labor standards for certain employees, for the purpose of ensuring that, to the extent reasonably practicable, people employed in Renton have good wages and access to sufficient hours of work. 2. The City of Renton is one of the largest job centers in Washington State, with thousands of shoppers and workers visiting daily to participate in the local economy. Renton is home to The Landing shopping center, the historic Downtown Urban Center, as well as retail and commercial office and warehouse districts around the Rainier/Grady Way Junction. The City is a net importer ofjobs, with nearly 60,000 employed workers. Renton has a wide may of both long established and new and evolving business sectors. Retail businesses, restaurants and bars, auto sales, hospitality, healthcare, and office workers are well represented. 3. The statewide minimum wage is not sufficient to afford rising rents and costs of living in Renton. According to the National Low Income Housing Coalition's Out of Reach 2022 report, a worker making Washington's minimum wage would have to work 72 hours each week (up from 70 hours each week in 2021) to afford a modest one -bedroom rental home at Fair Market Rent. 4. When working families earn insufficient income due to low wages and involuntary under -employment, they struggle to pay for basic necessities like health cue, child care, and groceries, and they we more likely to be evicted and become homeless. 5. Nearby King County cities of SeaTac, Seattle, and Tukwila enacted higher minimum wages in 2013, 2014, and 2022 respectively, but until now Renton has not followed suit. 6. Children growing up in poverty experience insecurity with housing, nutrition, and health care while enduring other hardships that prevent their ability to learn in school. Full time working parents must be able to reasonably provide for their family to ensure access to the opportunities and promise of public education. Section 2. Intent. It is the intent of the people to establish fair labor standards and protect the rights of workers by: (1) ensuring that the vast majority of employees in the City of Renton receive a minimum wage comparable to employees in the nearby cities of Tukwila, SeaTac, and Seattle; (2) requiring covered employers to offer additional hours of work to qualified part-time employees before hiring new employees to fill those hours; and (3) adopting enforcement requirements. Section 3. Large Employers Shall Pay Minimum Wages Comparable to Those in Nearby Cities. 1. Effective July 1, 2024, every large employer shall pay to each employee an hourly wage of not less than the 2023 new minimum wage rate in the City of Tukwila, established by City of Tukwila Initiative Measure No. 1, approved by voters in November 2022, adjusted for 2024 by the annual rate of inflation. 2. On January 1, 2025, and on each January 1 thereafter, the hourly minimum wage shall increase by the annual rate of inflation to maintain employee purchasing power. 3. By December 31, 2023, and by October 15 of each year thereafter, the Finance Department shall establish and publish the applicable hourly minimum wage for the following year using the annual rate of inflation. 4. For purposes of this chapter, the annual rate of inflation means 100 percent of the annual average growth rate of the bi-monthly Seattle -Tacoma -Bellevue Area Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers, termed CPI-W, for the 12-month period ending in August, provided that the percentage increase shall not be less than zero. 5. An employer must pay to its employees: a. All tips and gratuities; and b. All service charges as defined under RCW 49.46.16Q except those that, pursuant to RCW 49.46.160, are itemized as not being payable to the employee or employees servicing the customer. Tips and service charges paid to an employee are in addition to, and may not count towards, the employee's hourly minimum wage. Section 4. Other Covered Employers Shall Have a Multiyear Phase -In Period. Other covered employers shall phase in the new minimum wage, as follows: 1. Effective July 1, 2024, other covered employers shall pay employees not less than the hourly minimum wage established under Section 3 minus Two Dollars ($2) per hour. 2. Effective July 1, 2025, other covered employers shall pay employees not less than the hourly minimum wage established under Section 3 minus One Dollar ($1) per hour. 3. Effective July 1, 2026, and thereafter, all covered employers shall pay employees not less than the hourly minimum wage established under Section 3. Section 5. Coverage and Employer Classifications. 1. Covered employers must pay employees at least the minimum wage established by this chapter for each hour worked within the City. 2. Employer classification fo( the current calendar year will be calculated based upon the average number of employees during all weeks in the previous calendar year in which the employer had at least one employee. For employers that did not have any employees during the previous calendar year, classification will be based upon the average number of employees during the most recent three months of the current year. In this determination, all employees will be counted, regardless of their location, and including employees who worked in full-time employment, part-time employment, joint employment, temporary employment, or through the'services of a temporary services or staffing agency or similar entity. 3. Employer classification for the current calendar year will be calculated based upon the gross revenue for the previous year. For employers that did not have gross revenue during the previous calendar year, annual gross revenue will be calculated from the gross revenue. during the most recent three months of the current year. 4. For the purposes of employer classification, separate entities will be considered a single employer if they form an integrated enterprise or they are underjoint control by one of those entities or a separate entity. The factors to consider in making this assessment include, but are not limited to: a. Degree of interrelation between the operations of multiple entities; b. Degree to which the entities shaze common management; C. Centralized control of labor relations; and d. Degree of common ownership or financial control over the entities. Section 6. Part -Time Employees Shall Have Fair Access to Additional Hours. 1. Before hiring additional employees or subcontractors, including hiring through the use of temporary services or staffing agencies, covered employers must offer additional hours of work to existing employees who, in the employer's good faith and reasonable judgment, have the skills and experience to perform the work, and shall use a reasonable, transparent, and nondiscriminatory process to distribute the hours of work among those existing employees. 2. This section shall not be construed to require any employer to offer an employee work hours if the employer would be required to compensate the employee at time -and -a -half or other premium rate under any law or collective bargaining agreement, nor to prohibit any employer from offering such work hours. Section 7. Retaliation Prohibited. 1. No employer or any other person shall interfere with, restrain, or deny the exercise of, or the attempt to exercise, any right protected under this chapter. 2. No employer or any other person shall take any adverse action against any person because the person has exercised in good faith the rights under this chapter, Such rights include but are not limited to the right to make inquiries about the rights protected under this chapter; the right to inform others about their rights under this chapter; the right to inform the person's employer, union, or similar organization, and/or the person's legal counsel or any other person about an alleged violation of this chapter; the right to bring a civil action for an alleged violation of this chapter; the right to testify in a proceeding under or related to this chapter; the right to refuse to participate in an activity that would result in a violation of city, state, or federal law; and the right to oppose any policy, practice, or act that is unlawful under this chapter. 3. For the purposes of this section, an adverse action means denying a job or promotion, demoting, terminating, failing to rehire after a seasonal interruption of work, threatening, penalizing, retaliating, engaging in unfair immigration -related practices, filing a false report with a government agency, changing an employee's status to nonemployee, decreasing or declining to provide additional work hours when they otherwise would have been offered, scheduling an employee for hours outside of their availability, or otherwise discriminating against any person for any reason prohibited by this chapter. "Adverse action" for an employee may involve any aspect of employment, including pay, work hours, responsibilities, or other material change in the terms and conditions of employment. 4. No employer or any other person shall communicate to a person exercising rights protected under this chapter, directly or indirectly, the willingness to inform a government employee that the person is not lawfully in the United States, or to report, or to make an implied or express assertion of a willingness to report, suspected citizenship or immigration status of the person or a family member of the person to a federal, state, or local agency because the person has exercised a right under this chapter. 5. There shall be a rebuttable presumption of unlawful retaliation if an employer or any other person takes an adverse action against a person within 90 days of the person's exercise of any right protected in this chapter. However, in the case of seasonal work that ended before the close of the 90-day period, the presumption also applies if the employer fails to rehire a former employee at the next opportunity for work in the same position. The employer may rebut the presumption with clear and convincing evidence that the adverse action was taken for a permissible purpose. 6. Standard of Proof. Proof of retaliation under this chapter shall be sufficient upon a showing that an employer or any other person has taken an adverse action against a person and the person's exercise of rights protected in this chapter was a motivating factor in the adverse action, unless the employer can prove that the action would have been taken in the absence of such protected activity. 7. The protections afforded under this section shall apply to any person who mistakenly but in good faith alleges violations of this chapter. Section 8. Enforcement. 1. Any person or class of persons that suffers financial injury as a result of a violation of this chapter or is the subject of prohibited retaliation under this chapter, or any other individual or entity acting on their behalf, may bring a civil action in a court of competent jurisdiction against the employer or other person violating this chapter and, upon prevailing, shall be awarded reasonable attorney fees and costs and such legal or equitable relief as may be appropriate to remedy the violation including, without limitation, the payment of any unpaid wages plus interest due to the person and liquidated damages in an additional amount of up to twice the unpaid wages; compensatory damages; and a penalty payable to any aggrieved party of up to $5,000 if the aggrieved party was subject to prohibited retaliation. For the purposes of this section, an aggrieved party means an employee or other person who suffers tangible or intangible harm due to an employer or other person's violation of this chapter. Interest shall accrue from the date the unpaid wages were first due at the higher of twelve percent per annum or the maximum rate permitted under RCW 19.52.020. 2. For purposes of determining membership within a class of persons entitled to bring an action under this section, two or more employees are similarly situated if they: a. Are or were employed by the same employer or employers, whether concurrently or otherwise, at some point during the applicable statute of limitations period; b. Allege one or more violations that raise similar questions as to liability; and C. Seek similar forms of relief. d. Employees shall not be considered dissimilar solely because their claims seek damages that differ in amount, or theirjob titles or other means of classifying employees differ in ways that are unrelated to their claims. 3. Each covered employer shall retain records as required by RCW 49.46.070, as well as such information as the City may require to confirm compliance with this chapter. If an employer fails to retain such records, there shall be a presumption, rebuttable by clear and convincing evidence, that the employer violated this chapter for the periods and for each employee for whom records were not retained. 4. Employers shall permit authorized City representatives access to work sites and relevant records for the purpose of monitoring compliance with the chapter and investigating complaints of noncompliance, including production for inspection and copying of employment records. The City may designate representatives, including city contractors and representatives of unions or worker advocacy organizations, to access the worksite and relevant records. 5. Complaints that any provision of this chapter has been violated may also be presented to the City Attorney, who is hereby authorized to investigate and, if they deem appropriate, initiate legal or other action to remedy any violation of this chapter. 6. The City has the authority to issue administrative citations and to order injunctive relief including reinstatement, restitution, payment of back wages, or other forms of relief. 7. The City may, in the exercise of its authority and performance of its functions and services, agree by contract or otherwise to participate jointly or in cooperation with Washington State, King County, or any city, town, or other incorporated place, or subdivision thereof, or engage outside counsel, to enforce this chapter. 8. The remedies and penalties provided under this chapter are cumulative and are not intended to be exclusive of any other available remedies or penalties, including existing remedies for enforcement of Renton Municipal Code chapters. 9. The statute of limitations for any enforcement action shall be five (5) years. Section 9. A new section is added to Renton Municipal Code (RMC) Section 5-5-4 as follows: 1. The Finance Director may deny, suspend, or revoke any license under this chapter for violation of this ordinance. 2. The Finance Director must deny, suspend, or revoke any license under this chapter for repeated intentional violations of this ordinance. 3. Any action by the Finance Director under this section shall be subject to the procedures and requirements of RMC subsection 5-5-3.E, as well as other due process rights that a court may require. Section 10. Definitions. For the purposes of this chapter, the following;terms shall have the following meanings: "City" means the City of Renton. "Covered employer" means an employer that either (1) employs at least 15 employees regardless of where those employees are employed, or (2) has annual gross revenue over $2 million. "Effective date" is the effective date of this ordinance. "Employee" is defined as set forth in RCW 49.46.010. An employer bees the burden of proof that the individual is, as a matter of economic reality, in business for oneself rather than dependent upon the alleged employer. "Employer" is defined as set forth in RCW 49.46.010. "Employer classification" includes the determination of whether an employer is a covered employer and whether a covered employer is a large employer. "Franchise" means an agreement, express or implied, oral or written by which: 1. A person is granted the right to engage in the business of offering, selling, or distributing goods or services under a marketing plan prescribed or suggested in substantial part by the grantor or its affiliate; 2. The operation of the business is substantially associated with a trademark, service mark, trade time, advertising, or other commercial symbol; designating, owned by, or licensed by the grantor or its affiliate; and 3. The person pays, agrees to pay, or is required to pay, directly or indirectly, a franchise fee. The term, "franchise fee" is meant to be construed broadly to include any instance in which the grantor or its affiliate derives income or profit from a person who enters into a franchise agreement with the grantor. "Hour worked within the City" is to be interpreted according to its ordinary meaning, including all hours worked within the geographic boundaries of the City, excluding time spent in the City solely for the purpose of traveling through the City from a point of origin outside the City to a destination outside the City, with no employment -related or commercial stops in the City except for refueling or the employee's personal meals or errands. "Large Employer" means all employers that employ more than 500 employees, regardless of where those employees are employed, and all franchisees associated with a franchisor or a network of franchises with franchisees that employ more than 500 employees in aggregate. "Other covered employer" means a covered employer that does not qualify as a large employer. "Service charge" is defined as set forth in RCW 49.46.160(2)(c). "Tips" means a verifiable sum to be presented by a customer as a gift or gratuity in recognition of some service performed for the customer by the employee receiving the tip. "Wage" is defined as set forth in RCW 49.46.010. Section 11. Other Legal Requirements. This ordinance shall not be construed to preempt, limit, or otherwise affect the applicability of any other law, regulation, requirement, policy, or standard that provides for greater wages or compensation; and nothing in this ordinance shall be interpreted or applied so as to create any power or duty in conflict with federal or state law. Section 12. Rulemaking. Within 180 days after the effective date, the City shall adopt rules and procedures to implement and ensure compliance with this chapter, which shall require employers to maintain adequate records and to annually certify compliance with this chapter. The City shall seek feedback from worker organizations and covered employers before finalizing the rules and procedures. Section 13. Constitutional Subject. For constitutional purposes, this measure's subject `concerns labor standards for certain employers." See Filo Foods, LLC v. City of SeaTac, 183 Wash. 2d 770, 783, 357 P.3d 1040, 1047 (2015) (upholding this statement of subject for an initiative that set a minimum wage and addressed employees' access to hours). Section 14. Codification. All sections of this ordinance except section 9 shall be codified in a new chapter of the Renton Municipal Code. Section 15. Election date. In the event that the election on this measure takes place later than November 7, 2023, the Finance Department must establish and publish the initial minimum wage within 30 days of the effective date. Section 16. Severability. The provisions of this ordinance are declared to be separate and severable. If any clause, sentence, paragraph, subdivision, section, subsection, or portion of this ordinance, or the application thereof to any employer, employee, or circumstance, is held to be invalid, it shall not affect the validity of the remainder of this ordinance, or the validity of its application to other persons or circumstances. Raising The Minimum Wage In Renton INITIATIVE PETITION FOR SUBMISSION TO THE RENTON CITY COUNCIL TO: The City Council of the City of Renton: ® GCC/IBT 933-M We, the undersigned registered voters of the City of Renton, State of Washington, residing at the addresses set forth opposite our respective names, being equal to fifteen percent (15%) of the total number of names of persons listed as registered voters within the City on the day of the last preceding City general election, respectfully request that the following ordinance be enacted by the City Council or, if not so enacted, be submitted to a vote of the residents of the City. The title of the said ordinance is as follows: ORDINANCE CONCERNING LABOR STANDARDS FOR CERTAIN EMPLOYEES A full, true and correct copy of the ordinance is attached to this Petition. Each of us for himself or herself says: I have personally signed this petition; I am a registered voter of the City of Renton, State of Washington; and my residence is correctly stated. Signature Printed Name Street and Number City Phone Number Email Date 540ok Printed Name 1234 Anywhere St. Renton 206-555-1234 maria@something.org 4/10/2023 -4222 Renton rtl� �n ntt L @ c 2. �nb Ix Lk %v �2Iacc-c &he Renton C�;6 ' 3�+�I 3�4( U �l 22 �y 22 /�`9 r S� a �T /� l `�/(�� /� 1 i CQi9 �74 l �'un lJ�`t hil r 3 Renton 4. 7 Y �t i t 6 rji 7 � Renton L 6G %i 512 of l� 2s11 CGt�� Renton (lat.)g. �)05 5.Da 6.�o,i� �/ a ✓�� /<� A/ 7 „• f I Renton ?c-1Y ci V '�r7 7. /Ll VfAS A�J( >W Renton 8. / ° J� IAI� �`�/'/ "`U�1 \� K Y R a4-cw-CA4s'; 9. _� 7,eh+��k4 t4� Qh w �` �k , L f� J4 g ,-% Renton lnbb J t to. ` c i Z. Dco— � 1`�Y�-� \ t Renton Ui° Warning Every person who signs this petition with any other than his or her true name, or who knowingly signs more than one of these petitions, or signs a petition seek- ing an election when he or she is not a legal voter, or signs a petition when he or she is otherwise not qualified to sign, or who makes herein any false statement, shall be guilty of a misdemeanor. AN ORDINANCE concerning labor standards for certain employees. Section 1. Findings. 1. The people of the City of Renton hereby adopt this citizen initiative addressing labor standards for certain employees, for the purpose of ensuring that, to the extent reasonably practicable, people employed in Renton have good wages and access to sufficient hours of work. 2. The City of Renton is one of the largest job centers in Washington State, with thousands of shoppers and workers visiting daily to participate in the local economy. Renton is home to The Landing shopping center, the historic Downtown Urban Center, as well as retail and commercial office and warehouse districts around the Rainier/Grady Way Junction. The City is a net importer ofjobs, with nearly 60,000 employed workers. Renton has a wide array of both long established and new and evolving business sectors. Retail businesses, restaurants and bars, auto sales, hospitality, healthcare, and office workers are well represented. 3. The statewide minimum wage is not sufficient to afford rising rents and costs of living in Renton. According to the National Low Income Housing Coalition's Out of Reach 2022 report, a worker making Washington's minimum wage would have to work 72 bows each week (up from 70 hours each week in 2021) to afford a modest one -bedroom rental home at Fair Market Rent. 4. When working families earn insufficient income due to low wages and involuntary under -employment, they struggle to pay for basic necessities like health care, child care, and groceries, and they are more likely to be evicted and become homeless. 5. Nearby King County cities of SeaTac, Seattle, and Tukwila enacted higher minimum wages in 2013, 2014, and 2022 respectively, but until now Renton has not followed suit. 6. Children growing up in poverty experience insecurity with housing, nutrition, and health care while enduring other hardships that prevent their ability to learn in school. Full time working parents must be able to reasonably provide for their family to ensure access to the opportunities and promise of public education. Section 2. Intent. It is the intent of the people to establish fair labor standards and protect the rights of workers by: (1) ensuring that the vast majority of employees in the City of Renton receive a minimum wage comparable to employees in the nearby cities of Tukwila, SeaTac, and Seattle; (2) requiring covered employers to offer additional hours of work to qualified part-time employees before hiring new employees to fill those hours; and (3) adopting enforcement requirements. Section 3. Large Employers Shall Pay Minimum Wages Comparable to Those in Nearby Cities. 1. Effective July 1, 2024, every large employer shall pay to each employee an hourly wage of not less than the 2023 new minimum wage rate in the City of Tukwila, established by City of Tukwila Initiative Measure No. 1, approved by voters in November 2022, adjusted for 2024 by the annual rate of inflation. 2. On January 1, 2025, and on each January 1 thereafter, the hourly minimum wage shall increase by the annual rate of inflation to maintain employee purchasing power. 3. By December 31, 2023, and by October 15 of each year thereafter, the Finance Department shall establish and publish the applicable hourly minimum wage for the following year using the annual rate of inflation. 4. For purposes of this chapter, the annual rate of inflation means 100 percent of the annual average growth rate of the bi-monthly Seattle -Tacoma -Bellevue Area Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Framers and Clerical Workers, termed CPI-W, for the 12-month period ending in August, provided that the percentage increase shall not be less than zero. 5. An employer must pay to its employees: a. All tips and gratuities; and b. All service charges as defined under RCW 49.46.160 except those that, pursuant to RCW 49.46.160, are itemized as not being payable to the employee or employees servicing the customer. Tips and service charges paid to an employee are in addition to, and may not count towards, the employee's hourly minimum wage. Section 4. Other Covered Employers Shall Have a Multiyear Phase -In Period. Other covered employers shall phase in the new minimum wage, as follows: 1. Effective July 1, 2024, other covered employers shall pay employees not less than the hourly minimum wage established under Section 3 minus Two Dollars ($2) per hour. 2. Effective July 1, 2025, other covered employers shall pay employees not less than the hourly minimum wage established under Section 3 minus One Dollar ($1) per hour. 3. Effective July 1, 2026, and thereafter, all covered employers shall pay employees not less than the hourly minimum wage established under Section 3. Section 5. Coverage and Employer Classifications. 1. Covered employers must pay employees at least the minimum wage established by this chapter for each hour worked within the City. 2. Employer classification for the current calendar year will be calculated based upon the average number of employees during all weeks in the previous calendar year in which the employer had at least one employee. For employers that did not have any employees during the previous calendar yew, classification will be based upon the average number of employees during the most recent three months of the current year. In this determination, all employees will be counted, regardless of their location, and including employees who worked in full-time employment, part-time employment, joint employment, temporary employment, or through the services of a temporary services or staffing agency or similar entity. 3. Employer classification for the current calendar year will be calculated based upon the gross revenue for the previous year. For employers that did not have gross revenue during the previous calendar year, annual gross revenue will be calculated from the gross revenue during the most recent three months of the current year. 4. For the purposes of employer classification, separate entities will be considered a single employer if they form an integrated enterprise or they are underjoint control by one of those entities or a separate entity. The factors to consider in making this assessment include, but are not limited to: a. Degree of interrelation between the operations of multiple entities; b. Degree to which the entities share common management; C. Centralized control of labor relations; and d. Degree of common ownership or financial control over the entities. Section 6. Part -Time Employees Shall Have Fair Access to Additional Hours. 1. Before hiring additional employees or subcontractors, including hiring through the use of temporary services or staffing agencies, covered employers must offer additional hours of work to existing employees who, in the employer's good faith and reasonable judgment, have the skills and experience to perform the work, and shall use a reasonable, transparent, and nondiscriminatory process to distribute the hours of work among those existing employees. 2. This section shall not be construed to require any employer to offer an employee work hours if the employer would be required to compensate the employee at time -and -a -half or other premium rate under any law or collective bargaining agreement, nor to prohibit any employer from offering such work hours. Section 7. Retaliation Prohibited. I. No employer or any other person shall interfere with, restrain, or deny the exercise of, or the attempt to exercise, any right protected under this chapter. 2. No employer or any other person shall take any adverse action against any person because the person has exercised in good faith the rights under this chapter. Such rights include but are not limited to the right to make inquiries about the rights protected under this chapter; the right to inform others about their rights under this chapter; the right to inform the person's employer, union, or similar organization, and/or the person's legal counsel or any other person about an alleged violation of this chapter; the right to bring a civil action for an alleged violation of this chapter; the right to testify in a proceeding under or related to this chapter; the right to refuse to participate in an activity that would result in a violation of city, state, or federal law; and the right to oppose any policy, practice, or act that is unlawful under this chapter. 3. For the purposes of this section, an adverse action means denying ajob or promotion, demoting, terminating, failing to rehire after a seasonal interruption of work, threatening, penalizing, retaliating, engaging in unfair immigration -related practices, filing a false report with a government agency, changing an employee's status to nonemployee, decreasing or declining to provide additional work bows when they otherwise would have been offered, scheduling an employee for hours outside of thew availability, or otherwise discriminating against any person for any reason prohibited by this chapter. "Adverse action" for an employee may involve any aspect of employment, including pay, work bows, responsibilities, or other material change in the terns and conditions of employment. 4. No employer or any other person shall communicate to a person exercising rights protected under this chapter, directly or indirectly, the willingness to inform a government employee that the person is not lawfully in the United States, or to report, or to make an implied or express assertion of a willingness to report, suspected citizenship or immigration status of the person or a family member of the person to a federal, state, or local agency because the person has exercised a right under this chapter. 5. There shall be a rebuttable presumption of unlawful retaliation if an employer or any other person takes an adverse action against a person within 90 days of the person's exercise of any right protected in this chapter. However, in the case of seasonal work that ended before the close of the 90-day period, the presumption also applies if the employer fails to rehire a former employee at the next opportunity for work in the same position. The employer may rebut the presumption with clear and convincing evidence that the adverse action was taken for a permissible purpose. 6. Standard of Proof. Proof of retaliation under this chapter shall be sufficient upon a showing that an employer or any other person has taken an adverse action against a person and the person's exercise of rights protected in this chapter was a motivating factor in the adverse action, unless the employer can prove that the action would have been taken in the absence of such protected activity. 7. The protections afforded under this section shall apply to any person who mistakenly but in good faith alleges violations of this chapter. Section 8. Enforcement. I . Any person or class of persons that suffers financial injury as a result of a violation of this chapter or is the subject of prohibited retaliation under this chapter, or any other individual or entity acting on their behalf, may bring a civil action in a court of competent jurisdiction against the employer or other person violating this chapter and, upon prevailing, shall be awarded reasonable attorney fees and costs and such legal or equitable relief as may be appropriate to remedy the violation including, without limitation, the payment of any unpaid wages plus interest due to the person and liquidated damages in an additional amount of up to twice the unpaid wages; compensatory damages; and a penalty payable to any aggrieved party of up to $5,000 if the aggrieved party was subject to prohibited retaliation. For the purposes of this section, an aggrieved party means an employee or other person who suffers tangible or intangible harm due to an employer or other person's violation of this chapter. Interest shall accrue from the date the unpaid wages were first due at the higher of twelve percent per annum or the maximum rate permitted under RCW 19.52.020. 2. For purposes of determining membership within a class of persons entitled to bring an action under this section, two or more employees are similarly situated if they: a. Are or were employed by the same employer or employers, whether concurrently or otherwise, at some point during the applicable statute of limitations period; b. Allege one or more violations that raise similar questions as to liability; and C. Seek similar forms of relief. it. Employees shall not be considered dissimilar solely because their claims seek damages that differ in meant, or their job titles or other means of classifying employees differ in ways that are unrelated to thew claims. 3. Each covered employer shall retain records as required by RCW 49.46.070, as well as such information as the City may require to confirm compliance with this chapter. If an employer fails to retain such records, there shall be a presumption, rebuttable by clear and convincing evidence, that the employer violated this chapter for the periods and for each employee for whom records were not retained. 4. Employers shall permit authorized City representatives access to work sites and relevant records for the purpose of monitoring compliance with the chapter and investigating complaints of noncompliance, including production for inspection and copying of employment records. The City may designate representatives, including city contractors and representatives of unions or worker advocacy organizations, to access the worksite and relevant records. 5. Complaints that any provision of this chapter has been violated may also be presented to the City Attorney, who is hereby authorized to investigate and, if they deem appropriate, initiate legal or other action to remedy any violation of this chapter. 6. The City has the authority to issue administrative citations and to order injunctive relief including reinstatement, restitution, payment of back wages, or other forms of relief. 7. The City may, in the exercise of its authority and performance of its functions and services, agree by contract or otherwise to participate jointly or in cooperation with Washington State, King County, or any city, town, or other incorporated place, or subdivision thereof, or engage outside counsel, to enforce this chapter. 8. The remedies and penalties provided under this chapter are cumulative and are not intended to be exclusive of any other available remedies or penalties, including existing remedies for enforcement of Renton Municipal Code chapters. 9. The statute of limitations for any enforcement action shall be five (5) years. Section 9. A new section is added to Renton Municipal Code (RMC) Section 5-5-4 as follows: 1. The Finance Director may deny, suspend, or revoke any license under this chapter for violation of this ordinance. 2. The Finance Director must deny, suspend, or revoke any license under this chapter for repeated intentional violations of this ordinance. 3. Any action by the Finance Director under this section shall be subject to the procedures and requirements of RMC subsection 5-5-3.E, as well as other due process rights that a court may require. Section 10. Definitions. For the purposes of this chapter, the following terms shall have the following meanings: "City" means the City of Renton. "Covered employer" means an employer that either (1) employs at least 15 employees regardless of where those employees are employed, or (2) has annual gross revenue over $2 million. "Effective date" is the effective date of this ordinance. "Employee" is defined as set forth in RCW 49.46.010. An employer bears the burden of proof that the individual is, as a matter of economic reality, in business for oneself rather than dependent upon the alleged employer. "Employer" is defined as set forth in RCW 49.46.010. "Employer classification" includes the determination of whether an employer is a covered employer and whether a covered employer is a large employer. "Franchise" means an agreement, express or implied, oral or written by which: 1. A person is granted the right to engage in the business of offering, selling, or distributing goods or services under a marketing plan prescribed or suggested in substantial part by the grantor or its affiliate; 2. The operation of the business is substantially associated with a trademark, service mark, trade time, advertising, or other commercial symbol; designating, owned by, or licensed by the grantor or its affiliate; and 3. The person pays, agrees to pay, or is required to pay, directly or indirectly, a franchise fee. The term, "franchise fee" is meant to be construed broadly to include any instance in which the grantor or its affiliate derives income or profit from a person who enters into a franchise agreement with the grantor. "Hour worked within the City" is to be interpreted according to its ordinary meaning, including all bows worked within the geographic boundaries of the City, excluding time spent in the City solely for the purpose of traveling through the City from a point of origin outside the City to a destination outside the City, with no employment -related or commercial stops in the City except for refueling or the employee's personal meals or errands. "Large Employer" means all employers that employ more than 500 employees, regardless of where those employees are employed, and all franchisees associated with a franchisor or a network of franchises with franchisees that employ more than 500 employees in aggregate. "Other covered employer" means a covered employer that does not qualify as a large employer. "Service charge" is defined as set forth in RCW 49.46.160(2)(c). "Tips" means a verifiable sum to be presented by a customer as a gift or gratuity in recognition of some service performed for the customer by the employee receiving the tip. "Wage" is defined as set forth in RCW 49.46.010. Section 11. Other Legal Requirements. This ordinance shall not be construed to preempt, limit, or otherwise affect the applicability of any other law, regulation, requirement, policy, or standard that provides for greater wages or compensation; and nothing in this ordinance shall be interpreted or applied so as to create any power or duty in conflict with federal or state law. Section 12. Rulemaking. Within 180 days after the effective date, the City shall adopt rates and procedures to implement and ensure compliance with this chapter, which shall require employers to maintain adequate records and to annually certify compliance with this chapter. The City shall seek feedback from worker organizations and covered employers before finalizing the rules and procedures. Section 13. Constitutional Subject. For constitutional purposes, this measure's subject "concerns labor standards for certain employers." See File Foods, LLC v. City of SeaTac, 183 Wash. 2d 770, 783, 357 P.3d 1040, 1047 (2015) (upholding this statement of subject for an initiative that set a minimum wage and addressed employees' access to bows). Section 14. Codification. All sections of this ordinance except section 9 shall be codified in a new chapter of the Renton Municipal Code. Section 15. Election date. In the event that the election on this measure takes place later than November 7, 2023, the Finance Department must establish and publish the initial minimum wage within 30 days of the effective date. Section 16. Severability. The provisions of this ordinance are declared to be separate and severable. If any clause, sentence, paragraph, subdivision, section, subsection, or portion of this ordinance, or the application thereof to any employer, employee, or circumstance, is held to be invalid, it shall not affect the validity of the remainder of this ordinance, or the validity of its application to other persons or circumstances. Raising The Minimum Wage In Renton INITIATIVE PETITION FOR SUBMISSION TO THE RENTON CITY COUNCIL TO: The City Council of the City of Renton: ® 9. IBA-- 933-M We, the undersigned registered voters of the City of Renton, State of Washington, residing at the addresses set forth opposite our respective names, being equal to fifteen percent (15%) of the total number of names of persons listed as registered voters within the City on the day of the last preceding City general election, respectfully request that the following ordinance be enacted by the City Council or, if not so enacted, be submitted to a vote of the residents of the City. The title of the said ordinance is as follows: ORDINANCE CONCERNING LABOR STANDARDS FOR CERTAIN EMPLOYEES A full, true and correct copy of the ordinance is attached to this Petition. Each of us for himself or herself says: I have personally signed this petition; I am a registered voter of the City of Renton, State of Washington; and my residence is correctly stated. Signature s v6rm Printed Name Printed Name Street and Number 1234 Anywhere St. city Phone Number Email Renton 206-555-1234 maria@something.org 7.� ��JPw�� N�U�°`� �'P�iYPfllGLi�aw�iZ�S ���� "�l� S 1i,i,lr Renton 7 10. Renton (`'6>_5A4/11 ' 3 I o Renton Renton Date 4/10/2023 Warning Every person who signs this petition with any other than his or her true name, or who knowingly signs more than one of these petitions, or signs a petition seek- ing an election when he or she is not a legal voter, or signs a petition when he or she is otherwise not qualified to sign, or who makes herein any false statement, shall be guilty of a misdemeanor. AN ORDINANCE concerning labor standards for certain employees. Section 1. Findings. 1. The people of the City of Renton hereby adopt this citizen initiative addressing labor standards for certain employees, for the purpose of ensuring that, to the extent reasonably practicable, people employed in Renton have good wages and access to sufficient hours of work. 2. The City of Renton is one of the largest job centers in Washington State, with thousands of shoppers and workers visiting daily to participate in the local economy. Renton is home to The Landing shopping center, the historic Downtown Urban Center, as well as retail and commercial office and warehouse districts around the Rainier/Grady Way Junction. The City is a net importer ofjobs, with nearly 60,000 employed workers. Renton has a wide may of both long established and new and evolving business sectors. Retail businesses, restaurants and bars, auto sales, hospitality, healthcare, and office workers are well represented. 3. The statewide minimum wage is not sufficient to afford rising rents and costs of living in Renton. According to the National Low Income Housing Coalition's Out of Reach 2022 report, a worker making Washington's minimum wage would have to work 72 hours each week (up from 70 hours each week in 2021) to afford a modest one -bedroom rental home at Fair Market Rent. 4. When working families earn insufficient income due to low wages and involuntary under -employment, they struggle to pay for basic necessities like health care, child care, and groceries, and they are more likely to be evicted and become homeless. 5. Nearby King County cities of SeaTac, Seattle, and Tukwila enacted higher minimum wages in 2013, 2014, and 2022 respectively, but until now Renton has not followed suit. 6. Children growing up in poverty experience insecurity with housing, nutrition, and health care while enduring other hardships that prevent their ability to learn in school. Full time working parents must be able to reasonably provide for their family to ensure access to the opportunities and promise of public education. Section 2. Intent. It is the intent of the people to establish fair labor standards and protect the rights of workers by: (1) ensuring that the vast majority of employees in the City of Renton receive a minimum wage comparable to employees in the nearby cities of Tukwila, SeaTac, and Seattle; (2) requiring covered employers to offer additional hours of work to qualified part-time employees before hiring new employees to fill those hours; and (3) adopting enforcement requirements. Section 3. Large Employers Shall Pay Minimum Wages Comparable to Those in Nearby Cities. 1. Effective July 1, 2024, every large employer shall pay to each employee an hourly wage of not less than the 2023 new minimum wage rate in the City of Tukwila, established by City of Tukwila Initiative Measure No. 1, approved by voters in November 2022, adjusted for 2024 by the annual rate of inflation. 2. On January 1, 2025, and on each January 1 thereafter, the hourly minimum wage shall increase by the annual rate of inflation to maintain employee purchasing power. 3. By December 31, 2023, and by October 15 of each year thereafter, the Finance Department shall establish and publish the applicable hourly minimum wage for the following year using the annual rate of inflation. 4. For purposes of this chapter, the annual rate of inflation means 100 percent of the annual average growth rate of the bi-monthly Seattle -Tacoma -Bellevue Area Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Eamers and Clerical Workers, termed CPI-W for the 12-month period ending in August, provided that the percentage increase shall not be less than zero. 5. An employer must pay to its employees: a. All tips and gratuities; and b. All service charges as defined under RCW 49.46.160 except those that, pursuant to RCW 49.46.160, are itemized as not being payable to the employee or employees servicing the customer. Tips and service charges paid to an employee are in addition to, and may not count towards, the employee's hourly minimum wage. Section 4. Other Covered Employers Shall Have a Multiyear Phase -In Period. Other covered employers shall phase in the new minimum wage, as follows: 1. Effective July 1, 2024, other covered employers shall pay employees not less than the hourly minimum wage established under Section 3 minus Two Dollars ($2) per hour. 2. Effective July 1, 2025, other covered employers shall pay employees not less than the hourly minimum wage established under Section 3 minus One Dollar ($1) per hour. 3. Effective July 1, 2026, and thereafter, all covered employers shall pay employees not less than the hourly minimum wage established under Section 3. Section 5. Coverage and Employer Classifications. I. Covered employers must pay employees at least the minimum wage established by this chapter for each hour worked within the City. 2. Employer classification for the current calendar year will be calculated based upon the average number of employees during all weeks in the previous calendar year in which the employer had at least one employee. For employers that did not have any employees during the previous calendar year, classification will be based upon the average number of employees during the most recent three months of the current year. In this determination, all employees will be counted, regardless of their location, and including employees who worked in full-time employment, part-time employment, joint employment, temporary employment, or through the services of a temporary services or staffing agency or similar entity. 3. Employer classification for the current calendar year will be calculated based upon the gross revenue for the previous year. For employers that did not have gross revenue during the previous calendar yew, annual gross revenue will be calculated from the gross revenue during the most recent three months of the current year. 4. For the purposes of employer classification, separate entities will be considered a single employer if they form an integrated enterprise or they are underjoint control by one of those entities or a separate entity. The factors to consider in making this assessment include, but are not limited to: a. Degree of interrelation between the operations of multiple entities; b. Degree to which the entities share common management; C. Centralized control of labor relations; and d. Degree of common ownership or financial control over the entities. Section 6. Part -Time Employees Shall Have Fair Access to Additional Hours. 1. Before hiring additional employees or subcontractors, including hiring through the use of temporary services or staffing agencies, covered employers must offer additional hours of work to existing employees who, in the employer's good faith and reasonable judgment, have the skills and experience to perform the work, and shall use a reasonable, transparent, and nondiscriminatory process to distribute the hours of work among those existing employees. 2. This section shall not be construed to require any employer to offer an employee work hours if the employer would be required to compensate the employee at time -and -a -half or other premium rate under any law or collective bargaining agreement, nor to prohibit any employer from offering such work hours. Section 7. Retaliation Prohibited. 1. No employer or any other person shall interfere with, restrain, or deny the exercise of, or the attempt to exercise, any right protected under this chapter. 2. No employer or any other person shall take any adverse action against any person because the person has exercised in good faith the rights under this chapter. Such rights include but are not limited to the right to make inquiries about the rights protected under this chapter; the right to inform others about their rights under this chapter; the right to inform the person's employer, union, or similar organization, and/or the person's legal counsel or any other person about an alleged violation of this chapter; the right to bring a civil action for an alleged violation of this chapter; the right to testify in a proceeding under or related to this chapter, the right to refuse to participate in an activity that would result in a violation of city, state, or federal law; and the right to oppose any policy, practice, or act that is unlawful under this chapter. 3. For the purposes of this section, an adverse action means denying ajob or promotion, demoting, terminating, failing to rehire after a seasonal interruption of work, threatening, penalizing, retaliating, engaging in unfair immigration -related practices, filing a false report with a government agency, changing an employee's status to nonemployee, decreasing or declining to provide additional work hours when they otherwise would have been offered, scheduling an employee for hours outside of thew availability, or otherwise discriminating against any person for any reason prohibited by this chapter. "Adverse action" for an employee may involve any aspect of employment, including pay, work hours, responsibilities, or other material change in the terms and conditions of employment. 4. No employer or any other person shall communicate to a person exercising rights protected under this chapter, directly or indirectly, the willingness to inform a government employee that the person is not lawfully in the United States, or to report, or to make an implied or express assertion of a willingness to report, suspected citizenship or immigration status of the person or a family member of the person to a federal, state, or local agency because the person has exercised a right under this chapter. 5. There shall be a rebuttable presumption of unlawful retaliation if an employer or any other person takes an adverse action against a person within 90 days of the person's exercise of any right protected in this chapter. However, in the case of seasonal work that ended before the close of the 90-day period, the presumption also applies if the employer fails to rehire a former employee at the next opportunity for work in the same position. The employer may rebut the presumption with clear and convincing evidence that the adverse action was taken for a permissible purpose. 6. Standard of Proof Proof of retaliation under this chapter shall be sufficient upon a showing that an employer or any other person has taken an adverse action against a person and the person's exercise of rights protected in this chapter was a motivating factor in the adverse action, unless the employer can prove that the action would have been taken in the absence of such protected activity. 7. The protections afforded under this section shall apply to any person who mistakenly but in good faith alleges violations of this chapter. Section S. Enforcement. 1. Any person or class of persons that suffers financial injury as a result of a violation of this chapter or is the subject of prohibited retaliation under this chapter, or any other individual or entity acting on their behalf, may bring a civil action in a court of competentjurisdiction against the employer or other person violating this chapter and, upon prevailing, shall be awarded reasonable attorney fees and costs and such legal or equitable relief as may be appropriate to remedy the violation including, without limitation, the payment of any unpaid wages plus interest due to the person and liquidated damages in an additional amount of up to twice the unpaid wages; compensatory damages; and a penalty payable to any aggrieved party of up to $5,000 if the aggrieved party was subject to prohibited retaliation. For the purposes of this section, an aggrieved party means an employee or other person who suffers tangible or intangible harm due to an employer or other person's violation of this chapter. Interest shall accrue from the date the unpaid wages were first due at the higher of twelve percent per armum or the maximum rate permitted under RCW 19.52.020. 2. For purposes of determining membership within a class of persons entitled to bring an action under this section, two or more employees are similarly situated if they: a. Are or were employed by the same employer or employers, whether concurrently or otherwise, at some point during the applicable statute of limitations period; b. Allege one or more violations that raise similar questions as to liability; and C. Seek similar forms of relief. d. Employees shall not be considered dissimilar solely because their claims seek damages that differ in amount, or theirjob titles or other means of classifying employees differ in ways that me unrelated to their claims. 3. Each covered employer shall retain records as required by RCW 49.46.070, as well as such information as the City may require to confine compliance with this chapter. If an employer fails to retain such records, there shall be a presumption, rebuttable by clear and convincing evidence, that the employer violated this chapter for the periods and for each employee for whom records were not retained. 4. Employers shall permit authorized City representatives access to work sites and relevant records for the purpose of monitoring compliance with the chapter and investigating complaints of noncompliance, including production for inspection and copying of employment records. The City may designate representatives, including city contractors and representatives of unions or worker advocacy organizations, to access the worksite and relevant records. 5. Complaints that any provision of this chapter has been violated may also be presented to the City Attorney, who is hereby authorized to investigate and, if they deem appropriate, initiate legal or other action to remedy any violation of this chapter. 6. The City has the authority to issue administrative citations and to order injunctive relief including reinstatement, restitution, payment of back wages, or other forms of relief. 7. The City may, in the exercise of its authority and performance of its functions and services, agree by contract or otherwise to participate jointly or in cooperation with Washington State, King County, or any city, town, or other incorporated place, or subdivision thereof, or engage outside counsel, to enforce this chapter. 8. The remedies and penalties provided under this chapter are cumulative and are not intended to be exclusive of any other available remedies or penalties, including existing remedies for enforcement of Renton Municipal Code chapters. 9. The statute of limitations for any enforcement action shall be five (5) years. Section 9. A new section is added to Renton Municipal Code (RMC) Section 5-5-4 as follows: 1. The Finance Director may deny, suspend, or revoke any license under this chapter for violation of this ordinance. 2. The Finance Director must deny, suspend, or revoke any license under this chapter for repeated intentional violations of this ordinance. 3. Any action by the Finance Director under this section shall be subject to the procedures and requirements of RMC subsection 5-5-3.E, as well as other due process rights that a court may require. Section 10. Definitions. For the purposes of this chapter, the following terms shall have the following meanings: "City" means the City of Renton. "Covered employer" means an employer that either (1) employs at least 15 employees regardless of where those employees are employed, or (2) has annual gross revenue over $2 million. "Effective date" is the effective date of this ordinance. "Employee" is defined as set forth in RCW 49.46.010. An employer bears the burden of proof that the individual is, as a matter of economic reality, in business for oneself rather than dependent upon the alleged employer. "Employer" is defined as set forth in RCW 49.46.010. "Employer classification" includes the determination of whether an employer is a covered employer and whether a covered employer is a large employer. "Franchise" means an agreement, express or implied, oral or written by which: 1. A person is granted the right to engage in the business of offering, selling, or distributing goods or services under a marketing plan prescribed or suggested in substantial part by the grantor or its affiliate; 2. The operation of the business is substantially associated with a trademark, service mark, trade name, advertising, or other commercial symbol; designating, owned by, or licensed by the grantor or its affiliate; and 3. The person pays, agrees to pay, or is required to pay, directly or indirectly, a franchise fee. The term, "franchise fee" is meant to be consumed broadly to include any instance in which the grantor or its affiliate derives income or profit from a person who enters into a franchise agreement with the grantor. "Hour worked within the City" is to be interpreted according to its ordinary meaning, including all hours worked within the geographic boundaries of the City, excluding time spent in the City solely for the purpose of traveling through the City from a point of origin outside the City to a destination outside the City, with no employment -related or commercial stops in the City except for refueling or the employee's personal meals or errands. "Large Employer" means all employers that employ more than 500 employees, regardless of where those employees are employed, and all franchisees associated with a franchisor or a network of franchises with franchisees that employ more than 500 employees in aggregate. "Other covered employer" means a covered employer that does not qualify as a large employer. "Service charge" is defined as set forth in RCW 49.46.160(2)(c). "Tips" means a verifiable sum to be presented by a customer as a gift or gratuity in recognition of some service performed for the customer by the employee receiving the tip. "Wage" is defined as set forth in RCW 49.46.010. Section 11. Other Legal Requirements. This ordinance shall not be construed to preempt, limit, or otherwise affect the applicability of any other law, regulation, requirement, policy, or standard that provides for greater wages or compensation; and nothing in this ordinance shall be interpreted or applied so as to create any power or duty in conflict with federal or state law. Section 12. Rulemaking. Within 180 days after the effective date, the City shall adopt rules and procedures to implement and ensure compliance with this chapter, which shall require employers to maintain adequate records and to annually certify compliance with this chapter. The City shall seek feedback from worker organizations and covered employers before finalizing the rules and procedures. Section 13. Constitutional Subject. For constitutional purposes, this measure's subject "concerns labor standards for certain employers." See Filo Foods, LLC v. City of SeaTac, 183 Wash. 2d 770, 783, 357 RM 1040, 1047 (2015) (upholding this statement of subject for an initiative that set a minimum wage and addressed employees' access to hours). Section 14. Codification. All sections of this ordinance except section 9 shall be codified in a new chapter of the Renton Municipal Code. Section 15. Election date. In the event that the election on this measure takes place later than November 7, 2023, the Finance Department must establish and publish the initial minimum wage within 30 days of the effective date. Section 16. Severability. The provisions of this ordinance are declared to be separate and severable. If any clause, sentence, paragraph, subdivision, section, subsection, or portion of this ordinance, or the application thereof to any employer, employee, or circumstance, is held to be invalid, it shall not affect the validity of the remainder of this ordinance, or the validity of its application to other persons or circumstances. Raising The Minimum Wage In Renton INITIATIVE PETITION FOR SUBMISSION TO THE RENTON CITY COUNCIL TO: The City Council of the City of Renton: ® cccna� 933-M / We, the undersigned registered voters of the City of Renton, State of Washington, residing at the addresses set forth opposite our respective names, being equal to fifteen percent (15%) of the total number of names of persons listed as registered voters within the City on the day of the last preceding City general election, respectfully request that the following ordinance be enacted by the City Council or, if not so enacted, be submitted to a vote of the residents of the City. The title of the said ordinance is as follows: ORDINANCE CONCERNING LABOR STANDARDS FOR CERTAIN EMPLOYEES A full, true and correct copy of the ordinance is attached to this Petition. Each of us for himself or herself says: I have personally signed this petition; I am a registered voter of the City of Renton, State of Washington; and my residence is correctly stated. Signature Printed Name Printed Name Street and Number 1234 Anywhere St. Warning City Phone Number Email Renton 206-555-1234 maria@something.org Date 4/10/2023 Every person who signs this petition with any other than his or her true name, or who knowingly signs more than one of these petitions, or signs a petition seek- ing an election when he or she is not a legal voter, or signs a petition when he or she is otherwise not qualified to sign, or who makes herein any false statement, shall be guilty of a misdemeanor. 60- AN ORDINANCE concerning labor standards for certain employees. Section 1. Findings. 1. The people of the City of Renton hereby adopt this citizen initiative addressing labor standards for certain employees, for the purpose of ensuring that, to the extent reasonably practicable, people employed in Renton have good wages and access to sufficient hours of work. 2. The City of Renton is one of the largest job centers in Washington State, with thousands of shoppers and workers visiting daily to participate in the local economy. Renton is home to The Landing shopping center, the historic Downtown Urban Center, as well as retail and commercial office and warehouse districts around the Rainier/Grady Way Junction. The City is a net importer ofjobs, with nearly 60,000 employed workers. Renton has a wide may of both long established and new and evolving business sectors. Retail businesses, restaurants and bars, auto sales, hospitality, healthcare, and office workers are well represented. 3. The statewide minimum wage is not sufficient to afford rising rents and costs of living in Renton. According to the National Low Income Housing Coalition's Out of Reach 2022 report, a worker making Washington's minimum wage would have to work 72 hours each week (up from 70 hours each week in 2021) to afford a modest one -bedroom rental home at Fair Market Rent. 4. When working families earn insufficient income due to low wages and involuntary under -employment, they struggle to pay for basic necessities like health care, child care, and groceries, and they are more likely to be evicted and become homeless. 5. Nearby King County cities of SeaTac, Seattle, and Tukwila enacted higher minimum wages in 2013, 2014, and 2022 respectively, but until now Renton has not followed suit. 6. Children growing up in poverty experience insecurity with housing, nutrition, and health care while enduring other hardships that prevent their ability to learn in school. Full time working parents must be able to reasonably provide for their family to ensure access to the opportunities and promise of public education. Section 2. Intent. It is the intent of the people to establish fair labor standards and protect the rights of workers by: (1) ensuring that the vast majority of employees in the City of Renton receive a minimum wage comparable to employees in the nearby cities of Tukwila, SeaTac, and Seattle; (2) requiring covered employers to offer additional hours of work to qualified part-time employees before hiring new employees to fill those hours; and (3) adopting enforcement requirements. Section 3. Large Employers Shall Pay Minimum Wages Comparable to Those in Nearby Cities. 1. Effective July 1, 2024, every large employer shall pay to each employee an hourly wage of not less than the 2023 new minimum wage rate in the City of Tukwila, established by City of Tukwila Initiative Measure No. 1, approved by voters in November 2022, adjusted for 2024 by the annual rate of inflation. 2. On January 1, 2025, and on each January 1 thereafter, the hourly minimum wage shall increase by the annual rate of inflation to maintain employee purchasing power. 3. By December 31, 2023, and by October 15 of each year thereafter, the Finance Department shall establish and publish the applicable hourly minimum wage for the following year using the annual rate of inflation. 4. For purposes of this chapter, the annual rate of inflation means 100 percent of the annual average growth rate of the bi-monthly Seattle -Tacoma -Bellevue Area Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers, termed CPI-W, for the 12-month period ending in August, provided that the percentage increase shall not be less than zero. 5. An employer must pay to its employees: a. All tips and gratuities; and b. All service charges as defined under RCW 49.46.160 except those that, pursuant to RCW 49.46.160, are itemized as not being payable to the employee or employees servicing the customer. Tips and service charges paid to an employee are in addition to, and may not count towards, the employee's hourly minimum wage. Section 4. Other Covered Employers Shall Have a Multiyear Phase -In Period. Other covered employers shall phase in the new minimum wage, as follows: 1. Effective July 1, 2024, other covered employers shall pay employees not less than the hourly minimum wage established under Section 3 minus Two Dollars ($2) per how. 2. Effective July 1, 2025, other covered employers shall pay employees not less than the hourly minimum wage established under Section 3 minus One Dollar ($1) per hour. 3. Effective July 1, 2026, and thereafter, all covered employers shall pay employees not less than the hourly minimum wage established under Section 3. Section 5. Coverage and Employer Classifications. 1. Covered employers must pay employees at least the minimum wage established by this chapter for each hour worked within the City. 2. Employer classification for the current calendar year will be calculated based upon the average number of employees timing all weeks in the previous calendar year in which the employer had at least one employee. For employers that did not have any employees during the previous calendar year, classification will be based upon the average number of employees during the most recent three months of the current year. In this determination, all employees will be counted, regardless of their location, and including employees who worked in full-time employment, part-time employment, joint employment, temporary employment, or through the services of a temporary services or staffing agency or similar entity. 3. Employer classification for the current calendar year will be calculated based upon the gross revenue for the previous year. For employers that did not have gross revenue during the previous calendar year, annual gross revenue will be calculated from the gross revenue during the most recent three months of the current year. 4. For the purposes of employer classification, separate entities will be considered a single employer if they form an integrated enterprise or they are underjoint control by one of those entities or a separate entity. The factors to consider in making this assessment include, but are not limited to: a. Degree of interrelation between the operations of multiple entities; b. Degree to which the entities share common management; C. Centrafized control of labor relations; and d. Degree of common ownership or financial control over the entities. Section 6. Part -Time Employees Shall Have Fair Access to Additional Hours. 1. Before hiring additional employees or subcontractors, including hiring through the use of temporary services or staffing agencies, covered employers must offer additional hours of work to existing employees who, in the employer's good faith and reasonable judgment, have the skills and experience to perform the work, and shall use a reasonable, transparent, and nondiscriminatory process to distribute the hours of work among those existing employees. 2. This section shall not be construed to require any employer to offer an employee work hours if the employer would be required to compensate the employee at time -and -a -half or other premium rate under any law or collective bargaining agreement, nor to prohibit any employer from offering such work hours. Section 7. Retaliation Prohibited. 1. No employer or any other person shall interfere with, restrain, or deny the exercise of, or the attempt to exercise, any right protected under this chapter. 2. No employer or any other person shall take any adverse action against any person because the person has exercised in good faith the rights under this chapter. Such rights include but are not limited to the right to make inquiries about the rights protected under this chapter; the right to inform others about their rights under this chapter; the right to inform the person's employer, union, or similar organization, and/or the person's legal counsel or any other person about an alleged violation of this chapter; the right to bring a civil action for an alleged violation of this chapter, the right to testify in a proceeding under or related to this chapter; the right to refuse to participate in an activity that would result in a violation of city, state, or federal law; and the right to oppose any policy, practice, or act that is unlawful under this chapter. 3. For the purposes of this section, an adverse action means denying a job or promotion, demoting, terminating, failing to rehire after a seasonal interruption of work, threatening, penalizing, retaliating, engaging in unfair immigration -related practices, filing a false report with a government agency, changing an employee's status to nonemployee, decreasing or declining to provide additional work hours when they otherwise would have been offered, scheduling an employee for hours outside of their availability, or otherwise discriminating against any person for any reason prohibited by this chapter. "Adverse action" for an employee may involve any aspect of employment, including pay, work hours, responsibilities, or other material change in the terns and conditions of employment. 4. No employer or any other person shall communicate to a person exercising rights protected under this chapter, directly or indirectly, the willingness to inform a government employee that the person is not lawfully in the United States, or to report, or to make an implied or express assertion of a willingness to report, suspected citizenship or immigration status of the person or a family member of the person to a federal, state, or local agency because the person has exercised a right under this chapter. 5. There shall be a rebuttable presumption of unlawful retaliation if an employer or any other person takes an adverse action against a person within 90 days of the person's exercise of any right protected in this chapter. However, in the case of seasonal work that ended before the close of the 90-day period, the presumption also applies if the employer fails to rehire a former employee at the next opportunity for work in the same position. The employer may rebut the presumption with clear and convincing evidence that the adverse action was taken for a permissible purpose. 6. Standard of Proof. Proof of retaliation under this chapter shall be sufficient upon a showing that an employer or any other person has taken an adverse action against a person and the person's exercise of rights protected in this chapter was a motivating factor in the adverse action, unless the employer can prove that the action would have been taken in the absence of such protected activity. 7. The protections afforded under this section shall apply to any person who mistakenly but in good faith alleges violations of this chapter. Section 8. Enforcement. 1. Any person or class of persons that suffers financial injury as a result of a violation of this chapter or is the subject of prohibited retaliation under this chapter, or any other individual or entity acting on their behalf, may bring a civil action in a court of competentjurisdiction against the employer or other person violating this chapter and, upon prevailing, shall be awarded reasonable attorney fees and costs and such legal or equitable relief as may be appropriate to remedy the violation including, without limitation, the payment of any unpaid wages plus interest due to the person and liquidated damages in an additional amount of up to twice the unpaid wages; compensatory damages; and a penalty payable to any aggrieved party of up to $5,000 if the aggrieved party was subject to prohibited retaliation. For the purposes of this section, an aggrieved party means an employee or other person who suffers tangible or intangible harm due to an employer or other person's violation of this chapter. Interest shall accrue from the date the unpaid wages were first due at the higher of twelve percent per mmum or the maximum rate permitted under RCW 19.52.020. 2. For purposes of determining membership within a class of persons entitled to bring an action under this section, two or more employees we similarly situated if they: a. Are or were employed by the same employer or employers, whether concurrently or otherwise, at some point during the applicable statute of limitations period; b. Allege one or more violations that raise similar questions as to liability; and C. Seek similar forms of relief. d. Employees shall not be considered dissimilar solely because their claims seek damages that differ in amount, or theirjob titles or other means of classifying employees differ in ways that are unrelated to their claims. 3. Each covered employer shall retain records as required by RCW 49.46.070, as well as such information as the City may require to confirm compliance with this chapter. If an employer fails to retain such records, there shall be a presumption, rebuttable. by clear and convincing evidence, that the employer violated this chapter for the periods and for each employee for whom records were not retained. 4. Employers shall permit authorized City representatives access to work sites and relevant records for the purpose of monitoring compliance with the chapter and investigating complaints of noncompliance, including production for inspection and copying of employment records. The City may designate representatives, including city contractors and representatives of unions or worker advocacy organizations, to access the workshe and relevant records. 5. Complaints that any provision of this chapter has been violated may also be presented to the City Attorney, who is hereby authorized to investigate and, if they deem appropriate, initiate legal or other action to remedy any violation of this chapter. 6. The City has the authority to issue administrative citations and to order injunctive relief including reinstatement, restitution, payment of back wages, or other forms of relief. 7. The City may, in the exercise of its authority and performance of its functions and services, agree by contract or otherwise to participate jointly or in cooperation with Washington State, King County, or any city, town, or other incorporated place, or subdivision thereof, or engage outside counsel, to enforce this chapter. 8. The remedies and penalties provided under this chapter are cumulative and are not intended to be exclusive of any other available remedies or penalties, including existing remedies for enforcement of Renton Municipal Code chapters. 9. The statute of limitations for any enforcement action shall be five (5) years. Section 9. A new section is added to Renton Municipal Code (RMC) Section 5-5-4 as follows: 1. The Finance Director may deny, suspend, or revoke any license under this chapter for violation of this ordinance. 2. The Finance Director must deny, suspend, or revoke any license under this chapter for repeated intentional violations of this ordinance. 3. Any action by the Finance Director under this section shall be subject to the procedures and requirements of RMC subsection 5-5-3.E, as well as other due process rights that a court may require. Section 10. Definitions. For the purposes of this chapter, the following terms shall have the following meanings: "City" means the City of Renton. "Covered employer" means an employer that either (1) employs at least 15 employees regardless of where those employees are employed, or (2) has annual gross revenue over $2 million. "Effective date" is the effective date of this ordinance. "Employee" is defined as set forth in RCW 49,46.010. An employer bears the burden of proof that the individual is, as a matter of economic reality, in business for oneself rather than dependent upon the alleged employer. "Employer" is defined as set forth in RCW 49.46.010. "Employer classification" includes the determination of whether an employer is a covered employer and whether a covered employer is a large employer. "Franchise" means an agreement, express or implied, oral or written by which: 1. A person is granted the right to engage in the business of offering, selling, or distributing goods or services under a marketing plan prescribed or suggested in substantial part by the grantor or its affiliate; 2. The operation of the business is substantially associated with a trademark, service mark, trade time, advertising, or other commercial symbol; designating, owned by, or licensed by the grantor or its affiliate; and 3. The person pays, agrees to pay, or is required to pay, directly or indirectly, a franchise fee. The term, "franchise fee" is meant to be construed broadly to include any instance in which the grantor or its affiliate derives income or profit from a person who enters into a franchise agreement with the grantor. "Hour worked within the City" is to be interpreted according to its ordinary meaning, including all hours worked within the geographic boundaries of the City, excluding time spent in the City solely for the purpose of traveling through the City from a point of origin outside the City to a destination outside the City, with no employment -related or commercial stops in the City except for refueling or the employee's personal meals or errands. "Large Employer" means all employers that employ more than 500 employees, regardless of where those employees are employed, and all franchisees associated with a franchisor or a network of franchises with franchisees that employ more than 500 employees in aggregate. "Other covered employer" means a covered employer that does not qualify as a large employer. "Service charge" is defined as set forth in RCW 49.46.160(2)(c). "Tips" means a verifiable sum to be presented by a customer as a gift or gratuity in recognition of some service performed for the customer by the employee receiving the tip. "Wage" is defined as set forth in RCW 49.46.010. Section 11. Other Legal Requirements. This ordinance shall not be construed to preempt, limit, or otherwise affect the applicability of any other law, regulation, requirement, policy, or standard that provides for greater wages or compensation; and nothing in this ordinance shall be interpreted or applied so as to create any power or duty in conflict with federal or state law. Section 12. Rulemaking. Within 180 days after the effective date, the City shall adopt rules and procedures to implement and ensue compliance with this chapter, which shall require employers to maintain adequate records and to annually certify compliance with this chapter. The City shall seek feedback from worker organizations and covered employers before finalizing the rules and procedures. Section 13. Constitutional Subject. For constitutional purposes, this measure's subject "concerns labor standards for certain employers." See Filo Foods, LLC v. City of SeaTac, 183 Wash. 2d 770, 783, 357 P.3d 1040, 1047 (2015) (upholding this statement of subject for an initiative that set a minimum wage and addressed employees' access to hours). Section 14. Codification. All sections of this ordinance except section 9 shall be codified in a new chapter of the Renton Municipal Code. Section 15. Election date. In the event that the election on this measure takes place later than November 7, 2023, the Finance Department must establish and publish the initial minimum wage within 30 days of the effective date. Section 16. Severability. The provisions of this ordinance me declared to be separate and severable. If any clause, sentence, paragraph, subdivision, section, subsection, or portion of this ordinance, or the application thereof to any employer, employee, or circumstance, is held to be invalid, it shall not affect the validity of the remainder of this ordinance, or the validity of its application to other persons or circumstances. Raising The Minimum Wage In Renton INITIATIVE PETITION FOR SUBMISSION TO THE RENTON CITY COUNCIL TO: The City Council of the City of Renton: AO 13933-M awauvx�'` We, the undersigned registered voters of the City of Renton, State of Washington, residing at the addresses set forth opposite our respective names, being equal to fifteen percent (15%) of the total number of names of persons listed as registered voters within the City on the day of the last preceding City general election, respectfully request that the following ordinance be enacted by the City Council or, if not so enacted, be submitted to a vote of the residents of the City. The title of the said ordinance is as follows: ORDINANCE CONCERNING LABOR STANDARDS FOR CERTAIN EMPLOYEES A full, true and correct copy of the ordinance is attached to this Petition. Each of us for himself or herself says: I have personally signed this petition; I am a registered voter of the City of Renton, State of Washington; and my residence is correctly stated. Signature 4. 5. Printed Name Printed Name Street and Number 1234 Anywhere St. 22 S-f- City Phone Number Renton 206-555-1234 Renton Renton °I S� Renton r— }� QC Renton 1725_�_900 11 ?k q Renton 2 �3 JOU- 9 ! h r �J ��% �/�� GR w p� JL-` y 7. 9Ci/6h 1N', . S ,V u 1 6 1m :�% ei b A) 4, l � 6!�wMw 8.�� l ��i .CJ" �rr1-I VJl� �� Renton 9. ANY e+, ,A ( I \, ,zA. , I.�- I ) , , —1,/2,"1 4-It: / /,,s/ l) niir n1/i/ Renton 41 , 2-7—,�z3 =1WffWe Email maria@something.org C 0('- Date 4/10/2023 5izoj 5 5!-?��3 0 z5l-a'23 Warning Every person who signs this petition with any other than his or her true name, or who knowingly signs more than one of these petitions, or signs a petition seek- ing an election when he or she is not a legal voter, or signs a petition when he or she is otherwise not qualified to sign, or who makes herein any false statement, shall be guilty of a misdemeanor. AN ORDINANCE concerning labor standards for certain employees. Section 1. Findings. 1. The people of the City of Renton hereby adopt this citizen initiative addressing labor standards for certain employees, for the purpose of ensuring that, to the extent reasonably practicable, people employed in Renton have good wages and access to sufficient hours of work. 2. The City of Renton is one of largest job centers in Washington State, with thousands of shoppers and workers visiting daily to participate in the local economy. Renton is home to The Landing shopping center, the historic Downtown Urban Center, as well as retail and commercial office and warehouse districts mound the Rainier/Cindy Way Junction. The City is a net importer ofjobs, with nearly 60,000 employed workers. Renton has a wide may of both long established and new and evolving business sectors. Retail businesses, restaurants and bars, auto sales, hospitality, healthcare, and office workers are well represented. 3. The statewide minimum wage is not sufficient to afford rising rents and costs of living in Renton. According to the National Low Income Housing Coalition's Out of Reach 2022 report, a worker making Washington's minimum wage would have to work 72 hours each week (up from 70 hours each week in 2021) to afford a modest one -bedroom rental home at Fair Market Rent. 4. When working families earn insufficient income due to low wages and involuntary under -employment, they straggle to pay for basic necessities like health cue, child care, and groceries, and they are more likely to be evicted and become homeless. 5. Nearby King County cities of SeaTac, Seattle, and Tukwila enacted higher minimum wages in 2013, 2014, and 2022 respectively, but until now Renton has not followed suit. 6. Children growing up in poverty experience insecurity with housing, nutrition, and health cue while enduring other hardships that prevent their ability to Team in school. Full time working parents must be able to reasonably provide for their family to ensure access to the opportunities and promise of public education. Section 2. Intent. It is the intent of the people to establish fair labor standards and protect the rights of workers by: (1) ensuring that the vast majority of employees in the -City of Renton receive a minimum wage comparable to employees in the nearby cities of Tukwila, SeaTac, and Seattle; (2) requiring covered employers to offer additional hours of work to qualified part-time employees before hiring new employees to fill those hours; and (3) adopting enforcement requirements. Section 3. Large Employers Shall Pay Minimum Wages Comparable to Those in Nearby Cities. 1. Effective July 1, 2024, every large employer shall pay to each employee an hourly wage of not less than the 2023 new minimum wage rate in the City of Tukwila, established by City of Tukwila Initiative Measure No. 1, approved by voters in November 2022, adjusted for 2024 by the annual rate of inflation. 2. On January 1, 2025, and on each January 1 thereafter, the hourly minimum wage shall increase by the annual rate of inflation to maintain employee purchasing power. 3. By December 31, 2023, and by October 15 of each year thereafter, the Finance Department shall establish and publish the applicable hourly minimum wage for the following year using the annual rate of inflation. 4. For purposes of this chapter, the annual rate of inflation means 100 percent of the annual average growth rate of the bi-monthly Seattle -Tacoma -Bellevue Area Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers, termed CPI-W, for the 12-month period ending in August, provided that the percentage increase shall not be less than zero. 5. An employer must pay to its employees: a. All tips and gratuities; and b. All service charges as defined under RCW 49.46.160 except those that, pursuant to RCW 49.46.160, we itemized as not being payable to the employee or employees servicing the customer. Tips and service charges paid to an employee are in addition to, and may not count towards, the employee's hourly minimum wage. Section 4. Other Covered Employers Shall Have a Multiyear Phase -In Period. Other covered employers shall phase in the new minimum wage, as follows: 1. Effective July 1, 2024, other covered employers shall pay employees not less than the hourly minimum wage established under Section 3 minus Two Dollars ($2) per hour. 2. Effective July 1, 2025, other covered employers shall pay employees not less than the hourly minimum wage established under Section 3 minus One Dollar ($1) per hour. 3. Effective July 1, 2026, and thereafter, all covered employers shall pay employees not less than the hourly minimum wage established under Section 3. Section 5. Coverage and Employer Classifications. 1. Covered employers must pay employees at least the minimum wage established by this chapter for each hour worked within the City. 2. Employer classification for the current calendar yew will be calculated based upon the average number of employees during all weeks in the previous calendar year in which the employer had at least one employee. For employers that did not have any employees during the previous calendar year, classification will be based upon the average number of employees during the most recent three months of the current yew. In this determination, all employees will be counted, regardless of their location, and including employees who worked in full-time employment, part-time employment, joint employment, temporary employment, or through the services of a temporary services or staffing agency or similar entity. 3. Employer classification for the current calendar year will be calculated based upon the gross revenue for the previous year. For employers that did not have gross revenue during the previous calendar year, annual gross revenue will be calculated from the gross revenue during the most recent three months of the current year. 4. For the purposes of employer classification, separate entities will be considered a single employer if they form an integrated enterprise or they are under joint control by one of those entities or a separate entity. The factors to consider in making this assessment include, but are not limited to: a. Degree of interrelation between the operations of multiple entities; b. Degree to which the entities share common management; C. Centralized control of labor relations; and d. Degree of common ownership or financial control over the entities. Section 6. Part -Time Employees Shall Have Fair Access to Additional Hours. 1. Before hiring additional employees or subcontractors, including hiring through the use of temporary services or staffing agencies, covered employers must offer additional hours of work to existing employees who, in the employer's good faith and reasonable judgment, have the skills and experience to perform the work, and shall use a reasonable, transparent, and nondiscriminatory process to distribute the hours of work among those existing employees. 2. This section shall not be construed to require any employer to offer an employee work horns if the employer would be required to compensate the employee at time -and -a -half or other premium rate under any law or collective bargaining agreement, nor to prohibit any employer from offering such work hours. Section 7. Retaliation Prohibited. 1. No employer or any other person shall interfere with, restrain, or deny the exercise of, or the attempt to exercise, any right protected under this chapter. 2. No employer or any other person shall take any adverse action against any person because the person has exercised in good faith the rights under this chapter. Such rights include but are not limited to the right to make inquiries about the rights protected under this chapter; the right to inform others about their rights under this chapter; the right to inform the person's employer, union, or similar organization, and/or the person's legal counsel or any other person about an alleged violation of this chapter•, the right to bring a civil action for an alleged violation of this chapter; the right to testify in a proceeding under or related to this chapter; the right to refuse to participate in an activity that would result in a violation of city, state, or federal law; and the right to oppose any policy, practice, or act that is unlawful under this chapter. 3. For the purposes of this section, an adverse action means denying ajob or promotion, demoting, terminating, failing to rehire after a seasonal interruption of work, threatening, penalizing, retaliating, engaging in unfair immigration -related practices, filing a false report with a government agency, changing an employee's status to nonemployee, decreasing or declining to provide additional work hours when they otherwise would have been offered, scheduling an employee for horns outside of their availability, or otherwise discriminating against any person for any reason prohibited by this chapter. "Adverse action" for an employee may involve any aspect of employment, including pay, work hours, responsibilities, or other material change in the terms and conditions of employment. 4. No employer or any other person shall communicate to a person exercising rights protected under this chapter, directly or indirectly, the willingness to inform a government employee that the person is not lawfully in the United States, or to report, or to make an implied or express assertion of a willingness to report, suspected citizenship or immigration status of the person or a family member of the person to a federal, state, or local agency because the person has exercised a right under this chapter. 5. There shall be a rebuttable presumption of unlawful retaliation if an employer or any other person takes an adverse action against a person within 90 days of the person's exercise of any right protected in this chapter. However, in the case of seasonal work that ended before the close of the 90-day period, the presumption also applies if the employer fails to rehire a former employee at the next opportunity for work in the same position. The employer may rebut the presumption with clear and convincing evidence that the adverse action was taken for a permissible purpose. 6. Standard of Proof. Proof of retaliation under this chapter shall be sufficient upon a showing that an employer or any other person has taken an adverse action against a person and the person's exercise of rights protected in this chapter was a motivating factor in the adverse action, unless the employer can prove that the action would have been taken in the absence of such protected activity. 7. The protections afforded under this section shall apply to any person who mistakenly but in good faith alleges violations of this chapter. Section 8. Enforcement. 1. Any person or class of persons that suffers financial injury as a result of a violation of this chapter or is the subject of prohibited retaliation under this chapter, or any other individual or entity acting on their behalf, may bring a civil action in a court of competent jurisdiction against the employer or other person violating this chapter and, upon prevailing, shall be awarded reasonable attorney fees and costs and such legal or equitable relief as may be appropriate to remedy the violation including, without limitation, the payment of any unpaid wages plus interest due to the person and liquidated damages in an additional amount of up to twice the unpaid wages; compensatory damages; and a penalty payable to any aggrieved party of up to $5,000 if the aggrieved party was subject to prohibited retaliation. For the purposes of this section, an aggrieved party means an employee or other person who suffers tangible or intangible harm due to an employer or other person's violation of this chapter. Interest shall accrue from the date the unpaid wages were first due at the higher of twelve percent per arum or the maximum rate permitted under RCW 19,52.020. 2. For purposes of determining membership within a class of persons entitled to bring an action under this section, two or more employees are similarly situated if they: a. Are or were employed by the same employer or employers, whether concurrently or otherwise, at some point during the applicable statute of limitations period; b. Allege one or more violations that raise similar questions as to liability; and c. Seek similar forms of relief. d. Employees shall not be considered dissimilar solely because their claims seek damages that differ in amount, or their job titles or other means of classifying employees differ in ways that are unrelated to their claims. 3. Each covered employer shall retain records as required by RCW 49.46.070, as well as such information as the City may require to confirm compliance with this chapter. If an employer fails to retain such records, there shall be a presumption, rebuttable by clear and convincing evidence, that the employer violated this chapter for the periods and for each employee for whom records were not retained. 4. Employers shall permit authorized City representatives access to work sites and relevant records for the purpose of monitoring compliance with the chapter and investigating complaints of noncompliance, including production for inspection and copying of employment records. The City may designate representatives, including city contractors and representatives of unions or worker advocacy organizations, to access the worksite and relevant records. 5. Complaints that any provision of this chapter has been violated may also be presented to the City Attorney, who is hereby authorized to investigate and, if they deem appropriate, initiate legal or other action to remedy any violation of this chapter. 6. The City has the authority to issue administrative citations and to order injunctive relief including reinstatement, restitution, payment of back wages, or other fors of relief. 7. The City may, in the exercise of its authority and performance of its functions and services, agree by contract or otherwise to participate jointly or in cooperation with Washington State, King County, or any city, town, or other incorporated place, or subdivision thereof, or engage outside counsel, to enforce this chapter. 8. The remedies and penalties provided under this chapter are cumulative and are not intended to be exclusive of any other available remedies or penalties, including existing remedies for enforcement of Renton Municipal Code chapters. 9. The statute of limitations for any enforcement action shall be five (5) years. Section 9. A new section is added to Renton Municipal Code (RMC) Section 5-5-4 as follows: 1. The Finance Director may deny, suspend, or revoke any license under this chapter for violation of this ordinance. 2. The Finance Director must deny, suspend, or revoke any license under this chapter for repeated intentional violations of this ordinance. 3. Any action by the Finance Director under this section shall be subject to the procedures and requirements of RMC subsection 5-5-3.E, as well as other due process rights that a court may require. Section 10. Definitions. For the purposes of this chapter, the following terms shall have the following meanings: "City" means the City of Renton. "Covered employer" means an employer that either (1) employs at least 15 employees regardless of where those employees are employed, or (2) has annual gross revenue over $2 million. "Effective date" is the effective date of this ordinance. "Employee" is defined as set forth in RCW 49.46.010. An employer bears the burden of proof that the individual is, as a matter of economic reality, in business for oneself rather than dependent upon the alleged employer. "Employer" is defined as set forth in RCW 49.46.010. "Employer classification" includes the determination of whether an employer is a covered employer and whether a covered employer is a large employer. "Franchise" means an agreement, express or implied, oral or written by which: 1. A person is granted the right to engage in the business of offering, selling, or distributing goods or services under a marketing plan prescribed or suggested in substantial part by the grantor or its affiliate; 2. The operation of the business is substantially associated with a trademark, service mark, trade name, advertising, or other commercial symbol; designating, owned by, or licensed by the grantor or its affiliate; and 3. The person pays, agrees to pay, or is required to pay, directly or indirectly, a franchise fee. The term, "franchise fee" is meant to be construed broadly to include any instance in which the grantor or its affiliate derives income or profit from a person who enters into a franchise agreement with the grantor. "Hour worked within the City" is to be interpreted according to its ordinary meaning, including all hours worked within the geographic boundaries of the City, excluding time spent in the City solely for the purpose of traveling through the City from a point of origin outside the City to a destination outside the City, with no employment -related or commercial stops in the City except for refueling or the employee's personal meals or errands. "Large Employer" means all employers that employ more than 500 employees, regardless of where those employees are employed, and all franchisees associated with a franchisor or a network of franchises with franchisees that employ more than 500 employees in aggregate. "Other covered employer" means a covered employer that does not qualify as a large employer. "Service charge" is defined as set forth in RCW 49.46.160(2)(c). "Tips" means a verifiable sum to be presented by a customer as a gift or gratuity in recognition of some service performed for the customer by the employee receiving the tip. "Wage" is defined as set forth in RCW 49.46.010. Section 11. Other Legal Requirements. - This ordinance shall not be construed to preempt, limit, or otherwise affect the applicability of any other law, regulation, requirement, policy, or standard that provides for greater wages or compensation; and nothing in this ordinance shall be interpreted or applied so as to create any power or duty in conflict with federal or state law. Section 12. Rulemaking. Within 180 days after the effective date, the City shall adopt rules and procedures to implement and ensure compliance with this chapter, which shall require employers to maintain adequate records and to annually certify compliance with this chapter. The City shall seek feedback from worker organizations and covered employers before finalizing the rules and procedures. Section 13. Constitutional Subject. For constitutional purposes, this measure's subject "concerns labor standards for certain employers." See Filo Foods, LLC v. City of SeaTac, 183 Wash. 2d 770, 783, 357 P.3d 1040, 1047 (2015) (upholding this statement of subject for an initiative that set a minimum wage and addressed employees' access to hours). Section 14. Codification. All sections of this ordinance except section 9 shall be codified in a new chapter of the Renton Municipal Code. Section 15. Election date. In the event that the election on this measure takes place later than November 7, 2023, the Finance Department must establish and publish the initial minimum wage within 30 days of the effective date. Section 16. Severability. The provisions of this ordinance we declared to be separate and severable. If any clause, sentence, paragraph, subdivision, section, subsection, or portion of this ordinance, or the application thereof to any employer, employee, or circumstance, is held to be invalid, it shall not affect the validity of the remainder of this ordinance, or the validity of its application to other persons or circumstances. .,... -Name Of( Date C vasser Email and Phone 49 Raising The Minimum Wage In Renton INITIATIVE PETITION FOR SUBMISSION TO THE RENTON CITY COUNCIL TO: The City Council of the City of Renton: We, the undersigned registered voters of the City of Renton, State of Washington, residing at the addresses set forth opposite our respective names, being equal to fifteen percent (15%) of the total number of names of persons listed as registered voters within the City on the day of the last preceding City general election, respectfully request that the following ordinance be enacted by the City Council or, if not so enacted, be submitted to a vote of the residents of the City. The title of the said ordinance is as follows: ORDINANCE CONCERNING LABOR STANDARDS FOR CERTAIN EMPLOYEES A full, true and correct copy of the ordinance is attached to this Petition. Each of us for himself or herself says: I have personally signed this petition; I am a registered voter of the City of Renton, State of Washington; and my residence is correctly stated. Signature Printed Name Street and Number City Phone Number Email Date Sax�iCe`Uolnc Printed Name 1234 Anywhere St. Renton 206-555-1234 maria@something.org 4/10/2023 Renton J4� Renton ( c'c�`( ue-/%�� R&rfton ��7Cy� 3. 1IWA161V64 4 we/ L yZJ3 t/aL Renton 0 4. /f L � Renton C S' iJ2 5. �c Renton 5. 4 1S yrl �� ((s yz �=-71 S •2-22"7 S -21 �3 7. C✓{\x1�4 �, z G �X� �< 1 Lk Renton��� la j 8. `G� L�iV lvi� V V ( Renton �cC 9. �6v a ( �6�Oj S� 10 Renton 10. e od��J f�E 20� 0J Renton 4z5-A-03GI Warning Every person who signs this petition with any other than his or her true name, or who knowingly signs more than one of these petitions, or signs a petition seek- ing an election when he or she is not a legal voter, or signs a petition when he or she is otherwise not qualified to sign, or who makes herein any false statement, shall be 9a3-M guilty of a misdemeanor. ®-cccneyr AN ORDINANCE concerning labor standards for certain employees. Section 1. Findings. 1. The people of the City of Renton hereby adopt this citizen initiative addressing labor standards for certain employees, for the purpose of ensuring that, to the extent reasonably practicable, people employed in Renton have good wages and access to sufficient hours of work. 2. The City of Renton is one of the largestjob centers in Washington State, with thousands of shoppers and workers visiting daily to participate in the local economy. Renton is home to The Landing shopping center, the historic Downtown Urban Center, as well as retail and commercial office and warehouse districts around the Rainier/Grady Way Junction. The City is a net importer ofjobs, with nearly 60,000 employed workers. Renton has a wide array of both long established and new and evolving business sectors. Retail businesses, restaurants and bus, auto sales, hospitality, healthcare, and office workers are well represented. 3. The statewide minimum wage is not sufficient to afford rising rents and costs of living in Renton. According to the National Low Income Housing Coalition's Out of Reach 2022 report, a worker making Washington's minimum wage would have to work 72 hours each week (up from 70 hours each week in 2021) to afford a modest one -bedroom rental home at Fair Market Rent, 4. When working families earn insufficient income due to low wages and involuntary under -employment, they struggle to pay for basic necessities like health care, child care, and groceries, and they are more likely to be evicted and become homeless. 5. Nearby King County cities of SeaTac, Seattle, and Tukwila enacted higher minimum wages in 2013, 2014, and 2022 respectively, but until now Renton has not followed suit. 6. Children growing up in poverty experience insecurity with housing, nutrition, and health care while enduring other hardships that prevent their ability to learn in school, Full time working parents must be able to reasonably provide for their family to ensure access to the opportunities and promise of public education. Section 2. Intent. It is the intent of the people to establish fair labor standards and protect the rights of workers by: (1) ensuring that the vast majority of employees in the City of Renton receive a minimum wage comparable to employees in the nearby cities of Tukwila, SeaTac, and Seattle; (2) requiring covered employers to offer additional hours of work to qualified part-time employees before hiring new employees to fill those hours; and (3) adopting enforcement requirements, Section 3. Large Employers Shall Pay Minimum Wages Comparable to Those in Nearby Cities. 1. Effective July I, 2024, every large employer shall pay to each employee an hourly wage of not less than the 2023 new minimum wage rate in the City of Tukwila, established by City of Tukwila Initiative Measure No. 1, approved by voters in November 2022, adjusted for 2024 by the annual rate of inflation. 2. On January 1, 2025, and on each January 1 thereafter, the hourly minimum wage shall increase by the annual rate of inflation to maintain employee purchasing power. 3. By December 31, 2023, and by October 15 of each year thereafter, the Finance Department shall establish and publish the applicable hourly minimum wage for the following year using the annual rate of inflation. 4. For purposes of this chapter, the annual rate of inflation means 100 percent of the annual average growth rate of the bi-monthly Seattle -Tacoma -Bellevue Area Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers, termed CPI-W, for the 12-month period ending in August, provided that the percentage increase shall not be less than zero. 5. An employer must pay to its employees: a. All tips and gratuities; and b. All service charges as defined under RCW 49.46.160 except those that, pursuant to RCW 49.46.160, are itemized as not being payable to the employee or employees servicing the customer. Tips and service charges paid to an employee are in addition to, and may not count towards, the employee's hourly minimum wage. Section 4. Other Covered Employers Shall Have a Multiyear Phase -In Period. Other covered employers shall phase in the new minimum wage, as follows: L Effective July 1, 2024, other covered employers shall pay employees not less than the hourly minimum wage established under Section 3 minus Two Dollars ($2) per hour. 2. Effective July 1, 2025, other covered employers shall pay employees not less than the hourly minimum wage established under Section 3 minus One Dollar ($1) per hour. 3. Effective July 1, 2026, and thereafter, all covered employers shall pay employees not less than the hourly minimum wage established under Section 3. Section 5. Coverage and Employer Classifications. 1. Covered employers must pay employees at least the minimum wage established by this chapter for each hour worked within the City. 2. Employer classification for the current calendar year will be calculated based upon the average number of employees during all weeks in the previous calendar year in which the employer had at least one employee. For employers that did not have any employees during the previous calendar year, classification will be based upon the average number of employees during the most recent three months of the current year. In this determination, all employees will be counted, regardless of their location, and including employees who worked in full-time employment, part-time employment, joint employment, temporary employment, or through the services of a temporary services or staffing agency or similar entity. 3. Employer classification for the current calendar year will be calculated based upon the gross revenue for the previous yew. For employers that did not have gross revenue during the previous calendar year, annual gross revenue will be calculated from the gross revenue during the most recent three months of the current yew. 4. For the purposes of employer classification, separate entities will be considered a single employer if they form an integrated enterprise or they are underjoint control by one of those entities or a separate entity. The factors to consider in making this assessment include, but are not limited to: a. Degree of interrelation between the operations of multiple entities; b. Degree to which the entities share common management; C. Centralized control of labor relations; and d. Degree of common ownership or financial control over the entities. Section 6. Part -Time Employees Shall Have Fair Access to Additional Hours. 1. Before hiring additional employees or subcontractors, including hiring through the use of temporary services or staffing agencies, covered employers must offer additional hours of work to existing employees who, in the employer's good faith and reasonable judgment, have the skills and experience to perform the work, and shall use a reasonable, transparent, and nondiscriminatory process to distribute the hours of work among those existing employees. 2. This section shall not be construed to require any employer to offer an employee work hours if the employer would be required to compensate the employee at time -and -a -half or other premium rate under any law or collective bargaining agreement, nor to prohibit any employer from offering such work hours. Section 7. Retaliation Prohibited. 1. No employer or any other person shall interfere with, restrain, or deny the exercise of, or the attempt to exercise, any right protected under this chapter. 2. No employer or any other person shall take any adverse action against any person because the person has exercised in good faith the rights under this chapter. Such rights include but are not limited to the right to make inquiries about the rights protected under this chapter; the right to inform others about their rights under this chapter; the right to inform the person's employer, union, or similar organization, and/or the person's legal counsel or any other person about an alleged violation of this chapter; the right to bring a civil action for an alleged violation of this chapter; the right to testify in a proceeding under or related to this chapter; the right to refuse to participate in an activity that would result in a violation of city, state, or federal law; and the right to oppose any policy, practice, or act that is unlawful under this chapter. 3. For the purposes of this section, an adverse action means denying a job or promotion, demoting, terminating, failing to rehire after a seasonal interruption of work, threatening, penalizing, retaliating, engaging in unfair immigration -related practices, filing a false report with a government agency, changing an employee's status to nonemployee, decreasing or declining to provide additional work hours when they otherwise would have been offered, scheduling an employee for hours outside of their availability, or otherwise discriminating against any person for any reason prohibited by this chapter. "Adverse action" for an employee may involve any aspect of employment, including pay, work hours, responsibilities, or other material change in the terms and conditions of employment. 4. No employer or any other person shall communicate to a person exercising rights protected under this chapter, directly or indirectly, the willingness to inform a government employee that the person is not lawfully in the United States, or to report, or to make an implied or express assertion of a willingness to report, suspected citizenship or immigration status of the person or a family member of the person to a federal, state, or local agency because the person has exercised a right under this chapter. 5. There shall be a rebuttable presumption of unlawful retaliation if an employer or any other person takes an adverse action against a person within 90 days of the person's exercise of any right protected in this chapter. However, in the case of seasonal work that ended before the close of the 90-day period, the presumption also applies if the employer fails to rehire a former employee at the next opportunity for work in the same position. The employer may rebut the presumption with clear and convincing evidence that the adverse action was taken for a permissible purpose. 6. Standard of Proof. Proof of retaliation under this chapter shall be sufficient upon a showing that an employer or any other person has taken an adverse action against a person and the person's exercise of rights protected in this chapter was a motivating factor in the adverse action, unless the employer can prove that the action would have been taken in the absence of such protected activity. 7. The protections afforded under this section shall apply to any person who mistakenly but in good faith alleges violations of this chapter. Section 8. Enforcement. 1. Any person or class of persons that suffers financial injury as a result of a violation of this chapter or is the subject of prohibited retaliation under this chapter, or any other individual or entity acting on their behalf, may bring a civil action in a court of competent jurisdiction against the employer or other person violating this chapter and, upon prevailing, shall be awarded reasonable attorney fees and costs and such legal or equitable relief as may be appropriate to remedy the violation including, without limitation, the payment of any unpaid wages plus interest due to the person and liquidated damages in an additional amount of up to twice the unpaid wages; compensatory damages; and a penalty payable to any aggrieved party of up to $5,000 if the aggrieved party was subject to prohibited retaliation. For the purposes of this section, an aggrieved party means an employee or other person who suffers tangible or intangible harm due to an employer or other person's violation of this chapter. Interest shall accrue from the date the unpaid wages were first due at the higher of twelve percent per annum or the maximum rate permitted under RCW 19.52.020. 2. For purposes of determining membership within a class of persons entitled to bring an action under this section, two or more employees are similarly situated if they: a. Are or were employed by the same employer or employers, whether concurrently or otherwise, at some point during the applicable statute of limitations period; b. Allege one or more violations that raise similar questions as to liability; and C. Seek similar forms of relief. d. Employees shall not be considered dissimilar solely because their claims seek damages that differ in amount, or theirjob titles or other means of classifying employees differ in ways that are unrelated to their claims. 3. Each covered employer shall retain records as required by RCW 49.46.070, as well as such information as the City may require to confirm compliance with this chapter. If an employer fails to retain such records, there shall be a presumption, rebuttable by clew and convincing evidence, that the employer violated this chapter for the periods and for each employee for whom records were not retained. 4. Employers shall permit authorized City representatives access to work sites and relevant records for the purpose of monitoring compliance with the chapter and investigating complaints of noncompliance, including production for inspection and copying of employment records. The City may designate representatives, including city contractors and representatives of unions or worker advocacy organizations, to access the worksite and relevant records. 5. Complaints that any provision of this chapter has been violated may also be presented to the City Attorney, who is hereby authorized to investigate and, if they deem appropriate, initiate legal or other action to remedy any violation of this chapter. 6. The City has the authority to issue administrative citations and to order injunctive relief including reinstatement, restitution, payment of back wages, or other fortes of relief. 7. The City may, in the exercise of its authority and performance of its functions and services, agree by contract or otherwise to participate jointly or in cooperation with Washington State, King County, or any city, town, or other incorporated place, or subdivision thereof, or engage outside counsel, to enforce this chapter. 8. The remedies and penalties provided under this chapter are cumulative and are not intended to be exclusive of any other available remedies or penalties, including existing remedies for enforcement of Renton Municipal Code chapters. 9. The statute of limitations for any enforcement action shall be five (5) years. Section 9. A new section is added to Renton Municipal Code (RMC) Section 5-5-4 as follows: 1. The Finance Director may deny, suspend, or revoke any license under this chapter for violation of this ordinance. 2. The Finance Director must deny, suspend, or revoke any license under this chapter for repeated intentional violations of this ordinance. 3. Any action by the Finance Director under this section shall be subject to the procedures and requirements o£RMC subsection 5-5-3.E, as well as other due process rights that a court may require. Section 10. Definitions. For the purposes of this chapter, the following terms shall have the following meanings: "City" means the City of Renton. "Covered employer" means an employer that either (1) employs at least 15 employees regardless of where those employees are employed, or (2) has annual gross revenue over $2 million. "Effective date" is the effective date of this ordinance. "Employee" is defined as set forth in RCW 49.46.010. An employer bears the burden of proof that the individual is, as a matter of economic reality, in business for oneself rather than dependent upon the alleged employer. "Employer" is defined as set forth in RCW 49.46.010. "Employer classification" includes the determination of whether an employer is a covered employer and whether a covered employer is a large employer. "Franchise" means an agreement, express or implied, oral or written by which: 1. A person is granted the right to engage in the business of offering, selling, or distributing goods or services under a marketing plan prescribed or suggested in substantial part by the grantor or its affiliate; 2. The operation of the business is substantially associated with a trademark, service mark, trade time, advertising, or other commercial symbol; designating, owned by, or licensed by the grantor or its affiliate; and 3. The person pays, agrees to pay, or is required to pay, directly or indirectly, a franchise fee. The term, "franchise fee" is meant to be construed broadly to include any instance in which the grantor or its affiliate derives income or profit from a person who enters into a franchise agreement with the grantor. "Hour worked within the City" is to be interpreted according to its ordinary meaning, including all hours worked within the geographic boundaries of the City, excluding time spent in the City solely for the purpose of traveling through the City from a point of origin outside the City to a destination outside the City, with no employment -related or commercial stops in the City except for refueling or the employee's personal meals or errands. "Large Employer" means all employers that employ more than 500 employees, regardless of where those employees are employed, and all franchisees associated with a franchisor or a network of franchises with franchisees that employ more than 500 employees in aggregate. "Other covered employer" means a covered employer that does not qualify as a large employer. "Service charge" is defined as set forth in RCW 49.46.I60(2)(c). "Tips" means a verifiable sum to be presented by a customer as a gift or gratuity in recognition of some service performed for the customer by the employee receiving the tip. "Wage" is defined as set forth in RCW 49.46.010. Section 11. Other Legal Requirements. This ordinance shall not be construed to preempt, limit, or otherwise affect the applicability of any other law, regulation, requirement, policy, or standard that provides for greater wages or compensation; and nothing in this ordinance shall be interpreted or applied so as to create any power or duty in conflict with federal or state law. Section 12. Rulemaking. Within 180 days after the effective date, the City shall adopt rules and procedures to implement and ensure compliance with this chapter, which shall require employers to maintain adequate records and to annually certify compliance with this chapter. The City shall seek feedback from worker organizations and covered employers before finalizing the rules and procedures. Section 13. Constitutional Subject. For constitutional purposes, this measure's subject `concerns labor standards for certain employers." See File Foods, LLC v. City of SeaTac, 183 Wash. 2d 770, 783, 357 P.3d 1040, 1047 (2015) (upholding this statement of subject for an initiative that set a minimum wage and addressed employees' access to hours). Section 14. Codification. All sections of this ordinance except section 9 shall be codified in a new chapter of the Renton Municipal Code. Section 15. Election date. In the event that the election on this measure takes place later than November 7, 2023, the Finance Department must establish and publish the initial minimum wage within 30 days of the effective date. Section 16. Severability. The provisions of this ordinance are declared to be separate and severable. If any clause, sentence, paragraph, subdivision, section, subsection, or portion of this ordinance, or the application thereof to any employer, employee, or circumstance, is held to be invalid, it shall not affect the validity of the remainder of this ordinance, or the validity of its application to other persons or circumstances. Name Of Canvasser: Date Canvassed: i lmrvasscr Email and Phone Number: 1. 3. 4. 5. 40 Raising The Minimum Wage In Renton INITIATIVE PETITION FOR SUBMISSION TO THE RENTON CITY COUNCIL TO: The City Council of the City of Renton: We, the undersigned registered voters of the City of Renton, State of Washington, residing at the addresses set forth opposite our respective names, being equal to fifteen percent (15%) of the total number of names of persons listed as registered voters within the City on the day of the last preceding City general election, respectfully request that the following ordinance be enacted by the City Council or, if not so enacted, be submitted to a vote of the residents of the City. The title of the said ordinance is as follows: ORDINANCE CONCERNING LABOR STANDARDS FOR CERTAIN EMPLOYEES A full, true and correct copy of the ordinance is attached to this Petition. Each of us for himself or herself says: I have personally signed this petition; I am a registered voter of the City of Renton, State of Washington; and my residence is correctly stated. Signature Sam#& ti� Printed Name Printed Name Street and Number 1234 Anywhere St. city Phone Number Renton 206-555-1234 Email maria@something.org Date 4/10/2023 WDIV� �f �1 V \I ��2� iv Renton 6 t Z Renton L, ti 1AA (0AA.U,I-\_ �W/`C Owl i5�ja�j �Ori _ Renton GJI� 21a'7 DAw- C+tq&14_6 b2l /g 36gs4i Pz' Renton 5 Z' I i t I ? U 11 t Renton (� Renton 7. WRenton k_ f�� S� I%�/•h. S����� .1 0 10. �O� DARk� 6q t14 Ave- NO GAQ/Z_3 "L rn,�,n� nD o,,yloo -CU.. /� l23 Renton 35Z-53$ _7567 D00IJ0T-fDA @GtNtAlt—co/A l/ Renton Renton j�'�7t �[� t� �Ccv v�� �itsNre-eMA Warning Every person who signs this petition with any other than his or her true name, or who knowingly signs more than one of these petitions, or signs a petition seek- ing an election when he or she is not a legal voter, or signs a petition when he or she is otherwise not qualified to sign, or who makes herein any false statement, shall be guilty of a misdemeanor. Z3 AN ORDINANCE concerning labor standards for certain employees. Section 1. Findings. 1. The people of the City of Renton hereby adopt this citizen initiative addressing labor standards for certain employees, for the purpose of ensuring that, to the extent reasonably practicable, people employed in Renton have good wages and access to sufficient hours of work. 2. The City of Renton is one of the largestjob centers in Washington State, with thousands of shoppers and workers visiting daily to participate in the local economy. Renton is home to The Landing shopping center, the historic Downtown Urban Center, as well as retail and commercial office and warehouse districts around the Rainier/Grady Way Junction. The City is a net importer ofjobs, with nearly 60,000 employed workers. Renton has a wide array of both long established and new and evolving business sectors. Retail businesses, restaurants and bars, auto sales, hospitality, healthcare, and office workers are well represented. 3. The statewide minimum wage is not sufficient to afford rising rents and costs of living in Renton. According to the National Low Income Housing Coalition's Out of Reach 2022 report, a worker making Washington's minimum wage would have to work 72 hours each week (up from 70 hours each week in 2021) to afford a modest one -bedroom rental home at Fair Market Rent. 4. When working families earn insufficient income due to low wages and involuntary under -employment, they struggle to pay for basic necessities like health care, child care, and groceries, and they are more likely to be evicted and become homeless. 5. Nearby King County cities of SeaTac, Seattle, and Tukwila enacted higher minimum wages in 2013, 2014, and 2022 respectively, but until now Renton has not followed suit. 6. Children growing up in poverty experience insecurity with housing, nutrition, and health cue while enduring other hardships that prevent their ability to learn in school. Full time working parents must be able to reasonably provide for their family to ensure access to the opportunities and promise of public education. Section 2. Intent. It is the intent of the people to establish fair labor standards and protect the rights of workers by: (1) ensuring that the vast majority of employees in the City of Renton receive a minimum wage comparable to employees in the nearby cities of Tukwila, SeaTac, and Seattle; (2) requiring covered employers to offer additional hours of work to qualified part-time employees before hiring new employees to fill those hours; and (3) adopting enforcement requirements. Section 3. Large Employers Shall Pay Minimum Wages Comparable to Those in Nearby Cities. 1. Effective July 1, 2024, every large employer shall pay to each employee an hourly wage of not less than the 2023 new minimum wage rate in the City of Tukwila, established by City of Tukwila Initiative Measure No. 1, approved by voters in November 2022, adjusted for 2024 by the annual rate of inflation. 2. On January 1, 2025, and on each January 1 thereafter, the hourly minimum wage shall increase by the annual rate of inflation to maintain employee purchasing power. 3. By December 31, 2023, and by October 15 of each year thereafter, the. Finance Department shall establish and publish the applicable hourly minimum wage for the following year using the annual rate of inflation. 4. For purposes of this chapter, the annual rate of inflation means 100 percent of the annual average growth rate of the bi-monthly Seattle -Tacoma -Bellevue Area Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers, termed CPI-W, for the 12-month period ending in August, provided that the percentage increase shall not be less than zero. 5. An employer must pay to its employees: a. All tips and gratuities; and b. All service charges as defined under RCW 49.46.160 except those that, pursuant to RCW 49.46.160, are itemized as not being payable to the employee or employees servicing the customer. Tips and service charges paid to an employee are in addition to, and may not count towards, the employee's hourly minimum wage. Section 4, Other Covered Employers Shall Have a Multiyear Phase -In Period. Other covered employers shall phase in the new minimum wage, as follows: 1. Effective July 1, 2024, other covered employers shall pay employees not less than the hourly minimum wage established under Section 3 minus Two Dollars ($2) per hour. 2. Effective July I, 2025, other covered employers shall pay employees not less than the hourly minimum wage established under Section 3 minus One Dollar ($1) per hour. 3, Effective July 1, 2026, and thereafter, all covered employers shall pay employees not less than the hourly minimum wage established under Section 3. Section 5. Coverage and Employer Classifications. 1. Covered employers must pay employees at least the minimum wage established by this chapter for each hour worked within the City. 2. Employer classification for the current calendar year will be calculated based upon the average number of employees during all weeks in the previous calendar year in which the employer had at least one employee. For employers that did not have any employees during the previous calendar year, classification will be based upon the average number of employees during the most recent three months of the current year. In this determination, all employees will be counted, regardless of their location, and including employees who worked in full-time employment, part-time employment, joint employment, temporary employment, or through the services of a temporary services or staffing agency or similar entity. 3. Employer classification for the current calendar year will be calculated based upon the gross revenue for the previous year. For employers that did not have gross revenue during the previous calendar year, annual gross revenue will be calculated from the gross revenue during the most recent three months of the current year. 4. For the purposes of employer classification, separate entities will be considered a single employer if they form an integrated enterprise or they are underjoint control by one of those entities or a separate entity. The factors to consider in making this assessment include, but are not limited to: a. Degree of interrelation between the operations of multiple entities; b. Degree to which the entities share common management; C. Centralized control of labor relations; and d. Degree of common ownership or financial control over the entities. Section 6. Part -Time Employees Shall Have Fair Access to Additional Hours. I. Before hiring additional employees or subcontractors, including hiring through the use of temporary services or staffing agencies, covered employers must offer additional hours of work to existing employees who, in the employer's good faith and reasonable judgment, have the skills and experience to perform the work, and shall use a reasonable, transparent, and nondiscriminatory process to distribute the hours of work among those existing employees. 2. This section shall not be construed to require any employer to offer an employee work hours if the employer would be required to compensate the employee at time -and -a -half or other premium rate under any law or collective bargaining agreement, nor to prohibit any employer from offering such work hours. Section 7. Retaliation Prohibited. 1. No employer or any other person shall interfere with, restrain, or deny the exercise of, or the attempt to exercise, any right protected under this chapter. 2. No employer or any other person shall take any adverse action against any person because the person has exercised in good faith the rights under this chapter, Such rights include but are not limited to the right to make inquiries about the rights protected under this chapter; the right to inform others about their rights under this chapter; the right to inform the person's employer, union, or similar organization, and/or the person's legal counsel or any other person about an alleged violation of this chapter; the right to bring a civil action for an alleged violation of this chapter; the right to testify in a proceeding under or related to this chapter; the right to refuse to participate in an activity that would result in a violation of city, state, or federal law; and the right to oppose any policy, practice, or act that is unlawful under this chapter. 3. For the purposes of this section, an adverse action means denying ajob or promotion, demoting, terminating, failing to rehire after a seasonal interruption of work, threatening, penalizing, retaliating, engaging in unfair immigration -related practices, filing a false report with a government agency, changing an employee's status to nonemployee, decreasing or declining to provide additional work hours when they otherwise would have been offered, scheduling an employee for hours outside of their availability, or otherwise discriminating against any person for any reason prohibited by this chapter. "Adverse action" for an employee may involve any aspect of employment, including pay, work hours, responsibilities, or other material change in the terms and conditions of employment. 4. No employer or any other person shall communicate to a person exercising rights protected under this chapter, directly or indirectly, the willingness to inform a government employee that the person is not lawfully in the United States, or to report, or to make an implied or express assertion of a willingness to report, suspected citizenship or immigration status of the person or a family member of the person to a federal, state, or local agency because the person has exercised a right under this chapter. 5. There shall be a rebuttable presumption of unlawful retaliation if an employer or any other person takes an adverse action against a person within 90 days of the person's exercise of any right protected in this chapter. However, in the case of seasonal work that ended before the close of the 90-day period, the presumption also applies if the employer fails to rehire a former employee at the next opportunity for work in the same position. The employer may rebut the presumption with clear and convincing evidence that the adverse action was taken for a permissible purpose. 6. Standard of Proof. Proof of retaliation under this chapter shall be sufficient upon a showing that an employer or any other person has taken an adverse action against a person and the person's exercise of rights protected in this chapter was a motivating factor in the adverse action, unless the employer can prove that the action would have been taken in the absence of such protected activity. 7. The protections afforded under this section shall apply to any person who mistakenly but in good faith alleges violations of this chapter. Section 8. Enforcement. 1. Any person or class of persons that suffers financial injury as a result of a violation of this chapter or is the subject of prohibited retaliation under this chapter, or any other individual or entity acting on their behalf, may bring a civil action in a court of competentjurisdiction against the employer or other person violating this chapter and, upon prevailing, shall be awarded reasonable attorney fees and costs and such legal or equitable relief as may be appropriate to remedy the violation including, without limitation, the payment of any unpaid wages plus interest due to the person and liquidated damages in an additional amount of up to twice the unpaid wages; compensatory damages; and a penalty payable to any aggrieved party of up to $5,000 if the aggrieved partywas subject to prohibited retaliation. For the purposes of this section, an aggrieved party means an employee or other person who suffers tangible or intangible harm due to an employer or other person's violation of this chapter. Interest shall accrue from the date the unpaid wages were first due at the higher of twelve percent per arum or the maximum rate permitted under RCW 19.52,020. 2. For purposes of determining membership within a class of persons entitled to bring an action under this section, two or more employees are similarly situated if they: a. Are or were employed by the same employer or employers, whether concurrently or otherwise, at some point during the applicable statute of limitations period; b. Allege one or more violations that raise similar questions as to liability; and C. Seek similar forms of relief. d. Employees shall not be considered dissimilar solely because their claims seek damages that differ in amount, or theirjob titles or other means of classifying employees differ in ways that are unrelated to their claims. 3. Each covered employer shall retain records as required by RCW 49.46.070, as well as such information as the City may require to confirm compliance with this chapter. If an employer fails to retain such records, there shall be a presumption, rebuttable by clear and convincing evidence, that the employer violated this chapter for the periods and for each employee for whom records were not retained. 4. Employers shall permit authorized City representatives access to work sites and relevant records for the purpose of monitoring compliance with the chapter and investigating complaints of noncompliance, including production for inspection and copying of employment records. The City may designate representatives, including city contractors and representatives of unions or worker advocacy organizations, to access the worksite and relevant records. 5. Complaints that any provision of this chapter has been violated may also be presented to the City Attorney, who is hereby authorized to investigate and, if they deem appropriate, initiate legal or other action to remedy any violation of this chapter. 6. The City has the authority to issue administrative citations and to order injunctive relief including reinstatement, restitution, payment of back wages, or other forms of relief. 7. The City may, in the exercise of its authority and performance of its functions and services, agree by contract or otherwise to participate jointly or in cooperation with Washington State, King County, or any city, town, or other incorporated place, or subdivision thereof, or engage outside counsel, to enforce this chapter. 8. The remedies and penalties provided under this chapter are cumulative and are not intended to be exclusive of any other available remedies or penalties, including existing remedies for enforcement of Renton Municipal Code chapters. 9. The statute of limitations for any enforcement action shall be five (5) yews. Section 9. A new section is added to Renton Municipal Code (RMC) Section 5-5-4 as follows: 1. The Finance Director may deny, suspend, or revoke any license under this chapter for violation of this ordinance. 2. The Finance Director must deny, suspend, or revoke any license under this chapter for repeated intentional violations of this ordinance. 3. Any action by the Finance Director under this section shall be subject to the procedures and requirements of RMC subsection 5-5-3.E, as well as other due process rights that a court may require. Section 10. Definitions. For the purposes of this chapter, the following terms shall have the following meanings: "City" means the City of Renton. "Covered employer" means an employer that either (1) employs at least 15 employees regardless of where those employees are employed, or (2) has annual gross revenue over $2 million. "Effective date" is the effective date of this ordinance. "Employee" is defined as set forth in RCW 49.46.010. An employer bears the burden of proof that the individual is, as a matter of economic reality, in business for oneself rather than dependent upon the alleged employer. "Employer" is defined as set forth in RCW 49.46.010. "Employer classification" includes the determination of whether an employer is a covered employer and whether a covered employer is a large employer. "Franchise" means an agreement, express or implied, oral or written by which: I. A person is granted the right to engage in the business of offering, selling, or distributing goods or services under a marketing plan prescribed or suggested in substantial part by the grantor or its affiliate; 2. The operation of the business is substantially associated with a trademark, service mark, trade time, advertising, or other commercial symbol; designating, owned by, or licensed by the grantor or its affiliate; and 3. The person pays, agrees to pay, or is required to pay, directly or indirectly, a franchise fee. The term, "franchise fee" is meant to be construed broadly to include any instance in which the grantor or its affiliate derives income or profit from a person who enters into a franchise agreement with the grantor. "Hour worked within the City" is to be interpreted according to its ordinary meaning, including all hours worked within the geographic boundaries of the City, excluding time spent in the City solely for the purpose of traveling through the City from a point of origin outside the City to a destination outside the City, with no employment -related or commercial stops in the City except for refueling or the employee's personal meals or errands. "Large Employer" means all employers that employ more than 500 employees, regardless of where those employees are employed, and all franchisees associated with a franchisor or a network of franchises with franchisees that employ more than 500 employees in aggregate. "Other covered employer" means a covered employer that does not qualify as a large employer. "Service charge" is defined as set forth in RCW 49.46.160(2)(c). "Tips" means a verifiable sum to be presented by a customer as a gift or gratuity in recognition of some service performed for the customer by the employee receiving the tip. "Wage" is defined as set forth in RCW 49.46.010. Section 11. Other Legal Requirements. This ordinance shall not be construed to preempt, limit, or otherwise affect the applicability of any other law, regulation, requirement, policy, or standard that provides for greater wages or compensation; and nothing in this ordinance shall be interpreted or applied so as to create any power or duty in conflict with federal or state law. Section 12. Rulemaking. Within 180 days after the effective date, the City shall adopt rules and procedures to implement and ensure compliance with this chapter, which shall require employers to maintain adequate records and to annually certify compliance with this chapter. The City shall seek feedback from worker organizations and covered employers before finalizing the rules and procedures. Section 13. Constitutional Subject. For constitutional purposes, this measure's subject "concerns labor standards for certain employers." See File Foods, LLC v. City of SeaTac, 183 Wash. 2d 770, 783, 357 P.3d 1040, 1047 (2015) (upholding this statement of subject for an initiative that set a minimum wage and addressed employees' access to homy). Section 14. Codification. All sections of this ordinance except section 9 shall be codified in a new chapter of the Renton Municipal Code. Section 15. Election date. In the event that the election on this measure takes place later than November 7, 2023, the Finance Department must establish and publish the initial minimum wage within 30 days of the effective date. Section 16. Severability. The provisions of this ordinance are declared to be separate and severable. If any clause, sentence, paragraph, subdivision, section, subsection, or portion of this ordinance, or the application thereof to any employer, employee, or circumstance, is held to be invalid, it shall not affect the validity of the remainder of this ordinance, or the validity of its application to other persons or circumstances. Name Of Canvasser: Date Canvassed: Canvasser Email and Phone Number: Raising The Minimum Wage In Renton INITIATIVE PETITION FOR SUBMISSION TO THE RENTON CITY COUNCIL TO: The City Council of the City of Renton: We, the undersigned registered voters of the City of Renton, State of Washington, residing at the addresses set forth opposite our respective names, being equal to fifteen percent (15%) of the total number of names of persons listed as registered voters within the City on the day of the last preceding City general election, respectfully request that the following ordinance be enacted by the City Council or, if not so enacted, be submitted to a vote of the residents of the City. The title of the said ordinance is as follows: ORDINANCE CONCERNING LABOR STANDARDS FOR CERTAIN EMPLOYEES A full, true and correct copy of the ordinance is attached to this Petition. Each of us for himself or herself says: I have personally signed this petition; I am a registered voter of the City of Renton, State of Washington; and my residence is correctly stated. Signature Printed Name Street and Number City Phone Number Email Date sties _N�' Printed Name 1234 Anywhere St. Renton 206-555-1234 maria@something.org 4/10/2023 1. 2. I 3. 4. 5. 11 L ff\ 0 1 V+ �\` Renton a q 7 (�a-ln rj G-"\A Renton Renton Al V5� D Ni A. C NOD IUAV4, Wk1r\4rtM RentonqL 64 �j Renton�� N010 S. /��lµ s'( Renton Zo(o S��({lk \jItt„�(oC)u4�.C�C)#'� 7, 1i�1C�iCt G�yS�� i zos C�� tint A1rt S /ktu C��� Renton 9 -7z3 S�5,511 by by;nytinl<@9maii 1 p� �I—Tr` 8. I �Gr�S ItIfr ��eZ loo NUJ 3 r �� �l IS-0 s- Renton aaG-9Na-G (ys (�rGi{�G�S/hSeaf{"�e ` 9. &—Ljr3 ' 3 D q7 enton G - 10. NA'��� N SAN 1 I St L l o4 Renton ( 17�7t U INr!M I SLe0-tlSVkif,^ (1) CA C" I . Warning Every person who signs this petition with any other than his or her true name, or who knowingly signs more than one of these petitions, or signs a petition seek- ing an election when he or she is not a legal voter, or signs a petition when he or she is otherwise not qualified to sign, or who makes herein any false statement, shall be guilty of a misdemeanor. AN ORDINANCE concerning labor standards for certain employees. Section 1. Findings. 1. The people of the City of Renton hereby adopt this citizen initiative addressing labor standards for certain employees, for the purpose of ensuring that, to the extent reasonably practicable, people employed in Renton have good wages and accessto sufficient hours of work. 2. The City of Renton is one of the largest job centers in Washington State, with thousands of shoppers and workers visiting daily to participate in the local economy. Renton is home to The Landing shopping center, the historic Downtown Urban Center, as well as retail and commercial office and warehouse districts around the Rainier/Grady Way Junction. The City is a net importer ofjobs, with nearly 60,000 employed workers. Renton has a wide array of both long established and new and evolving business sectors. Retail businesses, restaurants and bars, auto sales, hospitality, healthcare, and office workers are well represented. 3. The statewide minimum wage is not sufficient to afford rising rents and costs of living in Renton. According to the National Low Income Housing Coalition's Out of Reach 2022 report, a worker making Washington's minimum wage would have to work 72 hours each week (up from 70 hours each week in 2021) to afford a modest one -bedroom rental home at Fair Market Rent. 4. When working families cam insufficient income due to low wages and involuntary under -employment, they struggle to pay for basic necessities like health care, child care, and groceries, and they are more likely to be evicted and become homeless. 5. Nearby King County cities of SeaTac, Seattle, and Tukwila enacted higher minimum wages in 2013, 2014, and 2022 respectively, but until now Renton has not followed suit. 6. Children growing up in poverty experience insecurity with housing, nutrition, and health care while enduring other hardships that prevent their ability to learn in school. Full time working parents must be able to reasonably provide for their family to ensure access to the opportunities and promise of public education. Section 2. Intent. It is the intent of the people to establish fair labor standards and protect the rights of workers by: (1) ensuring that the vast majority of employees in the City of Renton receive a minimum wage comparable to employees in the nearby cities of Tukwila, SeaTac, and Seattle; (2) requiring covered employers to offer additional hours of work to qualified part-time employees before hiring new employees to fill those hours; and (3) adopting enforcement requirements. Section 3. Large Employers Shall Pay Minimum Wages Comparable to Those in Nearby Cities. 1. Effective July 1, 2024, every large employer shall pay to each employee an hourly wage of not less than the 2023 new minimum wage rate in the City of Tukwila, established by City of Tukwila Initiative Measure No. 1, approved by voters in November 2022, adjusted for 2024 by the annual rate of inflation. 2. On January 1, 2025, and on each January 1 thereafter, the hourly minimum wage shall increase by the annual rate of inflation to maintain employee purchasing power. 3. By December 31, 2023, and by October 15 of each year thereafter, the Finance Department shall establish and publish the applicable hourly minimum wage for the following year using the annual rate of inflation. 4. For purposes of this chapter, the annual rate of inflation means 100 percent of the annual average growth rate of the bi-monthly Seattle -Tacoma -Bellevue Area Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers, termed CPI-W, for the 12-month period ending in August, provided that the percentage increase shall not be less than zero. 5. An employer must pay to its employees: a. All tips and gratuities; and b. All service charges as defined under RCW 49.46.160 except those that, pursuant to RCW 49.46.160, are itemized as not being payable to the employee or employees servicing the customer. Tips and service charges paid to an employee are in addition to, and may not count towards, the employee's hourly minimum wage. Section 4. Other Covered Employers Shall Have a Multiyear Phase -In Period. Other covered employers shall phase in the new minimum wage, as follows: 1. Effective July 1, 2024, other covered employers shall pay employees not less than the hourly minimum wage established under Section 3 minus Two Dollars ($2) per hour. 2. Effective July 1, 2025, other covered employers shall pay employees not less than the hourly minimum wage established under Section 3 minus One Dollar ($1) per hour. 3. Effective July 1, 2026, and thereafter, all covered employers shall pay employees not less than the hourly minimum wage established under Section 3. Section 5. Coverage and Employer Classifications. 1. Covered employers must pay employees at least the minimum wage established by this chapter for each hour worked within the City. 2. Employer classification for the current calendar year will be calculated based upon the average number of employees during all weeks in the previous calendar year in which the employer had at least one employee. For employers that did not have any employees during the previous calendar year, classification will be based upon the average number of employees during the most recent three months of the current year. In this determination, all employees will be counted, regardless of their location, and including employees who worked in full-time employment, part-time employment, joint employment, temporary employment, or through the services of a temporary services or staffing agency or similar entity. 3. Employer classification for the current calendar year will be calculated based upon the gross revenue for the previous year. For employers that did not have gross revenue during the previous calendar year, annual gross revenue will be calculated from the gross revenue during the most recent three months of the current year. 4. For the purposes of employer classification, separate entities will be considered a single employer if they form an integrated enterprise or they are underjoint control by one of those entities or a separate entity. The factors to consider in making this assessment include, but are not limited to: a. Degree of interrelation between the operations of multiple entities; b. Degree to which the entities share common management; C. Centralized control of labor relations; and d. Degree of common ownership or financial control over the entities. Section 6. Part -Time Employees Shall Have Fair Access to Additional Hours. 1. Before hiring additional employees or subcontractors, including hiring through the use of temporary services or staffing agencies, covered employers must offer additional hours of work to existing employees who, in the employer's good faith and reasonable judgment, have the skills and experience to perform the work, and shall use a reasonable, transparent, and nondiscriminatory process to distribute the hours of work among those existing employees. 2. This section shall not be construed to require any employer to offer an employee work hours if the employer would be required to compensate the employee at time -and -a -half or other premium rate under any law or collective bargaining agreement, nor to prohibit any employer from offering such work hours. Section 7. Retaliation Prohibited. 1. No employer or any other person shall interfere with, restrain, or deny the exercise of, or the attempt to exercise, any right protected under this chapter. 2. No employer or any other person shall take any adverse action against any person because the person has exercised in good faith the rights under this chapter. Such rights include but are not limited to the right to make inquiries about the rights protected under this chapter; the right to inform others about their rights under this chapter; the right to inform the person's employer, union, or similar organization, and/or the person's legal counsel or any other person about an alleged violation of this chapter; the right to bring a civil action for an alleged violation of this chapter; the right to testify in a proceeding under or related to this chapter; the right to refuse to participate in an activity that would result in a violation of city, state, or federal law; and the right to oppose any policy, practice, or act that is unlawful under this chapter. 3. For the purposes of this section, an adverse action means denying ajob or promotion, demoting, terminating, failing to rehire after a seasonal interruption of work, threatening, penalizing, retaliating, engaging in unfair immigration -related practices, filing a false report with a government agency, changing an employee's status to nonemployee, decreasing or declining to provide additional work hours when they otherwise would have been offered, scheduling an employee for hours outside of their availability, or otherwise discriminating against any person for any reason prohibited by this chapter. "Adverse action" for an employee may involve any aspect of employment, including pay, work hours, responsibilities, or other material change in the terns and conditions of employment. 4. No employer or any other person shall communicate to a person exercising rights protected under this chapter, directly or indirectly, the willingness to inform a government employee that the person is not lawfully in the United States, or to report, or to make an implied or express assertion of a willingness to report, suspected citizenship or immigration status of the person or a family member of the person to a federal, state, or local agency because the person has exercised a right under this chapter. 5. There shall be a rebuttable presumption of unlawful retaliation if an employer or any other person takes an adverse action against a person within 90 days of the person's exercise of any right protected in this chapter. However, in the case of seasonal work that ended before the close of the 90-day period, the presumption also applies if the employer fails to rehire a former employee at the next opportunity for work in the same position. The employer may rebut the presumption with clear and convincing evidence that the adverse action was taken for a permissible purpose. 6. Standard of Proof. Proof of retaliation under this chapter shall be sufficient upon a showing that an employer or any other person has taken an adverse action against a person and the person's exercise of rights protected in this chapter was a motivating factor in the adverse action, unless the employer can prove that the action would have been taken in the absence of such protected activity. 7. The protections afforded under this section shall apply to any person who mistakenly but in good faith alleges violations of this chapter. Section 8. Enforcement. 1. Any person or class of persons that suffers financial injury as a result of a violation of this chapter or is the subject of prohibited retaliation under this chapter, or any other individual or entity acting on their behalf, may bring a civil action in a court of competent jurisdiction against the employer or other person violating this chapter and, upon prevailing, shall be awarded reasonable attorney fees and costs and such legal or equitable relief as may be appropriate to remedy the violation including, without limitation, the payment of any unpaid wages plus interest due to the person and liquidated damages in an additional amount of up to twice the unpaid wages; compensatory damages; and a penalty payable to any aggrieved party of up to $5,000 if the aggrieved party was subject to prohibited retaliation. For the purposes of this section, an aggrieved party means an employee or other person who suffers tangible or intangible hams due to an employer or other person's violation of this chapter. Interest shall accrue from the date the unpaid wages were first due at the higher of twelve percent per annum or the maximum rate permitted under RCW 19.52.020. 2. For purposes of determining membership within a class of persons entitled to bring an action under this section, two or more employees are similarly situated if they: a. Are or were employed by the same employer or employers, whether concurrently or otherwise, at some point during the applicable statute of limitations period; b. Allege one or more violations that raise similar questions as to liability; and C. Seek similar forms of relief. d. Employees shall not be considered dissimilar solely because their claims seek damages that differ in amount, or theirjob titles or other means of classifying employees differ in ways that are unrelated to their claims. 3. Each covered employer shall retain records as required by RCW 49.46.070, as well as such information as the City may require to confirm compliance with this chapter. If an employer fails to retain such records, there shall be a presumption, rebuttable by clear and convincing evidence, that the employer violated this chapter for the periods and for each employee for whom records were not retained. 4. Employers shall permit authorized City representatives access to work sites and relevant records for the purpose of monitoring compliance with the chapter and investigating complaints of noncompliance, including production for inspection and copying of employment records. The City may designate representatives, including city contractors and representatives of unions or worker advocacy organizations, to access the worksite and relevant records. 5. Complaints that any provision of this chapter has been violated may also be presented to the City Attorney, who is hereby authorized to investigate and, if they deem appropriate, initiate legal or other action to remedy any violation of this chapter. 6. The City has the authority to issue administrative citations and to order injunctive relief including reinstatement, restitution, payment of back wages, or other forms of relief. 7. The City may, in the exercise of its authority and performance of its functions and services, agree by contract or otherwise to participate jointly or in cooperation with Washington State, King County, or any city, town, or other incorporated place, or subdivision thereof, or engage outside counsel, to enforce this chapter. 8. The remedies and penalties provided under this chapter are cumulative and are not intended to be exclusive of any other available remedies or penalties, including existing remedies for enforcement of Renton Municipal Code chapters. 9. The statute of limitations for any enforcement action shall be five (5) years. Section 9. A new section is added to Renton Municipal Code (RMC) Section 5-5-4 as follows: 1. The Finance Director may deny, suspend, or revoke any license under this chapter for violation of this ordinance. 2. The Finance Director must deny, suspend, or revoke any license under this chapter for repeated intentional violations of this ordinance. 3. Any action by the Finance Director under this section shall be subject to the procedures and requirements of RMC subsection 5-5-3.E, as well as other due process rights that a court may require. Section 10. Definitions. For the purposes of this chapter, the following terms shall have the following meanings: "City" means the City of Renton. "Covered employer" means an employer that either (1) employs at least 15 employees regardless of where those employees are employed, or (2) has annual gross revenue over $2 million. "Effective date" is the effective date of this ordinance. "Employee" is defined as set forth in RCW 49.46.010. An employer bears the burden of proof that the individual is, as a matter of economic reality, in business for oneself rather than dependent upon the alleged employer. "Employer" is defined as set forth in RCW 49.46.010. "Employer classification" includes the determination of whether an employer is a covered employer and whether a covered employer is a large employer. "Franchise" means an agreement, express or implied, oral or written by which: 1. Aperson is granted the right to engage in the business of offering, selling, or distributing goods or services under a marketing plan prescribed or suggested in substantial part by the grantor or its affiliate; 2. The operation of the business is substantially associated with a trademark, service mark, trade time, advertising, or other commercial symbol; designating, owned by, or licensed by the grantor or its affiliate; and 3. The person pays, agrees to pay, or is required to pay, directly or indirectly, a franchise fee. The term, "franchise fee" is meant to be construed broadly to include any instance in which the grantor or its affiliate derives income or profit from a person who enters into a franchise agreement with the grantor. "Hour worked within the City" is to be interpreted according to its ordinary meaning, including all hours worked within the geographic boundaries of the City, excluding time spent in the City solely for the purpose of traveling through the City from a point of origin outside the City to a destination outside the City, with no employment -related or commercial stops in the City except for refueling or the employee's personal meals,on errands. "Large Employer" means all employers that employ more than 500 employees, regardless of where those employees are employed, and all franchisees associated with a franchisor or a network of franchises with franchisees that employ more than 500 employees in aggregate. "Other covered employer" means a covered employer that does not qualify as a large employer. "Service charge" is defined as set forth in RCW 49.46.160(2)(c). "Tips" means a verifiable sum to be presented by a customer as a gift or gratuity in recognition of some service performed for the customer by the employee receiving the tip. "Wage" is defined as set forth in RCW 49.46.010. Section 11. Other Legal Requirements. This ordinance shall not be construed to preempt, limit, or otherwise affect the applicability of any other law, regulation, requirement, policy, or standard that provides for greater wages or compensation; and nothing in this ordinance shall be interpreted or applied so as to create any power or duty in conflict with federal or state law. Section 12. Rulemaking. Within 180 days after the effective date, the City shall adopt rules and procedures to implement and ensure compliance with this chapter, which shall require employers to maintain adequate records and to annually certify compliance with this chapter. The City shall seek feedback from worker organizations and covered employers before finalizing the rules and procedures. Section 13. Constitutional Subject. For constitutional purposes, this measure's subject `concerns labor standards for certain employers." See Filo Foods, LLC v. City of SeaTac, 183 Wash. 2d 770, 783, 357 P.3d 1040, 1047 (2015) (upholding this statement of subject for an initiative that set a minimum wage and addressed employees' access to hours). Section 14. Codification. All sections of this ordinance except section 9 shall be codified in a new chapter of the Renton Municipal Code. Section 15. Election date. In the event that the election on this measure takes place later than November 7, 2023, the Finance Department must establish and publish the initial minimum wage within 30 days of the effective date. Section 16. Severability. The provisions of this ordinance are declared to be separate and severable. If any clause, sentence, paragraph, subdivision, section, subsection, or portion of this ordinance, or the application thereof to any employer, employee, or circumstance, is held to be invalid, it shall not affect the validity of the remainder of this ordinance, or the validity of its application to other persons or circumstances. Name Of Canvasser: Date Canvassed: Canvasser Email and Phone Number: Raising The Minimum Wage In Renton INITIATIVE PETITION FOR SUBMISSION TO THE RENTON CITY COUNCIL TO: The City Council of the City of Renton: ® %cccner 933-M We, the undersigned registered voters of the City of Renton, State of Washington, residing at the addresses set forth opposite our respective names, being equal to fifteen percent (15%) of the total number of names of persons listed as registered voters within the City on the day of the last preceding City general election, respectfully request that the following ordinance be enacted by the City Council or, if not so enacted, be submitted to a vote of the residents of the City. The title of the said ordinance is as follows: ORDINANCE CONCERNING LABOR STANDARDS FOR CERTAIN EMPLOYEES A full, true and correct copy of the ordinance is attached to this Petition. Each of us for himself or herself says: I have personally signed this petition; I am a registered voter of the City of Renton, State of Washington; and my residence is correctly stated. Signature Printed Name Street and Number city Phone Number Email Date Sanyrfe?/°te�c Printed Name 1234 Anywhere St. Renton 206-555-1234 maria@something.org 4/10/2023 2. I / _� I / A 3. Q J O 4. G �J r"W FI 8. 9. 10. '14 U Z_ i c Renton l / Renton �✓. < : � Win, .6.' Renton�� Renton a 1, r (n IV- lwj o SE l f S S4 . Renton �j(i� C(2�' 2Z 5_ A yl Renton Ui°�t (2)� Renton V 3�A(^G �C- Id �wo) S�. �e�a vi_'(41( Renton ZD-t 'A"wx Renton Renton Wk -L�� q�Lt� Warning Every person who signs this petition with any other than his or her true name, or who knowingly signs more than one of these petitions, or signs a petition seek- ing an election when he or she is not a legal voter, or signs a petition when he or she is otherwise not qualified to sign, or who makes herein any false statement, shall be guilty of a misdemeanor. AN ORDINANCE concerning labor standards for certain employees. Section 1. Findings. 1. The people of the City of Renton hereby adopt this citizen initiative addressing labor standards for certain employees, for the purpose of ensuring that, to the extent reasonably practicable, people employed in Renton have good wages and access to sufficient hours of work. 2. The City of Renton is one of the largestjob centers in Washington State, with thousands of shoppers and workers visiting daily to participate in the local economy. Renton is home to The Landing shopping center, the historic Downtown Urban Center, as well as retail and commercial office and warehouse districts around the Rainier/Grady Way Junction. The City is a net importer ofjobs, with nearly 60,000 employed workers. Renton has a wide array of both long established and new and evolving business sectors. Retail businesses, restaurants and bars, auto sales, hospitality, healthcare, and office workers are well represented. 3. The statewide minimum wage is not sufficient to afford rising rents and costs of living in Renton. According to the National Low Income Housing Coalition's Out of Reach 2022 report, a worker making Washington's minimum wage would have to work 72 hours each week (up from 70 hours each week in 2021) to afford a modest one -bedroom rental home at Fair Market Rent. 4. When working families earn insufficient income due to low wages and involuntary under -employment, they struggle to pay for basic necessities like health care, child care, and groceries, and they are more likely to be evicted and become homeless. 5. Nearby King County cities of SeaTac, Seattle, and Tukwila enacted higher minimum wages in 2013, 2014, and 2022 respectively, but until now Renton has not followed suit. 6. Children growing up in poverty experience insecurity with housing, nutrition, and health care while enduring other hardships that prevent their ability to learn in school. Full time working parents must be able to reasonably provide for their family to ensure access to the opportunities and promise of public education. Section 2. Intent. It is the intent of the people to establish fair labor standards and protect the rights of workers by: (1) ensuring that the vast majority of employees in the City of Renton receive a minimum wage comparable to employees in the nearby cities of Tukwila, SeaTac, and Seattle; (2) requiring covered employers to offer additional hours of work to qualified part-time employees before hiring new employees to fill those hours; and (3) adopting enforcement requirements. Section 3. Large Employers Shall Pay Minimum Wages Comparable to Those in Nearby Cities. 1. Effective July 1, 2024, every large employer shall pay to each employee an hourly wage of not less than the 2023 new minimum wage rate in the City of Tukwila, established by City of Tukwila Initiative Measure No. 1, approved by voters in November 2022, adjusted for 2024 by the annual rate of inflation. 2. On January 1, 2025, and on each January 1 thereafter, the hourly minimum wage shall increase by the annual rate of inflation to maintain employee purchasing power. 3. By December 31, 2023, and by October 15 of each year thereafter, the Finance Department shall establish and publish the applicable hourly minimum wage for the following year using the annual rate of inflation. 4. For purposes of this chapter, the annual rate of inflation means 100 percent of the annual average growth rate of the bi-monthly Seattle -Tacoma -Bellevue Area Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers, termed CPI-W, for the 12-month period ending in August, provided that the percentage increase shall not be less than zero. 5. An employer must pay to its employees: a. All tips and gratuities; and b. All service charges as defined under RCW 49.46.160 except those that, pursuant to RCW 49.46.160, are itemized as not being payable to the employee or employees servicing the customer. Tips and service charges paid to an employee are in addition to, and may not count towards, the employee's hourly minimum wage. Section 4. Other Covered Employers Shall Have a Multiyear Phase -In Period. Other covered employers shall phase in the new minimum wage, as follows: 1. Effective July I, 2024, other covered employers shall pay employees not less than the hourly minimum wage established under Section 3 minus Two Dollars ($2) per hour. 2. Effective July 1, 2025, other covered employers shall pay employees not less than the hourly minimum wage established under Section 3 minus One Dollar ($1) per hour. 3. Effective July 1, 2026, and thereafter, all covered employers shall pay employees not less than the hourly minimum wage established under Section 3. Section 5. Coverage and Employer Classifications. 1. Covered employers must pay employees at least the minimum wage established by this chapter for each hour worked within the City. 2. Employer classification for the current calendar year will be calculated based upon the average number of employees during all weeks in the previous calendar year in which the employer had at least one employee. For employers that did not have any employees during the previous calendar year, classification will be based upon the average number of employees during the most recent three months of the current year. In this determination, all employees will be counted, regardless of their location, and including employees who worked in full-time employment, part-time employment, joint employment, temporary employment, or through the services of a temporary services or staffing agency or similar entity. 3. Employer classification for the current calendar year will be calculated based upon the gross revenue for the previous year. For employers that did not have gross revenue during the previous calendar year, annual gross revenuewill be calculated from the gross revenue during the most recent three months of the current year. 4. For the purposes of employer classification, separate entities will be considered a single employer if they form an integrated enterprise or they are under joint control by one of those entities or a separate entity. The factors to consider in making this assessment include, but are not limited to: a. Degree of interrelation between the operations of multiple entities; b. Degree to which the entities share common management C. Centralized control of labor relations; and it. Degree of common ownership or financial control over the entities. Section 6. Part -Time Employees Shall Have Fair Access to Additional Hours. L Before hiring additional employees or subcontractors, including hiring through the use of temporary services or staffing agencies, covered employers must offer additional hours of work to existing employees who, in the employer's good faith and reasonable judgment, have the skills and experience to perform the work, and shall use a reasonable, transparent, and nondiscriminatory process to distribute the hours of work among those existing employees. 2. This section shall not be construed to require any employer to offer an employee work hours if the employer would be required to compensate the employee at time -and -a -half or other premium rate under any law or collective bargaining agreement, nor to prohibit any employer from offering such work hours. Section 7. Retaliation Prohibited. I. No employer or any other person shall interfere with, restrain, or deny the exercise of, or the attempt to exercise, any right protected under this chapter. 2. No employer or any other person shall take any adverse action against any person because the person has exercised in good faith the rights under this chapter. Such rights include but are not limited to the right to make inquiries about the rights protected under this chapter; the right to inform others about their rights under this chapter; the right to inform the person's employer, union, or similar organization, and/or the person's legal counsel or any other person about an alleged violation of this chapter; the right to bring a civil action for an alleged violation of this chapter; the right to testify in a proceeding under or related to this chapter; the right to refuse to participate in an activity that would result in a violation of city, state, or federal law; and the right to oppose any policy, practice, or act that is unlawful under this chapter. 3. For the purposes of this section, an adverse action means denying a job or promotion, demoting, terminating, failing to rehire after a seasonal interruption of work, threatening, penalizing, retaliating, engaging in unfair immigration -related practices, filing a false report with a government agency, changing an employee's status to nonemployee, decreasing or declining to provide additional work hours when they otherwise would have been offered, scheduling an employee for hours outside of their availability, or otherwise discriminating against any person for any reason prohibited by this chapter. "Adverse action" for an employee may involve any aspectof employment, including pay, work hours, responsibilities, or other material change in the terms and conditions of employment. 4. No employer or any other person shall communicate to a person exercising rights protected under this chapter, directly or indirectly, the willingness to inform a government employee that the person is not lawfully in the United States, or to report, or to make an implied or express assertion of a willingness to report, suspected citizenship or immigration status of the person or a family member of the person to a federal, state, or local agency because the person has exercised a right under this chapter. 5. There shall be a rebuttable presumption of unlawful retaliation if an employer or any other person takes an adverse action against a person within 90 days of the person's exercise of any right protected in this chapter. However, in the case of seasonal work that ended before the close of the 90-day period, the presumption also applies if the employer fails to rehire a former employee at the next opportunity for work in the same position. The employer may rebut the presumption with clew and convincing evidence that the adverse action was taken for a permissible purpose. 6. Standard of Proof. Proof of retaliation under this chapter shall be sufficient upon a showing that an employer or any other person has taken an adverse action against a person 8nd the person's exercise of rights protected in this chapter was a motivating factor in the adverse action, unless the employer can prove that the action would have been taken in the absence of such protected activity. 7. The protections afforded under this section shall apply to any person who mistakenly but in good faith alleges violations of this chapter. Section 8. Enforcement. I. Any person or class of persons that suffers financial injury as a result of a violation of this chapter or is the subject of prohibited retaliation under this chapter, or any other individual or entity acting on their behalf, may bring a civil action in a court of competent jurisdiction against the employer or other person violating this chapter and, upon prevailing, shall be awarded reasonable attorney fees and costs and such legal or equitable relief as may be appropriate to remedy the violation including, without limitation, the payment of any unpaid wages plus interest due to the person and liquidated damages in an additional amount of up to twice the unpaid wages; compensatory damages; and a penalty payable to any aggrieved party of up to $5,000 if the aggrieved party was subject to prohibited retaliation. For the purposes of this section, an aggrieved party means an employee or other person who suffers tangible or intangible harm due to an employer or other person's violation of this chapter. Interest shall accrue from the date the unpaid wages were first due at the higher of twelve percent per annum or the maximum rate permitted under RCW 19.52.020. 2. For purposes of determining membership within a class of persons entitled to bring an action under this section, two or more employees are similarly situated if they: a. Are or were employed by the same employer or employers, whether concurrently or otherwise, at some point timing the applicable statute of limitations period; b. Allege one or more violations that raise similar questions as to liability; and C. Seek similar forms of relief. d. Employees shall not be considered dissimilar solely because their claims seek damages that differ in amount, or theirjob titles or other means of classifying employees differ in ways that are unrelated to their claims. 3. Each covered employer shall retain records as required by RCW 49.46.070, as well as such information as the City may require to confirm compliance with this chapter. If an employer fails to retain such records, there shall be a presumption, rebuttable by clear and convincing evidence, that the employer violated this chapter for the periods and for each employee for whom records were not retained. 4. Employers shall permit authorized City representatives access to work sites and relevant records for the purpose of monitoring compliance with the chapter and investigating complaints of noncompliance, including production for inspection and copying of employment records. The City may designate representatives, including city contractors and representatives of unions or worker advocacy organizations, to access the worksite and relevant records. 5. Complaints that any provision of this chapter has been violated may also be presented to the City Attorney, who is hereby authorized to investigate and, if they deem appropriate, initiate legal or other action to remedy any violation of this chapter. 6. The City has the authority to issue administrative citations and to order injunctive relief including reinstatement, restitution, payment of back wages, or other forms of relief. 7. The City may, in the exercise of its authority and performance of its functions and services, agree by contract or otherwise to participate jointly or in cooperation with Washington State, King County, or any city, town, or other incorporated place, or subdivision thereof, or engage outside counsel, to enforce this chapter. 8. The remedies and penalties provided under this chapter are cumulative and are not intended to be exclusive of any other available remedies or penalties, including existing remedies for enforcement of Renton Municipal Code chapters. 9. The statute of limitations for any enforcement action shall be five (5) years. Section 9. A new section is added to Renton Municipal Code (RMC) Section 5-5-4 as follows: 1. The Finance Director may deny, suspend, or revoke any license under this chapter for violation of this ordinance. 2. The Finance Director must deny, suspend, or revoke any license under this chapter for repeated intentional violations of this ordinance. 3. Any action by the Finance Director under this section shall be subject to the procedures and requirements of RMC subsection 5-5-3.E, as well as other due process rights that a court may require. Section 10. Definitions. For the purposes of this chapter, the following terms shall have the following meanings: "City" means the City of Renton. "Covered employer" means an employer that either (1) employs at least 15 employees regardless of where those employees are employed, or (2) has annual gross revenue over $2 million. "Effective date" is the effective date of this ordinance. "Employee" is defined as set forth in RCW 49.46.010. An employer bears the burden of proof that the individual is, as a matter of economic reality, in business for oneself rather than dependent upon the alleged employer. "Employer" is defined as set forth in RCW 49.46.010. "Employer classification" includes the determination of whether an employer is a covered employer and whether a covered employer is a large employer. "Franchise" means an agreement, express or implied, oral or written by which: 1. A person is granted the right to engage in the business of offering, selling, or distributing goods or services under a marketing plan prescribed or suggested in substantial part by the grantor or its affiliate; 2. The operation of the business is substantially associated with a trademark, service mark, trade time, advertising, or other commercial symbol; designating, owned by, or licensed by the grantor or its affiliate; and 3. The person pays, agrees to pay, or is required to pay, directly or indirectly, a franchise fee. The term, "franchise fee" is meant to be construed broadly to include any instance in which the grantor or its affiliate derives income or profit from a person who enters into a franchise agreement with the grantor. "Hour worked within the City" is to be interpreted according to its ordinary meaning, including all hours worked within the geographic boundaries of the City, excluding time spent in the City solely for the purpose of traveling through the City from a point of origin outside the City to a destination outside the City, with no employment -related or commercial stops in the City except for refueling or the employee's personal meals or errands. "Large Employer" means all employers that employ more than 500 employees, regardless of where those employees are employed, and all franchisees associated with a franchisor or a network of franchises with franchisees that employ more than 500 employees in aggregate. "Other covered employer" means a covered employer that does not qualify as a large employer. "Service charge" is defined as set forth in RCW 49.46.160(2)(c). "Tips" means a verifiable sum to be presented by a customer as a gift or gratuity in recognition of some service performed for the customer by the employee receiving the tip. "Wage" is defined as set forth in RCW 49.46.010. Section 11. Other Legal Requirements. This ordinance shall not be construed to preempt, limit, or otherwise affect the applicability of any other law, regulation, requirement, policy, or standard that provides for greater wages or compensation; and nothing in this ordinance shall be interpreted or applied so as to create any power or duty in conflict with federal or state law. Section 12. Rulemaking. Within 180 days after the effective date, the City shall adopt rules and procedures to implement and ensure compliance with this chapter, which shall require employers to maintain adequate records and to annually certify compliance with this chapter. The City shall seek feedback from worker organizations and covered employers before finalizing the tales and procedures. Section 13. Constitutional Subject. For constitutional purposes, this measure's subject "concerns labor standards for certain employers." See Filo Foods, LLC v. City of SeaTac, 183 Wash. 2d 770, 783, 357 P.3d 1040, 1047 (2015) (upholding this statement of subject for an initiative that set a minimum wage and addressed employees' access to hours). Section 14. Codification. All sections of this ordinance except section 9 shall be codified in a new chapter of the Renton Municipal Code. Section 15. Election date. In the event that the election on this measure takes place later than November 7, 20239 the Finance Department must establish and publish the initial minimum wage within 30 days of the effective date. Section 16. Severability. The provisions of this ordinance are declared to be separate and severable. If any clause, sentence, paragraph, subdivision, section, subsection, or portion of this ordinance, or the application thereof to any employer, employee, or circumstance, is held to be invalid, it shall not affect the validity of the remainder of this ordinance, or the validity of its application to other persons or circumstances. Raising The Minimum Wage In Renton 1 2 7 8. 6 INITIATIVE PETITION FOR SUBMISSION TO THE RENTON CITY COUNCIL TO: The City Council of the City of Renton: ® cccner 933-M We, the undersigned registered voters of the City of Renton, State of Washington, residing at the addresses set forth opposite our respective names, being equal to fifteen percent (15%) of the total number of names of persons listed as registered voters within the City on the day of the last preceding City general election, respectfully request that the following ordinance be enacted by the City Council or, if not so enacted, be submitted to a vote of the residents of the City. The title of the said ordinance is as follows: ORDINANCE CONCERNING LABOR STANDARDS FOR CERTAIN EMPLOYEES A full, true and correct copy of the ordinance is attached to this Petition. Each of us for himself or herself says: I have personally signed this petition; I am a registered voter of the City of Renton, State of Washington; and my residence is correctly stated. Signature SaHgtiPz?* Printed Name Printed Name Street and Number 1234 Anywhere St. City Renton Phone Number 206-555-1234 Email maria@something.org Date 4/10/2023 Warning_.. Every person who signs this petition with any other than his or her true name, or who knowingly signs more than one of these petitions, or signs a petition seek- ing an election when he or she is not a legal voter, or signs a petition when he or she is otherwise not qualified to sign, or who makes herein any false statement, shall be guilty of a misdemeanor. 5113IZ07-3 AN ORDINANCE concerning labor standards for certain employees. Section 1. Findings. 1. The people of the City of Renton hereby adopt this citizen initiative addressing labor standards for certain employees, for the purpose of ensuring that, to the extent reasonably practicable, people employed in Renton have good wages and access to sufficient hours of work. 2. The City of Renton is one of the largest job centers in Washington State, with thousands of shoppers and workers visiting daily to participate in the local economy. Renton is home to The Landing shopping center, the historic Downtown Urban Center, as well as retail and commercial office and warehouse districts around the Rainier/Grady Way Junction. The City is a net importer ofjobs, with nearly 60,000 employed workers. Renton has a wide army of both long established and new and evolving business sectors. Retail businesses, restaurants and bars, auto sales, hospitality, healthcare, and office workers are well represented. 3. The statewide minimum wage is not sufficient to afford rising rents and costs of living in Renton. According to the National Low Income Housing Coalition's Out of Reach 2022 report, a worker making Washington's minimum wage would have to work 72 hours each week (up from 70 hours each week in 2021) to afford a modest one -bedroom rental home at Fair Market Rent. 4. When working families earn insufficient income due to low wages and involuntary under -employment, they struggle to pay for basic necessities like health care, child care, and groceries, and they are more likely to be evicted and become homeless. 5. Nearby King County cities of SeaTac, Seattle, and Tukwila enacted higher minimum wages in 2013, 2014, and 2022 respectively, but until now Renton has not followed suit. 6. Children growing up in poverty experience insecurity with housing, nutrition, and health care while enduring other hardships that prevent their ability to learn in school. Full time working parents must be able to reasonably provide for their family to ensure access to the opportunities and promise of public education. Section 2. Intent. It is the intent of the people to establish fair labor standards and protect the rights of workers by: (1) ensuring that the vast majority of employees in the City of Renton receive a minimum wage comparable to employees in the nearby cities of Tukwila, SeaTac, and Seattle; (2) requiring covered employers to offer additional hours of work to qualified part-time employees before hiring new employees to fill those hours; and (3) adopting enforcement requirements. Section 3. Large Employers Shall Pay Minimum Wages Comparable to Those in Nearby Cities. 1. Effective July 1, 2024, every large employer shall pay to each employee an hourly wage of not less than the 2023 new minimum wage rate in the City of Tukwila, established by City of Tukwila Initiative Measure No. 1, approved by voters in November 2022, adjusted for 2024 by the annual rate of inflation. 2. On January 1, 2025, and on each January 1 thereafter, the hourly minimum wage shall increase by the annual rate of inflation to maintain employee purchasing power. 3. By December 31, 2023, and by October 15 of each year thereafter, the Finance Department shall establish and publish the applicable hourly minimum wage for the following year using the annual rate of inflation. 4. For purposes of this chapter, the annual rate of inflation means 100 percent of the annual average growth rate of the bi-monthly Seattle -Tacoma -Bellevue Area Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers, termed CPI-W, for the 12-month period ending in August, provided that the percentage increase shall not be less than zero. 5. An employer must pay to its employees: a. All tips and gratuities; and b. All service charges as defined under RCW 49.46.160 except those that, pursuant to RCW 49.46.160, are itemized as not being payable to the employee or employees servicing the customer. Tips and service charges paid to an employee are in addition to, and may not count towards, the employee's hourly minimum wage. Section 4. Other Covered Employers Shall Have a Multiyear Phase -In Period. Other covered employers shall phase in the new minimum wage, as follows: 1. Effective July 1, 2024, other covered employers shall pay employees not less than the hourly minimum wage established under Section 3 minus Two Dollars ($2) per hour. 2. Effective July 1, 2025, other covered employers shall pay employees not less than the hourly minimum wage established under Section 3 minus One Dollar ($1) per hour. 3. Effective July 1, 2026, and thereafter, all covered employers shall pay employees not less than the hourly minimum wage established under Section 3. Section 5. Coverage and Employer Classifications. 1. Covered employers must pay employees at least the minimum wage established by this chapter for each hour worked within the City. 2. Employer classification for the current calendar year will be calculated based upon the average number of employees during all weeks in the previous calendar year in which the employer had at least one employee. For employers that did not have any employees during the previous calendar year, classification will be based upon the average number of employees during the most recent three months of the current year. In this determination, all employees will be counted, regardless of their location, and including employees who worked in full-time employment, part-time employment, joint employment, temporary employment, or through the services of a temporary services or staffing agency or similar entity. 3. Employer classification for the current calendar year will be calculated based upon the gross revenue for the previous year. For employers that did not have gross revenue during the previous calendar year, annual gross revenue will be calculated from the gross revenue during the most recent three months of the current year. 4. For the purposes of employer classification, separate entities will be considered a single employer if they form an integrated enterprise or they are underjoint control by one of those entities or a separate entity. The factors to consider in making this assessment include, but are not limited to: a. Degree of interrelation between the operations of multiple entities; b. Degree to which the entities share common management; C. Centralized control of labor relations; and d. Degree of common ownership or financial control over the entities. Section 6. Part -Time Employees Shall Have Fair Access to Additional Hours. 1. Before hiring additional employees or subcontractors, including hiring through the use of temporary services or staffing agencies, covered employers must offer additional hours of work to existing employees who, in the employer's good faith and reasonable judgment, have the skills and experience to perform the work, and shall use a reasonable, transparent, and nondiscriminatory process to distribute the hours of work among those existing employees. 2. This section shall not be construed to require any employer to offer an employee work hours if the employer would be required to compensate the employee at time -and -a -half or other premium rate under any law or collective bargaining agreement, nor to prohibit any employer from offering such work hours. Section 7. Retaliation Prohibited. 1. No employer or any other person shall interfere with, restrain, or deny the exercise of, or the attempt to exercise, any right protected under this chapter. 2. No employer or any other person shall take any adverse action against any person because the person has exercised in good faith the rights under this chapter. Such rights include but are not limited to the right to make inquiries about the rights protected under this chapter; the right to inform others about their rights under this chapter; the right to inform the person's employer, union, or similar organization, and/or the person's legal counsel or any other person about an alleged violation of this chapter; the right to bring a civil action for an alleged violation of this chapter; the right to testify in a proceeding under or related to this chapter, the right to refuse to participate in an activity that would result in a violation of city, state, or federal law; and the right to oppose any policy, practice, or act that is unlawful under this chapter. 3. For the purposes of this section, an adverse action means denying ajob or promotion, demoting, terminating, failing to rehire after a seasonal interruption of work, threatening, penalizing, retaliating, engaging in unfair immigration -related practices, filing a false report with a government agency, changing an employee's status to nonemployee, decreasing or declining to provide additional work hours when they otherwise would have been offered, scheduling an employee for hours outside of their availability, or otherwise discriminating against any person for any reason prohibited by this chapter. "Adverse action" for an employee may involve any aspect of employment, including pay, work hours, responsibilities, or other material change in the terms and conditions of employment. 4. No employer or any other person shall communicate to a person exercising rights protected under this chapter, directly or indirectly, the willingness to inform a government employee that the person is not lawfully in the United States, or to report, or to make an implied or express assertion of a willingness to report, suspected citizenship or immigration status of the person or a family member of the person to a federal, state, or local agency because the person has exercised a right under this chapter, 5. There shall be a rebuttable presumption of unlawful retaliation if an employer or any other person takes an adverse action against a person within 90 days of the person's exercise of any right protected in this chapter. However, in the case of seasonal work that ended before the close of the 90-day period, the presumption also applies if the employer fails to rehire a former employee at the next opportunity for work in the same position. The employer may rebut the presumption with clear and convincing evidence that the adverse action was taken for a permissible purpose. 6. Standard of Proof. Proof of retaliation under this chapter shall be sufficient upon a showing that an employer or any other person has taken an adverse action against a person and the person's exercise of rights protected in this chapter was a motivating factor in the adverse action, unless the employer can prove that the action would have been taken in the absence of such protected activity. 7. The protections afforded under this section shall apply to any person who mistakenly but in good faith alleges violations of this chapter. Section 8. Enforcement. 1. Any person or class of persons that suffers financial injury as a result of a violation of this chapter or is the subject of prohibited retaliation under this chapter, or any other individual or entity acting on their behalf, may bring a civil action in a court of competent jurisdiction against the employer or other person violating this chapter and, upon prevailing, shall be awarded reasonable attorney fees and costs and such legal or equitable relief as may be appropriate to remedy the violation including, without limitation, the payment of any unpaid wages plus interest due to the person and liquidated damages in an additional amount of up to twice the unpaid wages; compensatory damages; and a penalty payable to any aggrieved party of up to $5,000 if the aggrieved party was subject to prohibited retaliation. For the purposes of this section, an aggrieved party means an employee or other person who suffers tangible or intangible harm due to an employer or other person's violation of this chapter. Interest shall accrue from the date the unpaid wages were first due at the higher of twelve percent per arum or the maximum rate permitted under RCW 19.52.020. 2. For purposes of determining membership within a class of persons entitled to bring an action under this section, two or more employees are similarly situated if they: a. Are or were employed by the same employer or employers, whether concurrently or otherwise, at some point during the applicable statute of limitations period; b. Allege one or more violations that raise similar questions as to liability; and C. Seek similar fors of relief. d. Employees shall not be considered dissimilar solely because thew claims seek damages that differ in amount, or their job titles or other means of classifying employees differ in ways that are unrelated to their claims. 3. Each covered employer shall retain records as required by RCW 49.46.070, as well as such information as the City may require to confirm compliance with this chapter. If an employer fails to retain such records, there shall be a presumption, rebuttable by clear and convincing evidence, that the employer violated this chapter for the periods and for each employee for whom records were not retained. 4. Employers shall permit authorized City representatives access to work sites and relevant records for the purpose of monitoring compliance with the chapter and investigating complaints of noncompliance, including production for inspection and copying of employment records. The City may designate representatives, including city contractors and representatives of unions or worker advocacy organizations, to access the worksite and relevant records. 5. Complaints that any provision of this chapter has been violated may also be presented to the City Attorney, who is hereby authorized to investigate and, if they deem appropriate, initiate legal or other action to remedy any violation of this chapter. 6. The City has the authority to issue administrative citations and to order injunctive relief including reinstatement, restitution, payment of back wages, or other forms of relief. 7. The City may, in the exercise of its authority and performance of its functions and services, agree by contract or otherwise to participate jointly or in cooperation with Washington State, King County, or any city, town, or other incorporated place, or subdivision thereof, or engage outside counsel, to enforce this chapter. 8. The remedies and penalties provided under this chapter are cumulative and are not intended to be exclusive of any other available remedies or penalties, including existing remedies for enforcement of Renton Municipal Code chapters. 9. The statute of limitations for any enforcement action shall be five (5) years. Section 9. A new section is added to Renton Municipal Code (RMC) Section 5-5-4 as follows: 1. The Finance Director may deny, suspend, or revoke any license under this chapter for violation of this ordinance. 2. The Finance Director must deny, suspend, or revoke any license under this chapter for repeated intentional violations of this ordinance. 3. Any action by the Finance Director under this section shall be subject to the procedures and requirements of RMC subsection 5-5-3.E, as well as other due process rights that a court may require. Section 10. Definitions. For the purposes of this chapter, the following terms shall have the following meanings: "City" means the City of Renton. "Covered employer" means an employer that either (1) employs at least 15 employees regardless of where those employees are employed, or (2) has annual gross revenue over $2 million. "Effective date" is the effective date of this ordinance. "Employee" is defined as set forth in RCW 49.46.010. An employer bears the burden of proof that the individual is, as a matter of economic reality, in business for oneself rather than dependent upon the alleged employer. "Employer" is defined as set forth in RCW 49.46.010. "Employer classification" includes the determination of whether an employer is a covered employer and whether a covered employer is a large employer. "Franchise" means an agreement, express or implied, oral or written by which: 1. A person is granted the right to engage in the business of offering, selling, or distributing goods or services under a marketing plan prescribed or suggested in substantial part by the grantor or its affiliate; 2. The operation of the business is substantially associated with a trademark, service mark, trade time, advertising, or other commercial symbol; designating, owned by, or licensed by the grantor or its affiliate; and 3. The person pays, agrees to pay, or is required to pay, directly or indirectly, a franchise fee. The term, "franchise fee" is meant to be construed broadly to include any instance in which the grantor or its affiliate derives income or profit from a person who enters into a franchise agreement with the grantor. "Hour worked within the City" is to be interpreted according to its ordinary meaning, including all hours worked within the geographic boundaries of the City, excluding time spent in the City solely for the purpose of traveling through the City from a point of origin outside the City to a destination outside the City, with no employment -related or commercial stops in the City except for refueling or the employee's personal meals or errands. "Large Employer" means all employers that employ more than 500 employees, regardless of where those employees are employed, and all franchisees associated with a franchisor or a network of franchises with franchisees that employ more than 500 employees in aggregate. "Other covered employer" means a covered employer that does not qualify as a large employer. "Service charge" is defined as set forth in RCW 49.46.160(2)(c). "Tips" means a verifiable sum to be presented by a customer as a gift or gratuity in recognition of some service performed for the customer by the employee receiving the tip. "Wage" is defined as set forth in RCW 49.46.010. Section 11. Other Legal Requirements. This ordinance shall not be construed to preempt, limit, or otherwise affect the applicability of any other law, regulation, requirement, policy, or standard that provides for greater wages or compensation; and nothing in this ordinance shall be interpreted or applied so as to create any power or duty in conflict with federal or state law. Section 12. Rulemaking. Within 180 days after the effective date, the City shall adopt rules and procedures to implement and ensure compliance with this chapter, which shall require employers to maintain adequate records and to annually certify compliance with this chapter. The City shall seek feedback from worker organizations and covered employers before finalizing the rules and procedures. Section 13. Constitutional Subject. For constitutional purposes, this measure's subject "concerns labor standards for certain employers." See Filo Foods, LLC v. City of SeaTac, 183 Wash. 2d 770, 783, 357 P.3d 1040, 1047 (2015) (upholding this statement of subject for an initiative that set a minimum wage and addressed employees' access to hours). Section 14. Codification. All sections of this ordinance except section 9 shall be codified in a new chapter of the Renton Municipal Code. Section 15. Election date. In the event that the election on this measure takes place later than November 7, 2023, the Finance Department must establish and publish the initial minimum wage within 30 days of the effective date. Section 16. Severability. The provisions of this ordinance are declared to be separate and severable. If any clause, sentence, paragraph, subdivision, section, subsection, or portion of this ordinance, or the application thereof to any employer, employee, or circumstance, is held to be invalid, it shall not affect the validity of the remainder of this ordinance, or the validity of its application to other persons or circumstances. Raising The Minimum Wage In Renton INITIATIVE PETITION FOR SUBMISSION TO THE RENTON CITY COUNCIL TO: The City Council of the City of Renton: p 1M.P. 933-M We, the undersigned registered voters of the City of Renton, State of Washington, residing at the addresses set forth opposite our respective names, being equal to fifteen percent (15%) of the total number of names of persons listed as registered voters within the City on the day of the last preceding City general election, respectfully request that the following ordinance be enacted by the City Council or, if not so enacted, be submitted to a vote of the residents of the City. The title of the said ordinance is as follows: ORDINANCE CONCERNING LABOR STANDARDS FOR CERTAIN EMPLOYEES A full, true and correct copy of the ordinance is attached to this Petition. Each of us for himself or herself says: I have personally signed this petition; I am a registered voter of the City of Renton, State of Washington; and my residence is correctly stated. Signature Printed Name Street and Number City Phone Number Email Date .Sa?%ter Printed Name 1234 Anywhere St. Renton 206-555-1234 maria@something.org 4/10/2023 1. Renton Tid �h �_L! L�� I ✓uo1L�'��-o� ,� 5 13 23 2. V ��f� W �OIV l rl �ou�d2��- Renton s. Renton yZGJ�j'`�- J�C� POUrr11�JJ��IZ�gR1alI,COn1/i�'�?`� CD a �r PI b 4. �� V�(� Ca,, a l, 'V Vt h-Y) , Renton ��lc I01 ( ( '> vv'P- E 5. (!C i y fur o �� I Renton S 13 4�3 6. Z ",.__'\ LAvw IW6 Renton ��1�� �:-� `�L_ Li\/t(Y((t I��Sh/�,Ccl/(- Renton 7.-�t/�,- 1 j I o�it9/t �7 l S� G%fie ; z s �� o� fd�D�,c,� s. ' ��a ��LI�' S,�S ���� Renton P�- 9. - �J (Js y1 �J is I y�0e7� RentonlOnrp e5Aw"'l'CCylj 5113122 10. V_1jY�P\17'_.n \� v" \'J 1��h'' C� Renton lX 1'� K061 01�GZ f iGL— Warning Every person who signs this petition with any other than his or her true name, or who knowingly signs more than one of these petitions, or signs a petition seek- ing an election when he or she is not a legal voter, or signs a petition when he or she is otherwise not qualified to sign, or who makes herein any false statement, shall be guilty of a misdemeanor. AN ORDINANCE concerning labor standards for certain employees. Section 1. Findings. 1. The people of the City of Renton hereby adopt this citizen initiative addressing labor standards for certain employees, for the purpose of ensuring that, to the extent reasonably practicable, people employed in Renton have good wages and access to sufficient hours of work. 2. The City of Renton is one of the largest job centers in Washington State, with thousands of shoppers and workers visiting daily to participate in the local economy. Renton is home to The Landing shopping center, the historic Downtown Urban Center, as well as retail and commercial office and warehouse districts around the Rainier/Grady Way Junction. The City is a net importer ofjobs, with nearly 60,000 employed workers. Renton has a wide array of both long established and new and evolving business sectors. Retail businesses, restaurants and bars, auto sales, hospitality, healthcare, and office workers are well represented. 3. The statewide minimum wage is not sufficient to afford rising rents and costs of living in Renton. According to the National Low Income Housing Coalition's Out of Reach 2022 report, a worker making Washington's minimum wage would have to work 72 hours each week (up from 70 hours each week in 2021) to afford a modest one -bedroom rental home at Fair Market Rent. 4. When working families earn insufficient income due to low wages and involuntary under -employment, they struggle to pay for basic necessities like health care, child care, and groceries, and they are more likely to be evicted and become homeless. 5. Nearby King County cities of SeaTac, Seattle, and Tukwila enacted higher minimum wages in 2013, 2014, and 2022 respectively, but until now Renton has not followed suit. 6. Children growing up in poverty experience insecurity with housing, nutrition, and health care while enduring other hardships that prevent their ability to learn in school. Full time working parents must be able to reasonably provide for their family to ensure access to the opportunities and promise of public education. Section 2. Intent. It is the intent of the people to establish fair labor standards and protect the rights of workers by: (1) ensuring that the vast majority of employees in the City of Renton receive a minimum wage comparable to employees in the nearby cities of Tukwila, SeaTac, and Seattle; (2) requiring covered employers to offer additional hours of work to qualified part-time employees before hiring new employees to fill those hours; and (3) adopting enforcement requirements. Section 3. Large Employers Shall Pay Minimum Wages Comparable to Those in Nearby Cities. 1. Effective July 1, 2024, every large employer shall pay to each employee an hourly wage of not less than the 2023 new minimum wage rate in the City of Tukwila, established by City of Tukwila Initiative Measure No. 1, approved by voters in November 2022, adjusted for 2024 by the annual rate of inflation. 2. On January 1, 2025, and on each January 1 thereafter, the hourly minimum wage shall increase by the annual rate of inflation to maintain employee purchasing power. 3. By December 31, 2023, and by October 15 of each year thereafter, the Finance Department shall establish and publish the applicable hourly minimum wage for the following year using the annual rate of inflation. 4: For purposes of this chapter, the annual rate of inflation means 100 percent of the annual average growth rate of the bi-monthly Seattle -Tacoma -Bellevue Area Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers, termed CPI-W, for the 12-month period ending in August, provided that the percentage increase shall not be less than zero. 5. An employer must pay to its employees: a. All tips and gratuities; and b. All service charges as defined under RCW 49.46.160 except those that, pursuant to RCW 49.46.160, are itemized as not being payable to the employee or employees servicing the customer, Tips and service charges paid to an employee are in addition to, and may not count towards, the employee's hourly minimum wage. Section 4. Other Covered Employers Shall Have a Multiyear Phase -In Period. Other covered employers shall phase in the new minimum wage, as follows: 1. Effective July 1, 2024, other covered employers shall pay employees not less than the hourly minimum wage established under Section 3 minus Two Dollars ($2) per hour. 2. Effective July 1, 2025, other covered employers shall pay employees not less than the hourly minimum wage established under Section 3 minus One Dollar ($1) per hour. 3. Effective July 1, 2026, and thereafter, all covered employers shall pay employees not less than the hourly minimum wage established under Section 3. Section 5. Coverage and Employer Classifications. 1. Covered employers must pay employees at least the minimum wage established by this chapter for each hour worked within the City. 2. Employer classification for the current calendar year will be calculated based upon the average number of employees during all weeks in the previous calendar year in which the employer had at least one employee. For employers that did not have any employees during the previous calendar year, classification will be based upon the average number of employees during the most recent three months of the current year. In this determination, all employees will be counted, regardless of their location, and including employees who worked in full-time employment, part-time employment, joint employment, temporary employment, or through the services of a temporary services or staffing agency or similar entity. 3. Employer classification for the current calendar year will be calculated based upon the gross revenue for the previous year. For employers that did not have gross revenue during the previous calendar year, annual gross revenue will be calculated from the gross revenue during the most recent three months of the current year. 4. For the purposes of employer classification, separate entities will be considered a single employer if they form an integrated enterprise or they are underjoint control by one of those entities or a separate entity. The factors to consider in making this assessment include, but are not limited to: a. Degree of interrelation between the operations of multiple entities; b. Degree to which the entities share common management; C. Centralized control of labor relations; and d. Degree of common ownership or financial control over the entities. Section 6. Part -Time Employees Shall Have Fair Access to Additional Hours. 1. Before hiring additional employees or subcontractors, including hiring through the use of temporary services or staffing agencies, covered employers must offer additional hours of work to existing employees who, in the employer's good faith and reasonable judgment, have the skills and experience to perform the work, and shall use a reasonable, transparent, and nondiscriminatory process to distribute the hours of work among those existing employees. 2. This section shall not be construed to require any employer to offer an employee work hours if the employer would be required to compensate the employee at time -and -a -half or other premium rate under any law or collective bargaining agreement, nor to prohibit any employer from offering such work hours. Section 7. Retaliation Prohibited. 1. No employer or any other person shall interfere with, restrain, or deny the exercise of, or the attempt to exercise, any right protected under this chapter. 2. No employer or any other person shall take any adverse action against any person because the person has exercised in good faith the rights under this chapter. Such rights include but are not limited to the right to make inquiries about the rights protected under this chapter; the right to inform others about their rights under this chapter; the right to inform the person's employer, union, or similar organization, and/or the person's legal counsel or any other person about an alleged violation of this chapter; the right to bring a civil action for an alleged violation of this chapter; the right to testify in a proceeding under or related to this chapter; the right to refuse to participate in an activity that would result in a violation of city, state, or federal law; and the right to oppose any policy, practice, or act that is unlawful under this chapter. 3. For the purposes of this section, an adverse action means denying a job or promotion, demoting, terminating, failing to rehire after a seasonal interruption of work, threatening, penalizing, retaliating, engaging in unfair immigration -related practices, filing a false report with a government agency, changing an employee's status to nonemployee, decreasing or declining to provide additional work hours when they otherwise would have been offered, scheduling an employee for hours outside of their availability, or otherwise discriminating against any person for any reason prohibited by this chapter. "Adverse action" for an employee may involve any aspect of employment, including pay, work horns, responsibilities, or other material change in the terms and conditions of employment. 4. No employer or any other person shall communicate to a person exercising rights protected under this chapter, directly or indirectly, the willingness to inform a government employee that the person is not lawfully in the United States, or to report, or to make an implied or express assertion of a willingness to report, suspected citizenship or immigration status of the person or a family member of the person to a federal, state, or local agency because the person has exercised a right under this chapter. 5. There shall be a rebuttable presumption of unlawful retaliation if an employer or any other person takes an adverse action against a person within 90 days of the person's exercise of any right protected in this chapter. However, in the case of seasonal work that ended before the close of the 90-day period, the presumption also applies if the employer fails to rehire a former employee at the next opportunity for work in the same position. The employer may rebut the presumption with clear and convincing evidence that the adverse action was taken for a permissible purpose. 6. Standard of Proof. Proof of retaliation under this chapter shall be sufficient upon a showing that an employer or any other person has taken an adverse action against a person and the person's exercise of rights protected in this chapter was a motivating factor in the adverse action, unless the employer can prove that the action would have been taken in the absence of such protected activity. 7. The protections afforded under this section shall apply to any person who mistakenly but in good faith alleges violations of this chapter. Section 8. Enforcement. I. Any person or class of persons that suffers financial injury as a result of a violation of this chapter or is the subject of prohibited retaliation under this chapter, or any other individual or entity acting on their behalf, may bring a civil action in a court of competentjmisdiction against the employer or other person violating this chapter and, upon prevailing, shall be awarded reasonable attorney fees and costs and such legal or equitable relief as may be appropriate to remedy the violation including, without limitation, the payment of any unpaid wages plus interest due to the person and liquidated damages in an additional amount of up to twice the unpaid wages; compensatory damages; and a penalty payable to any aggrieved party of up to $5,000 if the aggrieved party was subject to prohibited retaliation. For the purposes of this section, an aggrieved party means an employee or other person who suffers tangible or intangible harm due to an employer or other person's violation of this chapter. Interest shall accrue from the date the unpaid wages were first due at the higher of twelve percent per annum or the maximum rate permitted under RCW 19.52.020. 2. For purposes of determining membership within a class of persons entitled to bring an action under this section, two or more employees are similarly situated if they: a. Are or were employed by the same employer or employers, whether concurrently or otherwise, at some point during the applicable statute of limitations period; b. Allege one or more violations that raise similar questions as to liability; and C. Seek similar forms of relief. d. Employees shall not be considered dissimilar solely because their claims seek damages that differ in meant, or theirjob titles or other means of classifying employees differ in ways that are unrelated to their claims. 3. Each covered employer shall retain records as required by RCW 49.46.070, as well as such information as the City may require to confirm compliance with this chapter. If an employer fails to retain such records, there shall be a presumption, rebuttable by clear and convincing evidence, that the employer violated this chapter for the periods and for each employee for whom records were not retained. 4. Employers shall permit authorized City representatives access to work sites and relevant records for the purpose of monitoring compliance with the chapter and investigating complaints of noncompliance, including production for inspection and copying of employment records. The City may designate representatives, including city contractors and representatives of unions or worker advocacy organizations, to access the worksite and relevant records. 5. Complaints that any provision of this chapter has been violated may also be presented to the City Attorney, who is hereby authorized to investigate and, if they deem appropriate, initiate legal or other action to remedy any violation of this chapter. 6. The City has the authority to issue administrative citations and to order injunctive relief including reinstatement, restitution, payment of back wages, or other forms of relief. 7. The City may, in the exercise of its authority and performance of its functions and services, agree by contract or otherwise to participate jointly or in cooperation with Washington State, King County, or any city, town, or other incorporated place, or subdivision thereof, or engage outside counsel, to enforce this chapter. 8. The remedies and penalties provided under this chapter are cumulative and are not intended to be exclusive of any other available remedies or penalties, including existing remedies for enforcement of Renton Municipal Code chapters. 9. The statute of limitations for any enforcement action shall be five (5) years. Section 9. A new section is added to Renton Municipal Code (RMC) Section 5-5-4 as follows: 1. The Finance Director may deny, suspend, or revoke any license under this chapter for violation of this ordinance. 2. The Finance Director must deny, suspend, or revoke any license under this chapter for repeated intentional violations of this ordinance. 3. Any action by the Finance Director under this section shall be subject to the procedures and requirements of RMC subsection 5-5-3.E, as well as other due process rights that a court may require. Section 10. Definitions. For the purposes of this chapter, the following terms shall have the following meanings: "City" means the City of Renton. "Covered employer" means an employer that either (1) employs at least 15 employees regardless of where those employees are employed, or (2) has annual gross revenue over $2 million. "Effective date" is the effective date of this ordinance. "Employee" is defined as set forth in RCW 49.46.010. An employer bears the burden of proof that the individual is, as a matter of economic reality, in business for oneself rather than dependent upon the alleged employer. "Employer" is defined as set forth in RCW 49.46.010. "Employer classification" includes the determination of whether an employer is a covered employer and whether a covered employer is a large employer. "Franchise" means an agreement, express or implied, oral or written by which: 1. A person is granted the right to engage in the business of offering, selling, or distributing goods or services under a marketing plan prescribed or suggested in substantial part by the grantor or its affiliate; 2. The operation of the business is substantially associated with a trademark, service mark, trade time, advertising, or other commercial symbol; designating, owned by, or licensed by the grantor or its affiliate; and 3. The person pays, agrees to pay, or is required to pay, directly or indirectly, a franchise fee. The term, "franchise fee" is meant to be construed broadly to include any instance in which the grantor or its affiliate derives income or profit from a person who enters into a franchise agreement with the grantor. "Hour worked within the City" is to be interpreted according to its ordinary meaning, including all hours worked within the geographic boundaries of the City, excluding time spent in the City solely for the purpose of traveling through the City from a point of origin outside the City to a destination outside the City, with no employment -related or commercial stops in the City except for refueling or the employee's personal meals or errands. "Large Employer" means all employers that employ more than 500 employees, regardless of where those employees are employed, and all franchisees associated with a franchisor or a network of franchises with franchisees that employ more than 500 employees in aggregate. "Other covered employer" means a covered employer that does not qualify as a large employer. "Service charge" is defined as set forth in RCW 49.46.160(2)(c). "Tips" means a verifiable sum to be presented by a customer as a gift or gratuity in recognition of some service performed for the customer by the employee receiving the tip. "Wage" is defined as set forth in RCW 49.46.010. Section 11. Other Legal Requirements. This ordinance shall not be construed to preempt, limit, or otherwise affect the applicability of any other law, regulation, requirement, policy, or standard that provides for greater wages or compensation; and nothing in this ordinance shall be interpreted or applied so as to create any power or duty in conflict with federal or state law. Section 12. Rulemaking. Within 180 days after the effective date, the City shall adopt rules and procedures to implement and ensure compliance with this chapter, which shall require employers to maintain adequate records and to annually certify compliance with this chapter. The City shall seek feedback from worker organizations and covered employers before finalizing the rules and procedures. Section 13. Constitutional Subject. For constitutional purposes, this measure's subject "concerns labor standards for certain employers." See Filo Foods, LLC v. City of SeaTac, 183 Wash. 2d 770, 783, 357 P.3d 1040, 1047 (2015) (upholding this statement of subject for an initiative that set a minimum wage and addressed employees' access to hours). Section 14. Codification. All sections of this ordinance except section 9 shall be codified in a new chapter of the Renton Municipal Code. Section 15. Election date. In the event that the election on this measure takes place later than November 7, 2023, the Finance Department must establish and publish the initial minimum wage within 30 days of the effective date. Section 16. Severability. The provisions of this ordinance are declared to be separate and severable. If any clause, sentence, paragraph, subdivision, section, subsection, or portion of this ordinance, or the application thereof to any employer, employee, or circumstance, is held to be invalid, it shall not affect the validity of the remainder of this , ordinance, or the validity of its application to other persons or circumstances. Raising The Minimum Wage In Renton 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. INITIATIVE PETITION FOR SUBMISSION TO THE RENTON CITY COUNCIL TO: The City Council of the City of Renton: ®933-M We, the undersigned registered voters of the City of Renton, State of Washington, residing at the addresses set forth opposite our respective names, being equal to fifteen percent (15%) of the total number of names of persons listed as registered voters within the City on the day of the last preceding City general election, respectfully request that the following ordinance be enacted by the City Council or, if not so enacted, be submitted to a vote of the residents of the City. The title of the said ordinance is as follows: ORDINANCE CONCERNING LABOR STANDARDS FOR CERTAIN EMPLOYEES A full, true and correct copy of the ordinance is attached to this Petition. Each of us for himself or herself says: I have personally signed this petition; I am a registered voter of the City of Renton, State of Washington; and my residence is correctly stated. Signature Printed Name Street and Number City Phone Number Email Date S`L Printed Name 1234 Anywhere St. Renton 1 206-555-1234 maria@something.org 4/10/2023 .A�— �e�� �l�rwtw rhft 2�;z1� Renton ee ��ffl 0111'f,L SG C IZL"41'1 01 Renton LAvs v-� ` g1 u .� Renton 5M/z 3 l`,Gywi0✓>7t? c'O�IC� Renton V�ef4�((J/I� �L/c/G Renton Mo/—N Rentonce G C 1 Renton �� 3� v(5��3 IZ Renton Renton t ,IGw 'zr� d6o Ue AA ', � a)L Renton Warning Every person who signs this petition with any other than his or her true name, or who knowingly signs more than one of these petitions, or signs a petition seek- ing an election when he or she is not a legal voter, or signs a petition when he or she is otherwise not qualified to sign, or who makes herein any false statement, shall be guilty of a misdemeanor. AN ORDINANCE concerning labor standards for certain employees. Section 1. Findings. 1. The people of the City of Renton hereby adopt this citizen initiative addressing labor standards for certain employees, for the purpose of ensuring that, to the extent reasonably practicable, people employed in Renton have good wages and access to sufficient horns of work. 2. The City of Renton is one of the largest job centers in Washington State, with thousands of shoppers and workers visiting daily to participate in the local economy. Renton is home to The Landing shopping center, the historic Downtown Urban Center, as well as retail and commercial office and warehouse districts around the Rainier/Grady Way Junction. The City is a net importer ofjobs, with nearly 60,000 employed workers. Renton has a wide array of both long established and new and evolving business sectors. Retail businesses, restaurants and bars, auto sales, hospitality, healthcare, and office workers are well represented. 3. The statewide minimum wage is not sufficient to afford rising rents and costs of living in Renton. According to the National Low Income Housing Coalition's Out of Reach 2022 report, a worker making Washington's minimum wage would have to work 72 hours each week (up from 70 hours each week in 2021) to afford a modest one -bedroom rental home at Fair Market Rent. 4. When working families earn insufficient income due to low wages and involuntary under -employment, they struggle to pay for basic necessities like health care, child care, and groceries, and they are more likely to be evicted and become homeless. 5. Nearby King County cities of SeaTac, Seattle, and Tukwila enacted higher minimum wages in 2013, 2014, and 2022 respectively, but until now Renton has not followed suit. 6. Children growing up in poverty experience insecurity with housing, nutrition, and health care while enduring other hardships that prevent their ability to learn in school. Full time working parents must be able to reasonably provide for their family to ensure access to the opportunities and promise of public education. Section 2. Intent. It is the intent of the people to establish fair labor standards and protect the rights of workers by: (1) ensuring that the vast majority of employees in the City of Renton receive a minimum wage comparable to employees in the nearby cities of Tukwila, SeaTac, and Seattle; (2) requiring covered employers to offer additional hours of work to qualified part-time employees before hiring new employees to fill those hours; and (3) adopting enforcement requirements. Section 3. Large Employers Shall Pay Minimum Wages Comparable to Those in Nearby Cities. 1. Effective July 1, 2024, every large employer shall pay to each employee an hourly wage of not less than the 2023 new minimum wage rate in the City of Tukwila, established by City of Tukwila Initiative Measure No. 1, approved by voters in November 2022, adjusted for 2024 by the annual rate of inflation. 2. On January 1, 2025, and on each January 1 thereafter, the hourly minimum wage shall increase by the annual rate of inflation to maintain employee purchasing power. 3. By December 31, 2023, and by October 15 of each year thereafter, the Finance Department shall establish and publish the applicable hourly minimum wage for the following year using the annual rate of inflation. 4. For purposes of this chapter, the annual rate of inflation means 100 percent of the annual average growth rate of the bi-monthly Seattle -Tacoma -Bellevue Area Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers, termed CPI-W, for the 12-month period ending in August, provided that the percentage increase shall not be less than zero. 5. An employer must pay to its employees: a. All tips and gratuities; and b. All service charges as defined under RCW 49.46.160 except those that, pursuant to RCW 49.46.160, are itemized as not being payable to the employee or employees servicing the customer. Tips and service charges paid to an employee are in addition to, and may not count towards, the employee's. hourly minimum wage. Section 4. Other Covered Employers Shall Have a Multiyear Phase -In Period. Other covered employers shall phase in the new minimum wage, as follows: 1. Effective July 1, 2024, other covered employers shall pay employees not less than the hourly minimum wage established under Section 3 minus Two Dollars ($2) per hour. 2. Effective July 1, 2025, other covered employers shall pay employees not less than the hourly minimum wage established under Section 3 minus One Dollar ($1) per hour. 3. Effective July 1, 2026, and thereafter, all covered employers shall pay employees not less than the hourly minimum wage established under Section 3. Section S. Coverage and Employer Classifications. 1. Covered employers must pay employees at least the minimum wage established by this chapter for each hour worked within the City. 2. Employer classification for the current calendar year will be calculated based upon the average number of employees during all weeks in the previous calendar year in which the employer had at least one employee. For employers that did not have any employees during the previous calendar year, classification will be based upon the average number of employees during the most recent three months of the current yew. In this determination, all employees will be counted, regardless of their location, and including employees who worked in full-time employment, part-time employment, joint employment, temporary employment, or through the services of a temporary services or staffing agency or similar entity. 3. Employer classification for the convent calendar year will be calculated based upon the gross revenue for the previous year. For employers that did not have gross revenue during the previous calendar yew, annual gross revenue will be calculated from the gross revenue during the most recent three months of the current year. 4. For the purposes of employer classification, separate entities will be considered a single employer if they form an integrated enterprise or they are underjoint control by one of those entities or a separate entity. The factors to consider in making Us assessment include, but are not limited to: a. Degree of interrelation between the operations of multiple entities; b. Degree to which the entities share common management; C. Centralized control of labor relations; and d. Degree of common ownership or financial control over the entities. Section 6. Part -Time Employees Shall Have Fair Access to Additional Hours. 1. Before hiring additional employees or subcontractors, including hiring through the use of temporary services or staffing agencies, covered employers must offer additional hours of work to existing employees who, in the employer's good faith and reasonable judgment, have the skills and experience to perform the work, and shall use a reasonable, transparent, and nondiscriminatory process to distribute the hours of work among those existing employees. 2. This section shall not be construed to require any employer to offer an employee work hours if the employer would be required to compensate the employee at time -and -a -half or other premium rate under any law or collective bargaining agreement, nor to prohibit any employer from offering such work hours. Section 7. Retaliation Prohibited. 1. No employer or any other person shall interfere with, restrain, or deny the exercise of, or the attempt to exercise, any right protected under this chapter. 2. No employer or any other person shall take any adverse action against any person because the person has exercised in good faith the rights under this chapter. Such rights include but are not limited to the right to make inquiries about the rights protected under this chapter; the right to inform others about their rights under this chapter; the right to inform the person's employer, union, or similar organization, and/or the person's legal counsel or any other person about an alleged violation of this chapter; the right to bring a civil action for an alleged violation of this chapter, the right to testify in a proceeding under or related to this chapter; the right to refuse to participate in an activity that would result in a violation of city, state, or federal law; and the right to oppose any policy, practice, or act that is unlawful under this chapter. 3. For the purposes of this section, an adverse action means denying ajob or promotion, demoting, terminating, failing to rehire after a seasonal interruption of work, threatening, penalizing, retaliating, engaging in unfair immigration -related practices, filing a false report with a government agency, changing an employee's status to nonemployee, decreasing or declining to provide additional work hours when they otherwise would have been offered, scheduling an employee for hours outside of their availability, or otherwise discriminating against any person for any reason prohibited by this chapter. "Adverse action" for an employee may involve any aspect of employment, including pay, work hours, responsibilities, or other material change in the terms and conditions of employment. 4. No employer or any other person shall communicate to a person exercising rights protected under this chapter, directly or indirectly, the willingness to inform a government employee that the person is not lawfully in the United States, or to report, or to make an implied or express assertion of a willingness to report, suspected citizenship or immigration status of the person or a family member of the person to a federal, state, or local agency because the person has exercised a right under this chapter. 5. There shall be a rebuttable presumption of unlawful retaliation if an employer or any other person takes an adverse action against a person within 90 days of the person's exercise of any right protected in this chapter. However, in the case of seasonal work that ended before the close of the 90-day period, the presumption also applies if the employer fails to rehire a former employee at the next opportunity for work in the same position. The employer may rebut the presumption with clear and convincing evidence that the adverse action was taken for a permissible purpose. 6. Standard of Proof. Proof of retaliation under this chapter shall be sufficient upon a showing that an employer or any other person has taken an adverse action against a person and the person's exercise of rights protected in this chapter was a motivating factor in the adverse action, unless the employer can prove that the action would have been taken in the absence of such protected activity. 7. The protections afforded under this section shall apply to any person who mistakenly but in good faith alleges violations of this chapter. Section 8. Enforcement. 1. Any person or class of persons that suffers financial injury as a result of a violation of this chapter or is the subject of prohibited retaliation under this chapter, or any other individual or entity acting on their behalf, may bring a civil action in a court of competent jurisdiction against the employer or other person violating this chapter and, upon prevailing, shall be awarded reasonable attorney fees and costs and such legal or equitable relief as may be appropriate to remedy the violation including, without limitation, the payment of any unpaid wages plus interest due to the person and liquidated damages in an additional amount of up to twice the unpaid wages; compensatory damages; and a penalty payable to any aggrieved party of up to $5,000 if the aggrieved party was subject to prohibited retaliation. For the purposes of this section, an aggrieved party means an employee or other person who suffers tangible or intangible harm due to an employer or other person's violation of this chapter. Interest shall accrue from the date the unpaid wages were first due at the higher of twelve percent per arum or the maximum rate permitted under RCW 19.52.020. 2. For purposes of determining membership within a class of persons entitled to bring an action under this section, two or more employees are similarly situated if they: a. Are or were employed by the same employer or employers, whether concurrently or otherwise, at some point during the applicable statute of limitations period; b. Allege one or more violations that raise similar questions as to liability; and C. Seek similar fors of relief. d. Employees shall not be considered dissimilar solely because their claims seek damages that differ in amount, or theirjob titles or other means of classifying employees differ in ways that are unrelated to their claims. 3. Each covered employer shall retain records as required by RCW 49.46.070, as well as such information as the City may require to confirm compliance with this chapter. If an employer fails to retain such records, there shall be a presumption, rebuttable by clear and convincing evidence, that the employer violated this chapter for the periods and for each employee for whom records were not retained. 4. Employers shall permit authorized City representatives access to work sites and relevant records for the purpose of monitoring compliance with the chapter and investigating complaints of noncompliance, including production for inspection and copying of employment records. The City may designate representatives, including city contractors and representatives of unions or worker advocacy organizations, to access the worksite and relevant records. 5. Complaints that any provision of this chapter has been violated may also be presented to the City Attomey, who is hereby authorized to investigate and, if they deem appropriate, initiate legal or other action to remedy any violation of this chapter. 6. The City has the authority to issue administrative citations and to order injunctive relief including reinstatement, restitution, payment of back wages, or other forms of relief. 7. The City may, in the exercise of its authority and performance of its functions and services, agree by contract or otherwise to participate jointly or in cooperation with Washington State, King County, or any city, town, or other incorporated place, or subdivision thereof, or engage outside counsel, to enforce this chapter. 8. The remedies and penalties provided under this chapter are cumulative and are not intended to be exclusive of any other available remedies or penalties, including existing remedies for enforcement of Renton Municipal Code chapters. 9. The statute of limitations for any enforcement action shall be five (5) years. Section 9. A new section is added to Renton Municipal Code (RMC) Section 5-5-4 as follows: 1. The Finance Director may deny, suspend, or revoke any license under this chapter for violation of this ordinance. 2. The Finance Director must deny, suspend, or revoke any license under this chapter for repeated intentional violations of this ordinance. 3. Any action by the Finance Director under this section shall be subject to the procedures and requirements o£RMC subsection 5-5-3,E, as well as other due process rights that a court may require. Section 10. Definitions. For the purposes of this chapter, the following terms shall have the following meanings: "City" means the City of Renton. "Covered employer" means an employer that either (1) employs at least 15 employees regardless of where those employees are employed, or (2) has annual gross revenue over $2 million. "Effective date" is the effective date of this ordinance. "Employee" is defined as set forth in RCW 49.46.010. An employer bears the burden of proof that the individual is, as a matter of economic reality, in business for oneself rather than dependent upon the alleged employer. "Employer" is defined as set forth in RCW 49.46.010. "Employer classification" includes the determination of whether an employer is a covered employer and whether a covered employer is a large employer. "Franchise" means an agreement, express or implied, oral or written by which: 1. A person is granted the right to engage in the business of offering, selling, or distributing goods or services under a marketing plan prescribed or suggested in substantial part by the grantor or its affiliate; 2, The operation of the business is substantially associated with a trademark, service mazk, trade name, advertising, or other commercial symbol; designating, owned by, or licensed by the grantor or its affiliate; and 3. The person pays, agrees to pay, or is required to pay, directly or indirectly, a franchise fee. The term, "franchise fee" is meant to be construed broadly to include any instance in which the grantor or its affiliate derives income or profit from a person who enters into a franchise agreement with the grantor. "Hour worked within the City" is to be interpreted according to its ordinary meaning, including all hours worked within the geographic boundaries of the City, excluding time spent in the City solely for the purpose of traveling through the City from a point of origin outside the City to a destination outside the City, with no employment -related or commercial stops in the City except for refueling or the employee's personal meals or errands. "Large Employer" means all employers that employ more than 500 employees, regardless of where those employees are employed, and all franchisees associated with a franchisor or a network of franchises with franchisees that employ more than 500 employees in aggregate. "Other covered employer" means a covered employer that does not qualify as a large employer. "Service charge" is defined as set forth in RCW 49.46.160(2)(c). "Tips" means a verifiable sum to be presented by a customer as a gift or gratuity in recognition of some service performed for the customer by the employee receiving the tip. "Wage" is defined as set forth in RCW 49.46.010. Section 11. Other Legal Requirements. This ordinance shall not be construed to preempt, limit, or otherwise affect the applicability of any other law, regulation, requirement, policy, or standard that provides for greater wages or compensation; and nothing in this ordinance shall be interpreted or applied so as to create any power or duty in conflict with federal or state law. Section 12. Rulemaking. Within 180 days after the effective date, the City shall adopt rules and procedures to implement and ensure compliance with this chapter, which shall require employers to maintain adequate records and to annually certify compliance with this chapter. The City shall seek feedback from worker organizations and covered employers before finalizing the rules and procedures. Section 13. Constitutional Subject. For constitutional purposes, this measure's subject "concerns labor standards for certain employers." See File Foods, LLC v. City of SeaTac, 183 Wash. 2d 770, 783, 357 P.3d 1040, 1047 (2015) (upholding this statement of subject for an initiative that set a minimum wage and addressed employees' access to hours). Section 14. Codification. All sections of this ordinance except section 9 shall be codified in a new chapter of the Renton Municipal Code. Section 15. Election date. In the event that the election on this measure takes place later than November 7, 2023, the Finance Department must establish and publish the initial minimum wage within 30 days of the effective date. Section 16. Severability. The provisions of this ordinance me declared to be separate and severable. If any clause, sentence, paragraph, subdivision, section, subsection, or portion of this ordinance, or the application thereof to any employer, employee, or circumstance, is held to be invalid, it shall not affect the validity of the remainder of this ordinance, or the validity of its application to other persons or circumstances. ' NameO f Canvassei Name - Date Canvassed riser Email and Phone Number: Raising The Minimum Wage In Renton INITIATIVE PETITION FOR SUBMISSION TO THE RENTON CITY COUNCIL TO: The City Council of the City of Renton: ® CCC/IBT 933-M We, the undersigned registered voters of the City of Renton, State of Washington, residing at the addresses set forth opposite our respective names, being equal to fifteen percent (15%) of the total number of names of persons listed as registered voters within the City on the day of the last preceding City general election, respectfully request that the following ordinance be enacted by the City Council or, if not so enacted, be submitted to a vote of the residents of the City. The title of the said ordinance is as follows: ORDINANCE CONCERNING LABOR STANDARDS FOR CERTAIN EMPLOYEES A full, true and correct copy of the ordinance is attached to this Petition. Each of us for himself or herself says: I have personally signed this petition; I am a registered voter of the City of Renton, State of Washington; and my residence is correctly stated. Signature Printed Name Street and Number City Phone Number Email Date S Printed Name 1234 Anywhere St. Renton 206-555-1234 maria@something.org 4/10/2023 5i(0 N� z � l- �� � h Gyp � 1. IIG til1c— �G� h Q�rl7r.� Il l7 /IJCJ�% Renton 0 a50-719e �JJ CO 2. Renton l 3. � 1S 1n� rj `v,',�:o'I/t t�/� �i� Renton LCio ��i�ta two ail. Cbm �/-:" 4. j.,(/�/t— U.�.e�� U� �. Renton I Renton Z3 t3 5. I �r .� n� Lip, ` d -fG- 6. �/ ".f'� V' Sop 6 vv�ev�er- l`� S l ���t G Renton Zs1 4�3 `�- `(o�a1 3��3;7L��s ® yww;C.cowi S / t 3 /a07,3 7. j b 1 �I� 1 z7. Renton �( J� v �� Cal 1 An o Renton 8. 11 l ✓ LC- 4 ur L E >L Renton '-'W l-- Oki(O /V 0'-4 P1 -Z)j Renton �- �.. I ' lkVtt,�SerQ 1 Il` LY_ ),3 P-q Warning Every person who signs this petition with any other than his or her true name, or who knowingly signs more than one of these petitions, or signs a petition seek- ing an election when he or she is not a legal voter, or signs a petition when he or she is otherwise not qualified to sign, or who makes herein any false statement, shall be guilty of a misdemeanor. AN ORDINANCE concerning labor standards for certain employees. Section 1. Findings. 1. The people of the City of Renton hereby adopt this citizen initiative addressing labor standards for certain employees, for the purpose of ensuring that, to the extent reasonably practicable, people employed in Renton have good wages and access to sufficient hours of work. 2. The City of Renton is one of the largest job centers in Washington State, with thousands of shoppers and workers visiting daily to participate in the local economy. Renton is home to The Landing shopping center, the historic Downtown Urban Center, as well as retail and commercial office and warehouse districts around the Rainier/Grady Way Junction. The City is a net importer ofjobs, with nearly 60,000 employed workers. Renton has a wide array of both long established and new and evolving business sectors. Retail businesses, restaurants and bus, auto sales, hospitality, healthcare, and office workers are well represented. 3. The statewide minimum wage is not sufficient to afford rising rents and costs of living in Renton. According to the National Low Income Housing Coalition's Out of Reach 2022 report, a worker making Washington's minimum wage would have to work 72 hours each week (up from 70 hours each week in 2021) to afford a modest one -bedroom rental home at Fair Market Rent. 4. When working families earn insufficient income due to low wages and involuntary under -employment, they struggle to pay for basic necessities like health care, child care, and groceries, and they are more likely to be evicted and become homeless. 5. Nearby King County cities of SeaTac, Seattle, and Tukwila enacted higher minimum wages in 2013, 2014, and 2022 respectively, but until now Renton has not followed suit. 6. Children growing up in poverty experience insecurity with housing, nutrition, and health care while enduring other hardships that prevent their ability to learn in school. Full time working parents must be able to reasonably provide for their family to ensure access to the opportunities and promise of public education. Section 2. Intent. It is the intent of the people to establish fair labor standards and protect the rights of workers by: (1) ensuring that the vast majority of employees in the City of Renton receive a minimum wage comparable to employees in the nearby cities of Tukwila, SeaTac, and Seattle; (2) requiring covered employers to offer additional hours of work to qualified part-time employees before hiring new employees to fill those hours; and (3) adopting enforcement requirements. Section 3. Large Employers Shall Pay Minimum Wages Comparable to Those in Nearby Cities. 1. Effective July 1, 2024, every large employer shall pay to each employee an hourly wage of not less than the 2023 new minimum wage rate in the City of Tukwila, established by City of Tukwila Initiative Measure No. I, approved by voters in November 2022, adjusted for 2024 by the annual rate of inflation. 2. On January 1, 2025, and on each January 1 thereafter, the hourly minimum wage shall increase by the annual rate of inflation to maintain employee purchasing power. 3. By December 31, 2023, and by October 15 of each year thereafter, the Finance Department shall establish and publish the applicable hourly minimum wage for the following year using the annual rate of inflation. 4. For purposes of this chapter, the annual rate of inflation means 100 percent of the annual average growth rate of the bi-monthly Seattle -Tacoma -Bellevue Area Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers, termed CPI-W, for the 12-month period ending in August, provided that the percentage increase shall not be less than zero. 5. An employer must pay to its employees: a. All tips and gratuities; and b. All service charges as defined under RCW 49.46.160 except those that, pursuant to RCW 49.46.160, are itemized as not being payable to the employee or employees servicing the customer. Tips and service charges paid to an employee are in addition to, and may not count towards, the employee's hourly minimum wage. Section 4. Other Covered Employers Shall Have a Multiyear Phase -In Period. Other covered employers shall phase in the new minimum wage, as follows: 1. Effective July 1, 2024, other covered employers shall pay employees not less than the hourly minimum wage established under Section 3 minus Two Dollars ($2) per hour. 2. Effective July 1, 2025, other covered employers shall pay employees not less than the hourly minimum wage established under Section 3 minus One Dollar ($1) per hour. 3. Effective July 1, 2026, and thereafter, all covered employers shall pay employees not less than the hourly minimum wage established under Section 3. Section 5. Coverage and Employer Classifications. 1. Covered employers must pay employees at least the minimum wage established by this chapter for each hour worked within the City. 2. Employer classification for the current calendar year will be calculated based upon the average number of employees during all weeks in the previous calendar year in which the employer had at least one employee. For employers that did not have any employees during the previous calendar year, classification will be based upon the average number of employees during the most recent three months of the current year. In this determination, all employees will be counted, regardless of their location, and including employees who worked in full-time employment, part-time employment, joint employment, temporary employment, or through the services of a temporary services or staffing agency or similar entity. 3. Employer classification for the current calendar year will be calculated based upon the gross revenue for the previous year. For employers that did not have gross revenue during the previous calendar year, annual gross revenue will be calculated from the gross revenue during the most recent three months of the current year. 4. For the purposes of employer classification, separate entities will be considered a single employer if they form an integrated enterprise or they are under joint control by one of those entities or a separate entity. The factors to consider in making this assessment include, but are not limited to: a. Degree of interrelation between the operations of multiple entities; b. Degree to which the entities share common management; C. Centralized control of labor relations; and d. Degree of common ownership or financial control over the entities. Section 6. Part -Time Employees Shall Have Fair Access to Additional Hours. 1. Before hiring additional employees or subcontractors, including hiring through the use of temporary services or staffing agencies, covered employers must offer additional hours of work to existing employees who, in the employer's good faith and reasonable judgment, have the skills and experience to perform the work, and shall use a reasonable, transparent, and nondiscriminatory process to distribute the hours of work among those existing employees. 2. This section shall not be construed to require any employer to offer an employee work hours if the employer would be required to compensate the employee at time -and -a -half or other premium rate under any law or collective bargaining agreement, nor to prohibit any employer from offering such work hours. Section 7. Retaliation Prohibited. 1. No employer or any other person shall interfere with, restrain, or deny the exercise of, or the attempt to exercise, any right protected under this chapter. 2. No employer or any other person shall take any adverse action against any person because the person has exercised in good faith the rights under this chapter. Such rights include but are not limited to the right to make inquiries about the rights protected under this chapter; the right to inform others about their rights under this chapter; the right to inform the person's employer, union, or similar organization, and/or the person's legal counsel or any other person about an alleged violation of this chapter; the right to bring a civil action for an alleged violation of this chapter; the right to testify in a proceeding under or related to this chapter; the right to refuse to participate in an activity that would result in a violation of city, state, or federal law; and the right to oppose any policy, practice, or act that is unlawful under this chapter. 3. For the purposes of this section, an adverse action means denying a job or promotion, demoting, terminating, failing to rehire after a seasonal interruption of work, threatening, penalizing, retaliating, engaging in unfair immigration -related practices, filing a false report with a government agency, changing an employee's status to nonemployee, decreasing or declining to provide additional work hours when they otherwise would have been offered, scheduling an employee for hours outside of their availability, or otherwise discriminating against any person for any reason prohibited by this chapter. "Adverse action" for an employee may involve any aspect of employment, including pay, work hours, responsibilities, or other material change in the terms and conditions of employment. 4. No employer or any other person shall communicate to a person exercising rights protected under this chapter, directly or indirectly, the willingness to inform a government employee that the person is not lawfully in the United States, or to report, or to make an implied or express assertion of a willingness to report, suspected citizenship or immigration status of the person or a family member of the person to a federal, state, or local agency because the person has exercised a right under this chapter. 5. There shall be a rebuttable presumption of unlawful retaliation if an employer or any other person takes an adverse action against a person within 90 days of the person's exercise of any right protected in this chapter. However, in the case of seasonal work that ended before the close of the 90-day period, the presumption also applies if the employer fails to rehire a former employee at the next opportunity for work in the same position. The employer may rebut the presumption with clear and convincing evidence that the adverse action was taken for a permissible purpose. 6. Standard of Proof. Proof of retaliation under this chapter shall be sufficient upon a showing that an employer or any other person has taken an adverse action against a person and the person's exercise of rights protected in this chapter was a motivating factor in the adverse action, unless the employer can prove that the action would have been taken in the absence of such protected activity. 7. The protections afforded under this section shall apply to any person who mistakenly but in good faith alleges violations of this chapter. Section 8. Enforcement. 1. Any person or class of persons that suffers financial injury as a result of a violation of this chapter or is the subject of prohibited retaliation under this chapter, or any other individual or entity acting on their behalf, may bring a civil action in a court of competentjurisdiction against the employer or other person violating this chapter and, upon prevailing, shall be awarded reasonable attorney fees and costs and such legal or equitable relief as may be appropriate to remedy the violation including, without limitation, the payment of any unpaid wages plus interest due to the person and liquidated damages in an additional amount of up to twice the unpaid wages; compensatory damages; and a penalty payable to any aggrieved party of up to $5,000 if the aggrieved party was subject to prohibited retaliation. For the purposes of this section, an aggrieved party means an employee or other person who suffers tangible or intangible harm due to an employer or other person's violation of this chapter. Interest shall accrue from the date the unpaid wages were first due at the higher of twelve percent per antrum or the maximum rate permitted under RCW 19.52.020. 2. For purposes of determining membership within a class of persons entitled to bring an action under this section, two or more employees are similarly situated if they: a. Are or were employed by the same employer or employers, whether concurrently or otherwise, at some point during the applicable statute of limitations period; b. Allege one or more violations that raise similar questions as to liability; and C. Seek similar forms of relief. d. Employees shall not be considered dissimilar solely because their claims seek damages that differ in amount, or their job titles or other means of classifying employees differ in ways that are unrelated to their claims. 3. Each covered employer shall retain records as required by RCW 49.46.070, as well as such information as the City may require to confirm compliance with this chapter. If an employer fails to retain such records, there shall be a presumption,. rebuttable by clear and convincing evidence, that the employer violated this chapter for the periods and for each employee for whom records were not retained. 4. Employers shall permit authorized City representatives access to work sites and relevant records for the purpose of monitoring compliance with the chapter and investigating complaints of noncompliance, including production for inspection and copying of employment records. The City may designate representatives, including city contractors and representatives of unions or worker advocacy organizations, to access the worksite and relevant records. 5. Complaints that any provision of this chapter has been violated may also be presented to the City Attorney, who is hereby authorized to investigate and, if they deem appropriate, initiate legal or other action to remedy any violation of this chapter. 6. The City has the authority to issue administrative citations and to order injunctive relief including reinstatement, restitution, payment of back wages, or other forms of relief. 7. The City may, in the exercise of its authority and performance of its functions and services, agree by contract or otherwise to participate jointly or in cooperation with Washington State, King County, or any city, town, or other incorporated place, or subdivision thereof, or engage outside counsel, to enforce this chapter. 8. The remedies and penalties provided under this chapter are cumulative and are not intended to be exclusive of any other available remedies or penalties, including existing remedies for enforcement of Renton Municipal Code chapters. 9. The statute of limitations for any enforcement action shall be five (5) years. Section 9. A new section is added to Renton Municipal Code (RMC) Section 5-5-4 as follows: 1. The Finance Director may deny, suspend, or revoke any license under this chapter for violation of this ordinance. 2. The Finance Director must deny, suspend, or revoke any license under this chapter for repeated intentional violations of this ordinance. 3. Any action by the Finance Director under this section shall be subject to the procedures and requirements of RMC subsection 5-5-3.E, as well as other due process rights that a court may require. Section 10. Definitions. For the purposes of this chapter, the following terns shall have the following meanings: "City" means the City of Renton. "Covered employer" means an employer that either (1) employs at least 15 employees regardless of where those employees are employed, or (2) has annual gross revenue over $2 million. "Effective date" is the effective date of this ordinance. "Employee" is defined as set forth in RCW 49.46.010. An employer bears the burden of proof that the individual is, as a matter of economic reality, in business for oneself rather than dependent upon the alleged employer. "Employer" is defined as set forth in RCW 49.46.010. "Employer classification" includes the determination of whether an employer is a covered employer and whether a covered employer is a large employer. "Franchise" means an agreement, express or implied, oral or written by which: 1. A person is granted the right to engage in the business of offering, selling, or distributing goods or services under a marketing plan prescribed or suggested in substantial part by the grantor or its affiliate; 2. The operation of the business is substantially associated with a trademark, service mark, trade time, advertising, or other commercial symbol; designating, owned by, or licensed by the grantor or its affiliate; and 3. The person pays, agrees to pay, or is required to pay, directly or indirectly, a franchise fee. The term, "franchise fee" is meant to be construed broadly to include any instance in which the grantor or its affiliate derives income or profit from a person who enters into a franchise agreement with the grantor. "Hour worked within the City" is to be interpreted according to its ordinary meaning, including all hours worked within the geographic boundaries of the City, excluding time spent in the City solely for the purpose of traveling through the City from a point of origin outside the City to a destination outside the City, with no employment -related or commercial stops in the City except for refueling or the employee's personal meals or errands. "Large Employer" means all employers that employ more than 500 employees, regardless of where those employees are employed, and all franchisees associated with a franchisor or a network of franchises with franchisees that employ more than 500 employees in aggregate. "Other covered employer" means a covered employer that does not qualify as a large employer. "Service charge" is defined as set forth in RCW 49.46.160(2)(c). "Tips" means a verifiable sum to be presented by a customer as a gift or gratuity in recognition of some service performed for the customer by the employee receiving the tip. "Wage" is defined as set forth in RCW 49.46.010. Section 11. Other Legal Requirements. This ordinance shall not be construed to preempt, limit, or otherwise affect the applicability of any other law, regulation, requirement, policy, or standard that provides for greater wages or compensation; and nothing in this ordinance shall be interpreted or applied so as to create any power or duty in conflict with federal or state law. Section 12. Rulemaking. Within 180 days after the effective date, the City shall adopt rules and procedures to implement and ensure compliance with this chapter, which shall require employers to maintain adequate records and to annually certify compliance with this chapter. The City shall seek feedback from worker organizations and covered employers before finalizing the rules and procedures. Section 13. Constitutional Subject. For constitutional purposes, this measure's subject "concerns labor standards for certain employers." See Filo Foods, LLC v. City of SeaTac, 183 Wash. 2d 770, 783, 357 P.3d 1040, 1047 (2015) (upholding this statement of subject for an initiative that set a minimum wage and addressed employees' access to hours). Section 14. Codification. All sections of this ordinance except section 9 shall be codified in a new chapter of the Renton Municipal Code. Section 15. Election date. In the event that the election on this measure takes place later than November 7, 2023, the Finance Department must establish and publish the initial minimum wage within 30 days of the effective date. Section 16. Severability. The provisions of this ordinance are declared to be separate and severable. If any clause, sentence, paragraph, subdivision, section, subsection, or portion of this ordinance, or the application thereof to any employer, employee, or circumstance, is held to be invalid, it shall not affect the validity of the remainder of this ordinance, or the validity of its application to other persons or circumstances. Raising The Minimum Wage In Renton INITIATIVE PETITION FOR SUBMISSION TO THE RENTON CITY COUNCIL TO: The City Council of the City of Renton: ® s E 933-M 9B.4CN09MN1M� We, the undersigned registered voters of the City of Renton, State of Washington, residing at the addresses set forth opposite our respective names, being equal to fifteen percent (15%) of the total number of names of persons listed as registered voters within the City on the day of the last preceding City general election, respectfully request that the following ordinance be enacted by the City Council or, if not so enacted, be submitted to a vote of the residents of the City. The title of the said ordinance is as follows: ORDINANCE CONCERNING LABOR STANDARDS FOR CERTAIN EMPLOYEES A full, true and correct copy of the ordinance is attached to this Petition. Each of us for himself or herself says: I have personally signed this petition; I am a registered voter of the City of Renton, State of Washington; and my residence is correctly stated. Signature Printed Name Street and Number City Phone Number Email 5`U0e0z Printed Name 1234 Anywhere St. Renton 206-555-1234 maria@something.org 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. C 9. 10. J :b�y"N) �_ . SW � 9 Renton i (2 0"4 4/✓, /¢,24 t � (� / 1-3 �'�f. ,au{t7 �17 Renton 7_)1QIAA( I�ltd�- �3 �o0�'r' t- _2 Tali, r a� Renton Renton Renton Renton Renton Renton Renton I - - Renton Z()6 307 /G ;rL6W Date 4/10/2023 13 - 23 Warning Every person who signs this petition with any other than his or her true name, or who knowingly signs more than one of these petitions, or signs a petition seek- ing an election when he or she is not a legal voter, or signs a petition when he or she is otherwise not qualified to sign, or who makes herein any false statement, shall be guilty of a misdemeanor. AN ORDINANCE concerning labor standards for certain employees. Section 1. Findings. 1. The people of the City of Renton hereby adopt this citizen initiative addressing labor standards for certain employees, for the purpose of ensuring that, to the extent reasonably practicable, people employed in Renton have good wages and access to sufficient hours of work. 2. The City of Renton is one of the largest job centers in Washington State, with thousands of shoppers and workers visiting daily to participate in the local economy. Renton is home to The Landing shopping center, the historic Downtown Urban Center, as well as retail and commercial office and warehouse districts around the Rainier/Grady Way Junction. The City is a net importer ofjobs, with newly 60,000 employed workers. Renton has a wide array of both long established and new and evolving business sectors. Retail businesses, restaurants and bus, auto sales, hospitality, healthcare, and office workers are well represented. 3. The statewide minimum wage is not sufficient to afford rising rents and costs of living in Renton. According to the National Low Income Housing Coalition's Out of Reach 2022 report, a worker making Washington's minimum wage would have to work 72 hours each week (up from 70 hours each week in 2021) to afford a modest one -bedroom rental home at Fair Market Rent. 4. When working families earn insufficient income due to low wages and involuntary under -employment, they struggle to pay for basic necessities like health care, child cue, and groceries, and they are more likely to be evicted and become homeless. 5. Nearby King County cities of SeaTac, Seattle, and Tukwila enacted higher minimum wages in 2013, 2014, and 2022 respectively, but until now Renton has not followed suit. 6. Children growing up in poverty experience insecurity with housing, nutrition, and health care while enduring other hardships that prevent their ability to learn in school. Full time working parents must be able to reasonably provide for thew family to ensure access to the opportunities and promise of public education. Section 2. Intent. It is the intent of the people to establish fair labor standards and protect the rights of workers by: (1) ensuring that the vast majority of employees in the City of Renton receive a minimum wage comparable to employees in the nearby cities of Tukwila, SeaTac, and Seattle; (2) requiring covered employers to offer additional hours of work to qualified part-time employees before hiring new employees to fill those hours; and (3) adopting enforcement requirements. Section 3. Large Employers Shall Pay Minimum Wages Comparable to Those in Nearby Cities. 1. Effective July 1, 2024, every large employer shall pay to each employee an hourly wage of not less than the 2023 new minimum wage rate in the City of Tukwila, established by City of Tukwila Initiative Measure No. 1, approved by voters in November 2022, adjusted for 2024 by the annual rate of inflation. 2. On January 1, 2025, and on each January 1 thereafter, the hourly minimum wage shall increase by the annual rate of inflation to maintain employee purchasing power. 3. By December 31, 2023, and by October 15 of each year thereafter, the Finance Department shall establish and publish the applicable hourly minimum wage for the following yew using the annual rate of inflation. 4. For purposes of this chapter, the annual rate of inflation means 100 percent of the annual average growth rate of the bi-monthly Seattle -Tacoma -Bellevue Area Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers, tenned CPI-W, for the 12-month period ending in August, provided that the percentage increase shall not be less than zero. 5. An employer must pay to its employees: a. All tips and gratuities; and b. All service charges as defined under RCW 49.46.160 except those that, pursuant to RCW 49.46.160, are itemized as not being payable to the employee or employees servicing the customer. Tips and service charges paid to an employee are in addition to, and may not count towards, the employee's hourly minimum wage. Section 4. Other Covered Employers Shall Have a Multiyear Phase -In Period. Other covered employers shall phase in the new minimum wage, as follows: 1. Effective July 1, 2024, other covered employers shall pay employees not less than the hourly minimum wage established under Section 3 minus Two Dollars ($2) per hour. 2. Effective July 1, 2025, other covered employers shall pay employees not less than the hourly minimum wage established under Section 3 minus One Dollar ($1) per hour. 3. Effective July 1, 2026, and thereafter, all covered employers shall pay employees not less than the hourly minimum wage established under Section 3. Section 5. Coverage and Employer Classifications. 1. Covered employers must pay employees at least the minimum wage established by this chapter for each hour worked within the City. 2. Employer classification for the current calendar year will be calculated based upon the average number of employees during all weeks in the previous calendar year in which the employer had at least one employee. For employers that did not have any employees during the previous calendar year, classification will be based upon the average number of employees during the most recent three months of the current year. In this determination, all employees will be counted, regardless of their location, and including employees who worked in full-time employment, part-time employment, joint employment, temporary employment, or through the services of a temporary services or staffing agency or similar entity. 3. Employer classification for the current calendar year will be calculated based upon the gross revenue for the previous year. For employers that did not have gross revenue during the previous calendar year, annual gross revenue will be calculated from the gross revenue during the most recent three months of the current year. 4. For the purposes of employer classification, separate entities will be considered a single employer if they form an integrated enterprise or they are under joint control by one of those entities or a separate entity. The factors to consider in making this assessment include, but are not limited to: a. Degree of interrelation between the operations of multiple entities; b. Degree to which the entities share common management; C. Centralized control of labor relations; and d. Degree of common ownership or financial control over the entities. Section 6. Part -Time Employees Shall Have Fair Access to Additional Hours. 1. Before hiring additional employees or subcontractors, including hiring through the use of temporary services or staffing agencies, covered employers must offer additional hours of work to existing employees who, in the employer's good faith and reasonable judgment, have the skills and experience to perform the work, and shall use a reasonable, transparent, and nondiscriminatory process to distribute the hours of work among those existing employees. 2. This section shall not be construed to require any employer to offer an employee work hours if the employer would be required to compensate the employee at time -and -a -Half or other premium rate under any law or collective bargaining agreement, nor to prohibit any employer from offering such work hours. Section 7. Retaliation Prohibited. 1. No employer or any other person shall interfere with, restrain, or deny the exercise of, or the attempt to exercise, any right protected under this chapter. 2. No employer or any other person shall take any adverse action against any person because the person has exercised in good faith the rights under this chapter. Such rights include but are not limited to the right to make inquiries about the rights protected under this chapter; the right to inform others about their rights under this chapter; the right to inform the person's employer, union, or similar organization, and/or the person's legal counsel or any other person about an alleged violation of this chapter; the right to bring a civil action for an alleged violation of this chapter; the right to testify in a proceeding under or related to this chapter; the right to refuse to participate in an activity that would result in a violation of city, state, or federal law; and the right to oppose any policy, practice, or act that is unlawful under this chapter. 3. For the purposes of this section, an adverse action means denying a job or promotion, demoting, terminating, failing to rehire after a seasonal interruption of work, threatening, penalizing, retaliating, engaging in unfair immigration -related practices, filing a false report with a government agency, changing an employee's status to nonemployee, decreasing or declining to provide additional work hours when they otherwise would have been offered, scheduling an employee for hours outside of their availability, or otherwise discriminating against any person for any reason prohibited by this chapter. "Adverse action" for an employee may involve any aspect of employment, including pay, work hours, responsibilities, or other material change in the terns and conditions of employment. 4. No employer or any other person shall communicate to a person exercising rights protected under this chapter, directly or indirectly, the willingness to inform a government employee that the person is not lawfully in the United States, or to report, or to make an implied or express assertion of a willingness to report, suspected citizenship or immigration status of the person or a family member of the person to a federal, state, or local agency because the person has exercised a right under this chapter. 5. There shall be a rebuttable presumption of unlawful retaliation if an employer or any other person takes an adverse action against a person within 90 days of the person's exercise of any right protected in this chapter. However, in the case of seasonal work that ended before the close of the 90-day period, the presumption also applies if the employer fails to rehire a former employee at the next opportunity for work in the same position. The employer may rebut the presumption with clear and convincing evidence that the adverse action was taken for a permissible purpose. 6. Standard of Proof. Proof of retaliation under this chapter shall be sufficient upon a showing that an employer or any other person has taken an adverse action against a person and the person's exercise of rights protected in this chapter was a motivating factor in the adverse action, unless the employer can prove that the action would have been taken in the absence of such protected activity. 7. The protections afforded under this section shall apply to any person who mistakenly but in good faith alleges violations of this chapter. Section 8. Enforcement. 1. Any person or class of persons that suffers financial injury as a result of a violation of this chapter or is the subject of prohibited retaliation under this chapter, or any other individual or entity acting on their behalf, may bring a civil action in a court of competent jurisdiction against the employer or other person violating this chapter and, upon prevailing, shall be awarded reasonable attorney fees and costs and such legal or equitable relief as may be appropriate to remedy the violation including, without limitation, the payment of any unpaid wages plus interest due to the person and liquidated damages in an additional amount of up to twice the unpaid wages; compensatory damages; and a penalty payable to any aggrieved party of up to $5,000 if the aggrieved party was subject to prohibited retaliation. For the purposes of this section, an aggrieved party means an employee or other person who suffers tangible or intangible harm due to an employer or other person's violation of this chapter. Interest shall accrue from the date the unpaid wages were first due at the higher of twelve percent per annum or the maximum rate permitted under RCW 19.52,020, 2. For purposes of determining membership within a class of persons entitled to bring an action under this section, two or more employees are similarly situated if they: a. Are or were employed by the same employer or employers, whether concurrently or otherwise, at some point during the applicable statute of limitations period; b. Allege one or more violations that raise similar questions as to liability; and C. Seek similar forms of relief. d. Employees shall not be considered dissimilar solely because their claims seek damages that differ in amount, or their job titles or other means of classifying employees differ in ways that are unrelated to thew claims. 3. Each covered employer shall retain records as required by RCW 49.46.070, as well as such information as the City may require to confirm compliance with this chapter. If an employer fails to retain such records, there shall be a presumption, rebuttable by clear and convincing evidence, that the employer violated this chapter for the periods and for each employee for whom records were not retained. 4. Employers shall permit authorized City representatives access to work sites and relevant records for the purpose of monitoring compliance with the chapter and investigating complaints of noncompliance, including production for inspection and copying of employment records. The City may designate representatives, including city contractors and representatives of unions or worker advocacy organizations, to access the worksite and relevant records. 5. Complaints that any provision of this chapter has been violated may also be presented to the City Attorney, who is hereby authorized to investigate and, if they deem appropriate, initiate legal or other action to remedy any violation of this chapter. 6. The City has the authority to issue administrative citations and to order injunctive relief including reinstatement, restitution, payment of back wages, or other forms of relief. 7. The City may, in the exercise of its authority and performance of its functions and services, agree by contract or otherwise to participate jointly or in cooperation with Washington State, King County, or any city, town, or other incorporated place, or subdivision thereof, or engage outside counsel, to enforce this chapter. 8. The remedies and penalties provided under this chapter are cumulative and are not intended to be exclusive of any other available remedies or penalties, including existing remedies for enforcement of Renton Municipal Code chapters. 9. The statute of limitations for any enforcement action shall be five (5) years. Section 9. A new section is added to Renton Municipal Code (RMC) Section 5-5-4 as follows: 1. The Finance Director may deny, suspend, or revoke any license under this chapter for violation of this ordinance. 2. The Finance Director must deny, suspend, or revoke any license under this chapter for repeated intentional violations of this ordinance. 3. Any action by the Finance Director under this section shall be subject to the procedures and requirements of RMC subsection 5-5-3.E, as well as other due process rights that a court may require. Section 10. Definitions. For the purposes of this chapter, the following terms shall have the following meanings: "City" means the City of Renton. "Covered employer" means an employer that either (1) employs at least 15 employees regardless of where those employees are employed, or (2) has annual gross revenue over $2 million. "Effective date" is the effective date of this ordinance. "Employee" is defined as set forth in RCW 49.46.010. An employer bears the burden of proof that the individual is, as a matter of economic reality, in business for oneself rather than dependent upon the alleged employer. "Employer" is defined as set forth in RCW 49.46.010 "Employer classification" includes the determination of whether an employer is a covered employer and whether a covered employer is a large employer. "Franchise" means an agreement, express or implied, oral or written by which: 1. A person is granted the right to engage in the business of offering, selling, or distributing goods or services under a marketing plan prescribed or suggested in substantial part by the grantor or its affiliate; 2. The operation of the business is substantially associated with a trademark, service mark, trade time, advertising, or other commercial symbol; designating, owned by, or licensed by the grantor or its affiliate; and 3. The person pays, agrees to pay, or is required to pay, directly or indirectly, a franchise fee. The term, "franchise fee" is meant to be construed broadly to include any instance in which the grantor or its affiliate derives income or profit from a person who enters into a franchise agreement with the grantor. "Hour worked within the City" is to be interpreted according to its ordinary meaning, including all hours worked within the geographic boundaries of the City, excluding time spent in the City solely for the purpose of traveling through the City from a point of origin outside the City to a destination outside the City, with no employment -related or commercial stops in the City except for refueling or the employee's personal meals or erands. "Large Employer" means all employers that employ more than 500 employees, regardless of where those employees are employed, and all franchisees associated with a franchisor or a network of franchises with franchisees that employ more than 500 employees in aggregate. "Other covered employer" means a covered employer that does not qualify as a large employer. "Service charge" is defined as set forth in RCW 49.46.160(2)(c). "Tips" means a verifiable sum to be presented by a customer as a gift or gratuity in recognition of some service performed for the customer by the employee receiving the tip. "Wage" is defined as set forth in RCW 49.46.010. Section 11. Other Legal Requirements. This ordinance shall not be construed to preempt, limit, or otherwise affect the applicability of any other law, regulation, requirement, policy, or standard that provides for greater wages or compensation; and nothing in this ordinance shall be interpreted or applied so as to create any power or duty in conflict with federal or state law. Section 12. Rulemaking. Within 180 days after the effective date, the City shall adopt rules and procedures to implement and ensure compliance with this chapter, which shall require employers to maintain adequate records and to annually certify compliance with this chapter. The City shall seek feedback from worker organizations and covered employers before finalizing the rules and procedures. Section 13. Constitutional Subject. For constitutional purposes, this measure's subject "concerns labor standards for certain employers." See Filo Foods, LLC v. City of SeaTac, 183 Wash. 2d 770, 783, 357 P.3d 1040, 1047 (2015) (upholding this statement of subject for an initiative that set a minimum wage and addressed employees' access to hours). Section 14. Codification. All sections of this ordinance except section 9 shall be codified in a new chapter of the Renton Municipal Code. Section 15. Election date. In the event that the election on this measure takes place later than November 7, 2023, the Finance Department must establish and publish the initial minimum wage within 30 days of the effective date. Section 16. Severability. The provisions of this ordinance are declared to be separate and severable. If any clause, sentence, paragraph, subdivision, section, subsection, or portion of this ordinance, or the application thereof to any employer, employee, or circumstance, is held to be invalid, it shall not affect the validity of the remainder of this ordinance, or the validity of its application to other persons or circumstances. Raising The Minimum Wage In Renton 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. INITIATIVE PETITION FOR SUBMISSION TO THE RENTON CITY COUNCIL TO: The City Council of the City of Renton: ® Ile. ei 933-M We, the undersigned registered voters of the City of Renton, State of Washington, residing at the addresses set forth opposite our respective names, being equal to fifteen percent (15%) of the total number of names of persons listed as registered voters within the City on the day of the last preceding City general election, respectfully request that the following ordinance be enacted by the City Council or, if not so enacted, be submitted to a vote of the residents of the City. The title of the said ordinance is as follows: ORDINANCE CONCERNING LABOR STANDARDS FOR CERTAIN EMPLOYEES A full, true and correct copy of the ordinance is attached to this Petition. Each of us for himself or herself says: I have personally signed this petition; I am a registered voter of the City of Renton, State of Washington; and my residence is correctly stated. Ci�nti4nre DriniwA Ahw�n CTrnn4 nnr! IJnmhnr (_i+v IIII ' Dhnna Numhar Email Date 54"0Ze?/otrn Printed Name 1234 Anywhere St. Renton 206-555-1234 maria@something.org � 4/10/2023 �R /'v- ✓t- 5 W;'� 5c / 4 Renton CJ �n 5. `1 J 0 �tltll, 5i Cv t� s 2oG� 9 �,y i , Z 3 5M (5tnls� WliiCSoc `nio r i 1 F Renton - �� 3�� ; 5 5rri c - f U tLI tE4Lnctr� i� /7 ���� .. ,..__ � � � J� �i� � I �� Renton �f��Z� • � i �/�,® 1 Renton �• fj(�- �1���' i ��l 1ti • �G�� L (j J Renton 7�, � `�( j� I �Ci�� ��� �� 11 i C 0 J/ �z 1 U2 '1IcAk \ �� S Renton �aC-7-tX(A ,rn,ilhlb ,ll►� �Itu' FA 161 V M Renton 266H9 c, 7-;3 ,1c(v Z, N � �,() Renton Renton LIB Ly8^ \uJch�) 4)F Renton Warning Every person who signs this petition with any other than his or her true name, or who knowingly signs more than one of these petitions, or signs a petition seek- ing an election when he or she is not a legal voter, or signs a petition when he or she is otherwise not qualified to sign, or who makes herein any false statement, shall be guilty of a misdemeanor. L -, '? AN ORDINANCE concerning labor standards for certain employees. Section 1. Findings. 1. The people of the City of Renton hereby adopt this citizen initiative addressing labor standards for certain employees, for the purpose of ensuring that, to the extent reasonably practicable, people employed in Renton have good wages and access to sufficient hours of work. 2. The City of Renton is one of the largestjob centers in Washington State, with thousands of shoppers and workers visiting daily to participate in the local economy. Renton is home to The Landing shopping center, the historic Downtown Urban Center, as well as retail and commercial office and warehouse districts around the Rainier/Grady Way Junction. The City is a net importer ofjobs, with nearly 60,000 employed workers. Renton has a wide array of both long established and new and evolving business sectors. Retail businesses, restaurants and bars, auto sales, hospitality, healthcare, and office workers are well represented. 3. The statewide minimum wage is not sufficient to afford rising rents and costs of living in Renton. According to the National Low Income Housing Coalition's Out of Reach 2022 report, a worker making Washington's minimum wage would have to work 72 hours each week (up from 70 hours each week in 2021) to afford a modest one -bedroom rental home at Fair Market Rent. 4. When working families earn insufficient income due to low wages and involuntary under -employment, they straggle to pay for basic necessities like health care, child care, and groceries, and they are more likely to be evicted and become homeless. 5. Nearby King County cities of SeaTac, Seattle, and Tukwila enacted higher minimum wages in 2013, 2014, and 2022 respectively, but until now Renton has not followed suit. 6. Children growing up in poverty experience insecurity with housing, nutrition, and health care while enduring other hardships that prevent their ability to learn in school. Full time working parents must be able to reasonably provide for their family to ensure access to the opportunities and promise of public education. Section 2. Intent. It is the intent of the people to establish fair labor standards and protect the rights of workers by: (1) ensuring that the vast majority of employees in the City of Renton receive a minimum wage comparable to employees in the nearby cities of Tukwila, SeaTac, and Seattle; (2) requiring covered employers to offer additional hours of work to qualified part-time employees before hiring new employees to fill those hours; and (3) adopting enforcement requirements. Section 3. Large Employers Shall Pay Minimum Wages Comparable to Those in Nearby Cities. 1. Effective July 1, 2024, every large employer shall pay to each employee an hourly wage of not less than the 2023 new minimum wage rate in the City of Tukwila, established by City of Tukwila Initiative Measure No. 1, approved by voters in November 2022, adjusted for 2024 by the annual rate of inflation. 2. On January 1, 2025, and on each January 1 thereafter, the hourly minimum wage shall increase by the annual rate of inflation to maintain employee purchasing power. 3. By December 31, 2023, and by October 15 of each year thereafter, the Finance Department shall establish and publish the applicable hourly minimum wage for the following year using the annual rate of inflation. 4. For purposes of this chapter, the annual rate of inflation means 100 percent of the annual average growth rate of the bi-monthly Seattle -Tacoma -Bellevue Area Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers, termed CPI-W, for the 12-month period ending in August, provided that the percentage increase shall not be less than zero. 5. An employer must pay to its employees: a. All tips and gratuities; and b. All service charges as defined under RCW 49.46.160 except those that, pursuant to RCW 49.46.160, are itemized as not being payable to the employee or employees servicing the customer. Tips and service charges paid to an employee are in addition to, and may not count towards, the employee's hourly minimum wage. Section 4. Other Covered Employers Shall Have a Multiyear Phase -In Period. Other covered employers shall phase in the new minimum wage, as follows: 1. Effective July 1, 2024, other covered employers shall pay employees not less than the hourly minimum wage established under Section 3 minus Two Dollars ($2) per hour. 2. Effective July 1, 2025, other covered employers shall pay employees not less than the hourly minimum wage established under Section 3 minus One Dollar ($1) per hour. 3. Effective July I, 2026, and thereafter, all covered employers shall pay employees not less than the hourly minimum wage established under Section 3. Section 5. Coverage and Employer Classifications. 1. Covered employers must pay employees at least the minimum wage established by this chapter for each hour worked within the City. 2. Employer classification for the current calendar year will be calculated based upon the average number of employees during all weeks in the previous calendar year in which the employer had at least one employee. For employers that did not have any employees during the previous calendar year, classification will be based upon the average number of employees during the most recent three months of the current year. In this determination, all employees will be counted, regardless of their location, and including employees who worked in full-time employment, part-time employment, joint employment, temporary employment, or through the services of a temporary services or staffing agency or similar entity. 3. Employer classification for the current calendar year will be calculated based upon the gross revenue for the previous year. For employers that did not have gross revenue during the previous calendar year, annual gross revenue will be calculated from the gross revenue during the most recent three months of the current yew. 4. For the purposes of employer classification, separate entities will be considered a single employer if they form an integrated enterprise or they are underjoint control by one of those entities or a separate entity. The factors to consider in making this assessment include, but are not limited to: a. Degree of interrelation between the operations of multiple entities; b. Degree to which the entities share common management C. Centralized control of labor relations; and d. Degree of common ownership or financial control over the entities. Section 6. Part -Time Employees Shall Have Fair Access to Additional Hours. 1. Before hiring additional employees or subcontractors, including hiring through the use of temporary services or staffing agencies, covered employers must offer additional hours of work to existing employees who, in the employer's good faith and reasonable judgment, have the skills and experience to perform the work, and shall use a reasonable, transparent, and nondiscriminatory process to distribute the hours of work among those existing employees. 2. This section shall not be construed to require any employer to offer an employee work hours if the employer would be required to compensate the employee at time -and -a -half or other premium rate under any law or collective bargaining agreement, nor to prohibit any employer from offering such work hours. Section 7. Retaliation Prohibited. 1. No employer or any other person shall interfere with, restrain, or deny the exercise of, or the attempt to exercise, any right protected under this chapter. 2. No employer or any other person shall take any adverse action against any person because the person has exercised in good faith the rights under this chapter. Such rights include but are not limited to the right to make inquiries about the rights protected under this chapter; the right to inform others about their rights under this chapter; the right to inform the person's employer, union, or similar organization, and/or the person's legal counsel or any other person about an alleged violation of this chapter; the right to bring a civil action for an alleged violation of this chapter; the right to testify in a proceeding under or related to this chapter•, the right to refuse to participate in an activity that would result in a violation of city, state, or federal law; and the right to oppose any policy, practice, or act that is unlawful under this chapter. 3. For the purposes of this section, an adverse action means denying ajob or promotion, demoting, terminating, failing to rehire after a seasonal interruption of work, threatening, penalizing, retaliating, engaging in unfair immigration -related practices, filing a false report with a government agency, changing an employee's status to nonemployee, decreasing or declining to provide additional work hours when they otherwise would have been offered, scheduling an employee for hours outside of their availability, or otherwise discriminating against any person for any reason prohibited by this chapter. "Adverse action" for an employee may involve any aspect of employment, including pay, work hours, responsibilities, or other material change in the terms and conditions of employment. 4. No employer or any other person shall communicate to a person exercising rights protected under this chapter, directly or indirectly, the willingness to inform a government employee that the person is not lawfully in the United States, or to report, or to make an implied or express assertion of a willingness to report, suspected citizenship or immigration status of the person or a family member of the person to a federal, state, or local agency because the person has exercised a right under this chapter. 5. There shall be a rebuttable presumption of unlawful retaliation if an employer or any other person takes an adverse action against a person within 90 days of the person's exercise of any right protected in this chapter. However, in the case of seasonal work that ended before the close of the 90-day period, the presumption also applies if the employer fails to rehire a former employee at the next opportunity for work in the same position. The employer may rebut the presumption with clear and convincing evidence that the adverse action was taken for a permissible purpose. 6. Standard of Proof Proof of retaliation under this chapter shall be sufficient upon a showing that an employer or any other person has taken an adverse action against a person and the person's exercise of rights protected in this chapter was a motivating factor in the adverse action, unless the employer can prove that the action would have been taken in the absence of such protected activity, 7. The protections afforded under this section shall apply to any person who mistakenly but in good faith alleges violations of this chapter. Section 8. Enforcement. 1. Any person or class of persons that suffers financial injury as a result of a violation of this chapter or is the subject of prohibited retaliation under this chapter, or any other individual or entity acting on their behalf, may bring a civil action in a court of competent jurisdiction against the employer or other person violating this chapter and, upon prevailing, shall be awarded reasonable attorney fees and costs and such legal or equitable relief as may be appropriate to remedy the violation including, without limitation, the payment of any unpaid wages plus interest due to the person and liquidated damages in an additional amount of up to twice the unpaid wages; compensatory damages; and a penalty payable to any aggrieved party of up to $5,000 if the aggrieved party was subject to prohibited retaliation. For the purposes of this section, an aggrieved party means an employee or other person who suffers tangible or intangible harm due to an employer or other person's violation of this chapter. Interest shall accrue from the date the unpaid wages were first due at the higher of twelve percent per annum or the maximum rate permitted under RCW 19.52.020. 2. For purposes of determining membership within a class of persons entitled to bring an action under this section, two or more employees are similarly situated if they: a. Are or were employed by the same employer or employers, whether concurrently or otherwise, at some point during the applicable statute of limitations period; b. Allege one or more violations that raise similar questions as to liability; and C. Seek similar forms of relief. d. Employees shall not be considered dissimilar solely because their claims seek damages that differ in amount, or their job titles or other means of classifying employees differ in ways that we unrelated to their claims. 3. Each covered employer shall retain records as required by RCW 49.46.070, as well as such information as the City may require to confirm compliance with this chapter. If an employer fails to retain such records, there shall be a presumption, rebuttable by clear and convincing evidence, that the employer violated this chapter for the periods and for each employee for whom records were not retained. 4. Employers shall permit authorized City representatives access to work sites and relevant records for the purpose of monitoring compliance with the chapter and investigating complaints of noncompliance, including production for inspection and copying of employment records. The City may designate representatives, including city contractors and representatives of unions or worker advocacy organizations, to access the worksite and relevant records. 5. Complaints that any provision of this chapter has been violated may also be presented to the City Attorney, who is hereby authorized to investigate and, if they deem appropriate, initiate legal or other action to remedy any violation of this chapter. 6. The City has the authority to issue administrative citations and to order injunctive relief including reinstatement, restitution, payment of back wages, or other forms of relief. 7. The City may, in the exercise of its authority and performance of its functions and services, agree by contract or otherwise to participate jointly or in cooperation with Washington State, King County, or any city, town, or other incorporated place, or subdivision thereof, or engage outside counsel, to enforce this chapter. 8. The remedies and penalties provided under this chapter are cumulative and are not intended to be exclusive of any other available remedies or penalties, including existing remedies for enforcement of Renton Municipal Code chapters. 9. The statute of limitations for any enforcement action shall be five (5) years. Section 9. A new section is added to Renton Municipal Code (RMC) Section 5-5-4 as follows: l . The Finance Director may deny, suspend, or revoke any license under this chapter far violation of this ordinance. 2. The Finance Director must deny, suspend, or revoke any license under this chapter for repeated intentional violations of this ordinance. 3. Any action by the Finance Director under this section shall be subject to the procedures and requirements of RMC subsection 5-5-3.E, as well as other due process rights that a court may require. Section 10. Definitions. For the purposes of this chapter, the following terms shall have the following meanings: "City" means the City of Renton. "Covered employer" means an employer that either (1) employs at least 15 employees regardless of where those employees are employed, or (2) has annual gross revenue over $2 million. "Effective date" is the effective date of this ordinance. "Employee" is defined as set forth in RCW 49.46.010, An employer bears the burden of proof that the individual is, as a matter of economic reality, in business for oneself rather than dependent upon the alleged employer. "Employer" is defined as set forth in RCW 49.46.010. "Employer classification" includes the determination of whether an employer is a covered employer and whether a covered employer is a large employer. "Franchise" means an agreement, express or implied, oral or written by which: 1. A person is granted the right to engage in the business of offering, selling, or distributing goods or services under a marketing plan prescribed or suggested in substantial part by the grantor or its affiliate; 2. The operation of the business is substantially associated with a trademark, service mark, trade time, advertising, or other commercial symbol; designating, owned by, or licensed by the grantor or its affiliate; and 3. The person pays, agrees to pay, or is required to pay, directly or indirectly, a franchise fee. The term, "franchise fee" is meant to be construed broadly to include any instance in which the grantor or its affiliate derives income or profit from a person who enters into a franchise agreement with the grantor. "Hour worked within the City" is to be interpreted according to its ordinary meaning, including all hours worked within the geographic boundaries of the City, excluding time spent in the City solely for the purpose of traveling through the City from a point of origin outside the City to a destination outside the City, with no employment -related or commercial stops in the City except for refueling or the employee's personal meals or errands. "Large Employer" means all employers that employ more than 500 employees, regardless of where those employees are employed, and all franchisees associated with a franchisor or a network of franchises with franchisees that employ more than 500 employees in aggregate. "Other covered employer" means a covered employer that does not qualify as a large employer. "Service charge" is defined as set forth in RCW 49.46.160(2)(c). "Tips" means a verifiable sum to be presented by a customer as a gift or gratuity in recognition of some service performed for the customer by the employee receiving the tip. "Wage" is defined as set forth in RCW 49.46.010. Section 11. Other Legal Requirements. This ordinance shall not be construed to preempt, limit, or otherwise affect the applicability of any other law, regulation, requirement, policy, or standard that provides for greater wages or compensation; and nothing in this ordinance shall be interpreted or applied so as to create any power or duty in conflict with federal or state law. Section 12. Rulemaking. Within 180 days after the effective date, the City shall adopt rules and procedures to implement and ensure compliance with this chapter, which shall require employers to maintain adequate records and to annually certify compliance with this chapter. The City shall seek feedback from worker organizations and covered employers before finalizing the rules and procedures. Section 13. Constitutional Subject. For constitutional purposes, this measure's subject "concerns labor standards for certain employers." See File Foods, LLC v. City of SeaTac, 183 Wash. 2d 770, 783, 357 P.3d 1040, 1047 (2015) (upholding this statement of subject for an initiative that set a minimum wage and addressed employees' access to hours). Section 14. Codification. All sections of this ordinance except section 9 shall be codified in a new chapter of the Renton Municipal Code. Section 15. Election date. In the event that the election on this measure takes place later than November 7, 2023, the Finance Department must establish and publish the initial minimum wage within 30 days of the effective date. Section 16. Severability. The provisions of this ordinance are declared to be separate and severable. If any clause, sentence, paragraph, subdivision, section, subsection, or portion of this ordinance, or the application thereof to any employer, employee, or circumstance, is held to be invalid, it shall not affect the validity of the remainder of this ordinance, or the validity of its application to other persons or circumstances. Name Of Canvasser: Date Canvassed: Email and Phone Number: Raising The Minimum Wage In Renton INITIATIVE PETITION FOR SUBMISSION TO THE RENTON CITY COUNCIL TO: The City Council of the City of Renton: We, the undersigned registered voters of the City of Renton, State of Washington, residing at the addresses set forth opposite our respective names, being equal to fifteen percent (15%) of the total number of names of persons listed as registered voters within the City on the day of the last preceding City general election, respectfully request that the following ordinance be enacted by the City Council or, if not so enacted, be submitted to a vote of the residents of the City. The title of the said ordinance is as follows: ORDINANCE CONCERNING LABOR STANDARDS FOR CERTAIN EMPLOYEES A full, true and correct copy of the ordinance is attached to this Petition. Each of us for himself or herself says: I have personally signed this petition; I am a registered voter of the City of Renton, State of Washington; and my residence is correctly stated. Signature Printed Name Street and Number City Phone Number Email Date saoo& Printed Name 1234 Anywhere St. Renton 206-555-1234 maria@something.org 4/10/2023 �ZlAle�_/L-1 /ma x IiT -7 1�-/V 5 67 Renton 2. i�%li lw. l �Y� (o ��1 I r� S F Renton 3. ICK7 /o`�'�C,J, Renton ZS3-97.370 4. 4y4"J__'4 P0161— Nit 1 Bq2 7J In' LN SF Renton s. ��((G UN U I or l ^ Uv / fz Renton 6. ID G+l(, RentonS8'zt3-3S /Z3 7. ���� �� 2i1� Ifi�CVO V1G� S ibbb } 1D2)tv\ LN SE Renton ) Z-3 8. �l U I (A 4 10 V, Renton S I31 l Z3 9. ljt eay 0440 I � � ((9 `) t"' l NSC Renton llb� _ 60 10. Shcrcc "sac Albr� �$Q1'y 10j4) Renton 2n6-�49 Warning Every person who signs this petition with any other than his or her true name, or who knowingly signs more than one of these petitions, or signs a petition seek- ing an election when he or she is not a legal voter, or signs a petition when he or she is otherwise not qualified to sign, or who makes herein any false statement, shall be guilty of a misdemeanor. AN ORDINANCE concerning labor standards for certain employees. Section 1. Findings. 1. The people of the City of Renton hereby adopt this citizen initiative addressing labor standards for certain employees, for the purpose of ensuring that, to the extent reasonably practicable, people employed in Renton have good wages and access to sufficient hours of work. 2. The City of Renton is one of the largest job centers in Washington State, with thousands of shoppers and workers visiting daily to participate in the local economy. Renton is home to The Landing shopping center, the historic Downtown Urban Center, as well as retail and commercial office and warehouse districts around the Rainier/Grady Way Junction. The City is a net importer ofjobs, with nearly 60,000 employed workers. Renton has a wide array of both long established and new and evolving business sectors. Retail businesses, restaurants and bus, auto sales, hospitality, healthcare, and office workers are well represented. 3. The statewide minimum wage is not sufficient to afford rising rents and costs of living in Renton. According to the National Low Income Housing Coalition's Out of Reach 2022 report, a worker making Washington's minimum wage would have to work 72 hours each week (up from 70 hours each week in 2021) to afford a modest one -bedroom rental home at Fair Market Rent. 4. When working families earn insufficient income due to low wages and involuntary under -employment, they struggle to pay for basic necessities like health cue, child care, and groceries, and they are more likely to be evicted and become homeless. 5. Nearby King County cities of SeaTac, Seattle, and Tukwila enacted higher minimum wages in 2013, 2014, and 2022 respectively, but until now Renton has not followed suit. 6. Children growing up in poverty experience insecurity with housing, nutrition, and health care while enduring other hardships that prevent their ability to learn in school. Full time working parents must be able to reasonably provide for their family to ensure access to the opportunities and promise of public education. Section 2. Intent. It is the intent of the people to establish fair labor standards and protect the rights of workers by: (1) ensuring that the vast majority of employees in the City of Renton receive a minimum wage comparable to employees in the nearby cities of Tukwila, SeaTac, and Seattle; (2) requiring covered employers to offer additional hours of work to qualified part-time employees before hiring new employees to fill those hours; and (3) adopting enforcement requirements. Section 3. Large Employers Shall Pay Minimum Wages Comparable to Those in Nearby Cities. 1. Effective July 1, 2024, every large employer shall pay to each employee an hourly wage of not less than the 2023 new minimum wage rate in the City of Tukwila, established by City of Tukwila Initiative Measure No. 1, approved by voters in November 2022, adjusted for 2024 by the annual rate of inflation. 2. On January 1, 2025, and on each January 1 thereafter, the hourly minimum wage shall increase by the annual rate of inflation to maintain employee purchasing power. 3. By December 31, 2023, and by October 15 of each year thereafter, the Finance Department shall establish and publish the applicable hourly minimum wage for the following year using the annual rate of inflation. 4. For purposes of this chapter, the annual rate of inflation means 100 percent of the annual average growth rate of the bi-monthly Seattle -Tacoma -Bellevue Area Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers, termed CPI-W, for the 12-month period ending in August, provided that the percentage increase shall not be less than zero. 5. An employer must pay to its employees: a. All tips and gratuities; and b. All service charges as defined under RCW 49.46.160 except those that, pursuant to RCW 49.46.160, are itemized as not being payable to the employee or employees servicing the customer. Tips and service charges paid to an employee are in addition to, and may not count towards, the employee's hourly minimum wage. Section 4. Other Covered Employers Shall Have a Multiyear Phase -In Period. Other covered employers shall phase in the new minimum wage, as follows: 1. Effective July 1, 2024, other covered employers shall pay employees not less than the hourly minimum wage established under Section 3 minus Two Dollars ($2) per hour. 2. Effective July 1, 2025, other covered employers shall pay employees not less than the hourly minimum wage established under Section 3 minus One Dollar ($1) per hour. 3. Effective July 1, 2026, and thereafter, all covered employers shall pay employees not less than the hourly minimum wage established under Section 3. Section 5. Coverage and Employer Classifications. 1. Covered employers must pay employees at least the minimum wage established by this chapter for each hour worked within the City. 2. Employer classification for the current calendar year will be calculated based upon the average number of employees during all weeks in the previous calendar year in which the employer had at least one employee. For employers that did not have any employees during the previous calendar year, classification will be based upon the average number of employees during the most recent three months of the current year. In this determination, all employees will be counted, regardless of their location, and including employees who worked in full-time employment, part-time employment, joint employment, temporary employment, or through the services of a temporary services or staffing agency or similar entity. 3. Employer classification for the current calendar year will be calculated based upon the gross revenue for the previous year. For employers that did not have gross revenue during the previous calendar year, annual gross revenue will be calculated from the gross revenue during the most recent three months of the current year. 4. For the purposes of employer classification, separate entities will be considered a single employer if they form an integrated enterprise or they are underjoint control by one of those entities or a separate entity. The factors to consider in making this assessment include, but are not limited to: a. Degree of interrelation between the operations of multiple entities; b. Degree to which the entities share common management; C. Centralized control of labor relations; and d. Degree of common ownership or financial control over the entities. Section 6. Part -Time Employees Shall Have Fair Access to Additional Hours. 1. Before hiring additional employees or subcontractors, including hiring through the use of temporary services or staffing agencies, covered employers must offer additional hours of work to existing employees who, in the employer's good faith and reasonable judgment, have the skills and experience to perform the work, and shall use a reasonable, transparent, and nondiscriminatory process to distribute the hours of work among those existing employees. 2. This section shall not be construed to require any employer to offer an employee work hours if the employer would be required to compensate the employee at time -and -a -half or other premium rate under any law or collective bargaining agreement, nor to prohibit any employer from offering such work hours. Section 7. Retaliation Prohibited. 1. No employer or any other person shall interfere with, restrain, or deny the exercise of, or the attempt to exercise, any right protected under this chapter. 2. No employer or any other person shall take any adverse action against any person because the person has exercised in good faith the rights under this chapter. Such rights include but are not limited to the right to make inquiries about the rights protected under this chapter; the right to inform others about their rights under this chapter; the right to inform the person's employer, union, or similar organization, and/or the person's legal counsel or any other person about an alleged violation of this chapter; the right to bring a civil action for an alleged violation of this chapter; the right to testify in a proceeding under or related to this chapter; the right to refuse to participate in an activity that would result in a violation of city, state, or federal law; and the right to oppose any policy, practice, or act that is unlawful under this chapter. 3. For the purposes of this section, an adverse action means denying ajob or promotion, demoting, terminating, failing to rehire after a seasonal interruption of work, threatening, penalizing, retaliating, engaging in unfair immigration -related practices, filing a false report with a government agency, changing an employee's status to nonemployee, decreasing or declining to provide additional work hours when they otherwise would have been offered, scheduling an employee for hours outside of their availability, or otherwise discriminating against any person for any reason prohibited by this chapter. "Adverse action" for an employee may involve any aspect of employment, including pay, work hours, responsibilities, or other material change in the terms and conditions of employment. 4. No employer or any other person shall communicate to a person exercising rights protected under this chapter, directly or indirectly, the willingness to inform a government employee that the person is not lawfully in the United States, or to report, or to make an implied or express assertion of a willingness to report, suspected citizenship or immigration status of the person or a family member of the person to a federal, state, or local agency because the person has exercised a right under this chapter. 5. There shall be a rebuttable presumption of unlawful retaliation if an employer or any other person takes an adverse action against a person within 90 days of the person's exercise of any right protected in this chapter. However, in the case of seasonal work that ended before the close of the 90-day period, the presumption also applies if the employer fails to rehire a former employee at the next opportunity for work in the same position. The employer may rebut the presumption with clear and convincing evidence that the adverse action was taken for a permissible purpose. 6. Standard of Proof. Proof of retaliation under this chapter shall be sufficient upon a showing that an employer or any other person has taken an adverse action against a person and the person's exercise of rights protected in this chapter was a motivating factor in the adverse action, unless the employer can prove that the action would have been taken in the absence of such protected activity. 7. The protections afforded under this section shall apply to any person who mistakenly but in good faith alleges violations of this chapter. Section 8. Enforcement. 1. Any person or class of persons that suffers financial injury as a result of a violation of this chapter or is the subject of prohibited retaliation under this chapter, or any other individual br entity acting on their behalf, may bring a civil action in a court of competent jurisdiction against the employer or other person violating this chapter and, upon prevailing, shall be awarded reasonable attorney fees and costs and such legal or equitable relief as may be appropriate to remedy the violation including, without limitation, the payment of any unpaid wages plus interest due to the person and liquidated damages in an additional amount of up to twice the unpaid wages; compensatory damages; and a penalty payable to any aggrieved party of up to $5,000 if the aggrieved party was subject to prohibited retaliation. For the purposes of this section, an aggrieved party means an employee or other person who suffers tangible or intangible harm due to an employer or other person's violation of this chapter, Interest shall accrue from the date the unpaid wages were first due at the higher of twelve percent per annum or the maximum rate permitted under RCW 19.52,020, 2. For purposes of determining membership within a class of persons entitled to bring an action under this section, two or more employees are similarly situated if they: a. Are or were employed by the same employer or employers, whether concurrently or otherwise, at some point during the applicable statute of limitations period; b. Allege one or more violations that raise similar questions as to liability; and ' C. Seek similar forms of relief. d. Employees shall not be considered dissimilar solely because their claims seek damages that differ in amount, or theirjob titles or other means of classifying employees differ in ways that are unrelated to their claims. 3. Each covered employer shall retain records as required by RCW 49.46.070, as well as such information as the City may require to confirm compliance with this chapter. If an employer fails to retain such records, there shall be a presumption, rebuttable by clear and convincing evidence, that the employer violated this chapter for the periods and for each employee for whom records were not retained. 4. Employers shall permit authorized City representatives access to work sites and relevant records for the purpose of monitoring compliance with the chapter and investigating complaints of noncompliance, including production for inspection and copying of employment records. The City may designate representatives, including city contractors and representatives of unions or worker advocacy organizations, to access the worksite and relevant records. 5. Complaints that any provision of this chapter has been violated may also be presented to the City Attorney, who is hereby authorized to investigate and, if they deem appropriate, initiate legal or other action to remedy any violation of this chapter. 6. The City has the authority to issue administrative citations and to order injunctive relief including reinstatement, restitution, payment of back wages, or other forms of relief. 7. The City may, in the exercise of its authority and performance of its functions and services, agree by contract or otherwise to participate jointly or in cooperation with Washington State, King County, or any city, town, or other incorporated place, or subdivision thereof, or engage outside counsel, to enforce this chapter. 8. The remedies and penalties provided under this chapter are cumulative and are not intended to be exclusive of any other available remedies or penalties, including existing remedies for enforcement of Renton Municipal Code chapters. 9. The statute of limitations for any enforcement action shall be five (5) years. Section 9. A new section is added to Renton Municipal Code (RMC) Section 5-5-4 as follows: 1. The Finance Director may deny, suspend, or revoke any license under this chapter for violation of this ordinance. 2. The Finance Director must deny, suspend, or revoke any license under this chapter for repeated intentional violations of this ordinance. 3. Any action by the Finance Director under this section shall be subject to the procedures and requirements of RMC subsection 5-5-3.E, as well as other due process rights that a court may require. Section 10. Definitions. For the purposes of this chapter, the following terms shall have the following meanings: "City" means the City of Renton. "Covered employer" means an employer that either (1) employs at least 15 employees regardless of where those employees are employed, or (2) has annual gross revenue over $2 million. "Effective date" is the effective date of this ordinance. "Employee" is defined as set forth in RCW 49.46.010. An employer bears the burden of proof that the individual is, as a matter of economic reality, in business for oneself rather than dependent upon the alleged employer. "Employer" is defined as set forth in RCW 49.46.010. "Employer classification" includes the determination of whether an employer is a covered employer and whether a covered employer is a large employer. "Franchise" means an agreement, express or implied, oral or written by which: 1. A person is granted the right to engage in the business of offering, selling, or distributing goods or services under a marketing plan prescribed or suggested in substantial part by the grantor or its affiliate; 2. The operation of the business is substantially associated with a trademark, service mark, trade time, advertising, or other commercial symbol; designating, owned by, or licensed by the grantor or its affiliate; and 3. The person pays, agrees to pay, or is required to pay, directly or indirectly, a franchise fee. The term, "franchise fee" is meant to be construed broadly to include any instance in which the grantor or its affiliate derives income or profit from a person who enters into a franchise agreement with the grantor. "Hour worked within the City" is to be interpreted according to its ordinary meaning, including all hours worked within the geographic boundaries of the City, excluding time spent in the City solely for the purpose of traveling through the City from a point of origin outside the City to a destination outside the City, with no employment -related or commercial stops in the City except for refueling or the employee's personal meals or errands. "Large Employer" means all employers that employ more than 500 employees, regardless of where those employees are employed, and all franchisees associated with a franchisor or a network of franchises with franchisees that employ more than 500 employees in aggregate. "Other covered employer" means a covered employer that does not qualify as a large employer. "Service charge" is defined as set forth in RCW 49.46.160(2)(c). "Tips" means a verifiable sum to be presented by a customer as a gift or gratuity in recognition of some service performed for the customer by the employee receiving the tip. "Wage" is defined as set forth in RCW 49.46.010. Section 11. Other Legal Requirements. This ordinance shall not be construed to preempt, limit, or otherwise affect the applicability of any other law, regulation, requirement, policy, or standard that provides for greater wages or compensation; and nothing in this ordinance shall be interpreted or applied so as to create any power or duty in conflict with federal or state law. Section 12. Rulemaking. Within 180 days after the effective date, the City shall adopt rules and procedures to implement and ensure compliance with this chapter, which shall require employers to maintain adequate records and to annually certify compliance with this chapter. The City shall seek feedback from worker organizations and covered employers before finalizing the rules and procedures. Section 13. Constitutional Subject. For constitutional purposes, this measure's subject "concerns labor standards for certain employers." See Filo Foods, LLC v. City of SeaTac, 183 Wash. 2d 770, 783, 357 P.3d 1040, 1047 (2015) (upholding this statement of subject for an initiative that set a minimum wage and addressed employees' access to hours). Section 14. Codification. All sections of this ordinance except section 9 shall be codified in a new chapter of the Renton Municipal Code. Section 15. Election date. In the event that the election on this measure takes place later than November 7, 2023, the Finance Department must establish and publish the initial minimum wage within 30 days of the effective date. Section 16. Severability. The provisions of this ordinance are declared to be separate and severable. If any clause, sentence, paragraph, subdivision, section, subsection, or portion of this ordinance, or the application thereof to any employer, employee, or circumstance, is held to be invalid, it shall not affect the validity of the remainder of this ordinance, or the validity of its application to other persons or circumstances. Name Of Canvasser: Date Canvassed: Canvasser Email and Phone Number: 11 Raising The Minimum Wage In Renton INITIATIVE PETITION FOR SUBMISSION TO THE RENTON CITY COUNCIL TO: The City Council of the City of Renton: ® cccneT_,�--4 933-M IBq�G61Bp/.ixn"' We, the undersigned registered voters of the City of Renton, State of Washington, residing at the addresses set forth opposite our respective names, being equal to fifteen percent (15%) of the total number of names of persons listed as registered voters within the City on the day of the last preceding City general election, respectfully request that the following ordinance be enacted by the City Council or, if not so enacted, be submitted to a vote of the residents of the City. The title of the said ordinance is as follows: ORDINANCE CONCERNING LABOR STANDARDS FOR CERTAIN EMPLOYEES A full, true and correct copy of the ordinance is attached to this Petition. Each of us for himself or herself says: I have personally signed this petition; I am a registered voter of the City of Renton, State of Washington; and my residence is correctly stated. Signature Printed Name Street and Number City Phone Number Email 5400 -varn Printed Name 1234 Anywhere St. Renton 206-555-1234 maria@something.org 1 2. 3. f 4v � 4. s. 6. 7 s. 9. 10. PaNteitG A, ,Jerpe 7-3o( NE 161! �;4- pe.,foi, WA 98o5` Renton 7,o6-2-43-57479 1 k i' G Y� M A yo4a pt_I yr (SI 3 DM)�Vl U-. Nu' 1336 A rA e cIv /;A yvk O_n. Renton `f4 - `f-i6_ 2,79 L 1-L-o '� b er a�ce.>a, I l e N e Dl N F .G'-"b Y-CUL� )_I c eK_,b>` 112 5 LC I g2-' SA ��E E 02" �— Date 4/10/2023 4/VZ3 Renton Renton Renton LI Zq-2bp 1 Lz Renton 2_oe-GLIB--i83z Renton Renton 4M-98' Renton Renton j 3 ss"z43" Warning Every person who signs this petition with any other than his or her true name, or who knowingly signs more than one of these petitions, or signs a petition seek- ing an election when he or she is not a legal voter, or signs a petition when he or she is otherwise not qualified to sign, or who makes herein any false statement, shall be guilty of a misdemeanor. 5 / � `_7 a2 AN ORDINANCE concerning labor standards for certain employees. Section 1. Findings. 1. The people of the City of Renton hereby adopt this citizen initiative addressing labor standards for certain employees, for the purpose of ensuring that, to the extent reasonably practicable, people employed in Renton have good wages and access to sufficient hours of work. 2. The City of Renton is one of the largest job centers in Washington State, with thousands of shoppers and workers visiting daily to participate in the local economy. Renton is home to The Landing shopping center, the historic Downtown Urban Center, as well as retail and commercial office and warehouse districts around the Rainier/Grady Way Junction. The City is a net importer ofjobs, with newly 60,000 employed workers. Renton has a wide army of both long established and new and evolving business sectors. Retail businesses, restaurants and bars, auto sales, hospitality, healthcare, and office workers are well represented. 3. The statewide minimum wage is not sufficient to afford rising rents and costs of living in Renton. According to the National Low Income Housing Coalition's Out of Reach 2022 report, a worker making Washington's minimum wage would have to work 72 hours each week (up from 70 hours each week in 2021) to afford a modest one -bedroom rental home at Fair Market Rent. 4. When working families earn insufficient income due to low wages and involuntary under -employment, they struggle to pay for basic necessities like health care, child care, and groceries, and they are more likely to be evicted and become homeless. 5. Nearby King County cities of SeaTac, Seattle, and Tukwila enacted higher minimum wages in 2013, 2014, and 2022 respectively, but will now Renton has not followed suit. 6. Children growing up in poverty experience insecurity with housing, nutrition, and health care while enduring other hardships that prevent their ability to team in school. Full time working parents must be able to reasonably provide for their family to ensure access to the opportunities and promise of public education. Section 2. Intent. It is the intent of the people to establish fair labor standards and protect the rights of workers by: (1) ensuring that the vast majority of employees in the City of Renton receive a minimum wage comparable to employees in the nearby cities of Tukwila, SeaTac, and Seattle; (2) requiring covered employers to offer additional hours of work to qualified part-time employees before hiring new employees to fill those hours; and (3) adopting enforcement requirements. Section 3. Large Employers Shall Pay Minimum Wages Comparable to Those in Nearby Cities. 1. Effective July 1, 2024, every large employer shall pay to each employee an hourly wage of not less than the 2023 new minimum wage rate in the City of Tukwila, established by City of Tukwila Initiative Measure No. 1, approved by voters in November 2022, adjusted for 2024 by the annual rate of inflation. 2. On January 1, 2025, and on each January 1 thereafter, the hourly minimum wage shall increase by the annual rate of inflation to maintain employee purchasing power. 3. By December 31, 2023, and by October 15 of each year thereafter, the Finance Department shall establish and publish the applicable hourly minimum wage for the following year using the annual rate of inflation. 4. For purposes of this chapter, the annual rate of inflation means 100 percent of the annual average growth rate of the bi-monthly Seattle -Tacoma -Bellevue Area Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers, termed CPI-W, for the 12-month period ending in August, provided that the percentage increase shall not be less than zero. 5. An employer must pay to its employees: a. All tips and gratuities; and b. All service charges as defined under RCW 49.46.160 except those that, pursuant to RCW 49.46.160, are itemized as not being payable to the employee or employees servicing the customer. Tips and service charges paid to an employee are in addition to, and may not count towards, the employee's hourly minimum wage. Section 4. Other Covered Employers Shall Have a Multiyear Phase -In Period. Other covered employers shall phase in the new minimum wage, as follows: I. Effective July 1, 2024, other covered employers shall pay employees not less than the hourly minimum wage established under Section 3 minus Two Dollars ($2) per hour. 2. Effective July 1, 2025, other covered employers shall pay employees not less than the hourly minimum wage established under Section 3 minus One Dollar ($1) per hour. 3. Effective July 1, 2026, and thereafter, all covered employers shall pay employees not less than the hourly minimum wage established under Section 3. Section 5. Coverage and Employer Classifications. 1. Covered employers must pay employees at least the minimum wage established by this chapter for each hour worked within the City. 2. Employer classification for the current calendar year will be calculated based upon the average number of employees during all weeks in the previous calendar year in which the employer had at least one employee. For employers that did not have any employees during the previous calendar year, classification will be based upon the average number of employees during the most recent three months of the current yew. In this determination, all employees will be counted, regardless of their location, and including employees who worked in full-time employment, part-time employment, joint employment, temporary employment, or through the services of a temporary services or staffing agency or similar entity. 3. Employer classification for the current calendar year will be calculated based upon the gross revenue for the previous year. For employers that did not have gross revenue during the previous calendar year, annual gross revenue will be calculated from the gross revenue during the most recent three months of the current year. 4. For the purposes of employer classification, separate entities will be considered a single employer if they form an integrated enterprise or they are under joint control by one of those entities or a separate entity. The factors to consider in making this assessment include, but are not limited to: a. Degree of interrelation between the operations of multiple entities; b. Degree to which the entities share common management; C. Centralized control of labor relations; and d. Degree of common ownership or financial control over the entities. Section 6. Part -Time Employees Shall Have Fair Access to Additional Hours. 1. Before hiring additional employees or subcontractors, including hiring through the use of temporary services or staffing agencies, covered employers must offer additional hours of work to existing employees who, in the employer's good faith and reasonable judgment, have the skills and experience to perform the work, and shall use a reasonable, transparent, and nondiscriminatory process to distribute the hours of work among those existing employees. 2. This section shall not be construed to require any employer to offer an employee work hours if the employer would be required to compensate the employee at time -and -a -half or other premium rate under any law or collective bargaining agreement, nor to prohibit any employer from offering such work hours. Section 7. Retaliation Prohibited. I. No employer or any other person shall interfere with, restrain, or deny the exercise of, or the attempt to exercise, any right protected under this chapter. 2. No employer or any other person shall take any adverse action against any person because the person has exercised in good faith the rights under this chapter. Such rights include but are not limited to the right to make inquiries about the rights protected under this chapter; the right to inform others about their rights under this chapter; the right to inform the person's employer, union, or similar organization, and/or the person's legal counsel or any other person about an alleged violation of this chapter; the right to bring a civil action for an alleged violation of this chapter; the right to testify in a proceeding under or related to this chapter; the right to refuse to participate in an activity that would result in a violation of city, state, or federal law; and the right to oppose any policy, practice, or act that is unlawful under this chapter. 3. For the purposes of this section, an adverse action means denying ajob or promotion, demoting, terminating, failing to rehire after a seasonal interruption of work, threatening, penalizing, retaliating, engaging in unfair immigration -related practices, filing a false report with a government agency, changing an employee's status to nonemployee, decreasing or declining to provide additional work hours when they otherwise would have been offered, scheduling an employee for hours outside of thew availability, or otherwise discriminating against any person for any reason prohibited by this chapter. "Adverse action" for an employee may involve any aspect of employment, including pay, work hours, responsibilities, or other material change in the terms and conditions of employment. 4. No employer or any other person shall communicate to a person exercising rights protected under this chapter, directly or indirectly, the willingness to inform a government employee that the person is not lawfully in the United States, or to report, or to make an implied or express assertion of a willingness to report, suspected citizenship or immigration status of the person or a family member of the person to a federal, state, or local agency because the person has exercised a right under this chapter. 5. There shall be a rebuttable presumption of unlawful retaliation if an employer or any other person takes an adverse action against a person within 90 days of the person's exercise of any right protected in this chapter. However, in the case of seasonal work that ended before the close of the 90-day period, the presumption also applies if the employer fails to rehire a former employee at the next opportunity for work in the same position. The employer may rebut the presumption with clear and convincing evidence that the adverse action was taken for a permissible purpose. 6. Standard of Proof. Proof of retaliation under this chapter shall be sufficient upon a showing that an employer or any other person has taken an adverse action against a person and the person's exercise of rights protected in this chapter was a motivating factor in the adverse action, unless the employer can prove that the action would have been taken in the absence of such protected activity. 7. The protections afforded under this section shall apply to any person who mistakenly but in good faith alleges violations of this chapter. Section S. Enforcement. 1. Any person or class of persons that suffers financial injury as a result of a violation of this chapter or is the subject of prohibited retaliation under this chapter, or any other individual or entity acting on their behalf, may bring a civil action in a court of competentjurist iction against the employer or other person violating this chapter and, upon prevailing, shall be awarded reasonable attorney fees and costs and such legal or equitable relief as may be appropriate to remedy the violation including, without limitation, the payment of any unpaid wages plus interest due to the person and liquidated damages in an additional amount of up to twice the unpaid wages; compensatory damages; and a penalty payable to any aggrieved party of up to $5,000 if the aggrieved party was subject to prohibited retaliation. For the purposes of this section, an aggrieved party means an employee or other person who suffers tangible or intangible harm due to an employer or other person's violation of this chapter. Interest shall accrue from the date the unpaid wages were first due at the higher of twelve percent per annum or the maximum rate permitted under RCW 19.52.020. 2. For purposes of determining membership within a class of persons entitled to bring an action under this section, two or more employees are similarly situated if they: a. Are or were employed by the same employer or employers, whether concurrently or otherwise, at some point during the applicable statute of limitations period; b. Allege one or more violations that raise similar questions as to liability; and C. Seek similar forms of relief. it. Employees shall not be considered dissimilar solely because their claims seek damages that differ in meant, or theirjob titles or other means of classifying employees differ in ways that are unrelated to their claims. 3. Each covered employer shall retain records as required by RCW 49.46.070, as well as such information as the City may require to confirm compliance with this chapter. If an employer fails to retain such records, there shall be a presumption, rebuttable by clew and convincing evidence, that the employer violated this chapter for the periods and for each employee for whom records were not retained. 4. Employers shall permit authorized City representatives access to work sites and relevant records for the purpose of monitoring compliance with the chapter and investigating complaints of noncompliance, including production for inspection and copying of employment records. The City may designate representatives, including city contractors and representatives of unions or worker advocacy organizations, to access the workshe and relevant records. 5. Complaints that any provision of this chapter has been violated may also be presented to the City Attorney, who is hereby authorized to investigate and, if they deem appropriate, initiate legal or other action to remedy any violation of this chapter. 6. The City has the authority to issue administrative citations and to order injunctive relief including reinstatement, restitution, payment of back wages, or other forms of relief. - 7. The City may, in the exercise of its authority and performance of its functions and services, agree by contract or otherwise to participate jointly or in cooperation with Washington State, King County, or any city, town, or other incorporated place, or subdivision thereof, or engage outside counsel, to enforce this chapter. 8. The remedies and penalties provided under this chapter are cumulative and are not intended to be exclusive of any other available remedies or penalties, including existing remedies for enforcement of Renton Municipal Code chapters. 9. The statute of limitations for any enforcement action shall be five (5) years. Section 9. A new section is added to Renton Municipal Code (RMC) Section 5-5-4 as follows: 1. The Finance Director may deny, suspend, or revoke any license under this chapter for violation of this ordinance. 2. The Finance Director must deny, suspend, or revoke any license under this chapter for repeated intentional violations of this ordinance. 3. Any action by the Finance Director under this section shall be subject to the procedures and requirements of RMC subsection 5-5-3.E, as well as other due process rights that a court may require. Section 10. Definitions. For the purposes of this chapter, the following terms shall have the following meanings: "City" means the City of Renton. "Covered employer" means an employer that either (1) employs at least 15 employees regardless of where those employees we employed, or (2) has annual gross revenue over $2 million. "Effective date" is the effective date of this ordinance. "Employee" is defined as set forth in RCW 49.46.010. An employer bears the burden of proof that the individual is, as a matter of economic reality, in business for oneself rather than dependent upon the alleged employer. "Employer" is defined as set forth in RCW 49.46.010. "Employer classification" includes the determination of whether an employer is a covered employer and whether a covered employer is a large employer. "Franchise" means an agreement, express or implied, oral or written by which: 1. A person is granted the right to engage in the business of offering, selling, or distributing goods or services under a marketing plan prescribed or suggested in substantial part by the grantor or its affiliate; 2. The operation of the business is substantially associated with a trademark, service mark, trade time, advertising, or other commercial symbol; designating, owned by, or licensed by the grantor or its affiliate; and 3. The person pays, agrees to pay, or is required to pay, directly or indirectly, a franchise fee. The term, "franchise fee" is meant to be construed broadly to include any instance in which the grantor or its affiliate derives income or profit from a person who enters into a franchise agreement with the grantor. "Hour worked within the City" is to be interpreted according to its ordinary meaning, including all hours worked within the geographic boundaries of the City, excluding time spent in the City solely for the purpose of traveling through the City from a point of origin outside the City to a destination outside the City, with no employment -related or commercial stops in the City except for refueling or the employee's personal meals or errands. "Large Employer" means all employers that employ more than 500 employees, regardless of where those employees are employed, and all franchisees associated with a franchisor or a network of franchises with franchisees that employ more than 500 employees in aggregate. "Other covered employer" means a covered employer that does not qualify as a large employer. "Service charge" is defined as set forth in RCW 49.46.160(2)(c). "Tips" means a verifiable sum to be presented by a customer as a gift or gratuity in recognition of some service performed for the customer by the employee receiving the tip. "Wage" is defined as set forth in RCW 49.46.010. Section 11. Other Legal Requirements. This ordinance shall not be construed to preempt, limit, or otherwise affect the applicability of any other law, regulation, requirement, policy, or standard that provides for greater wages or compensation; and nothing in this ordinance shall be interpreted or applied so as to create any power or duty in conflict with federal or state law. Section 12. Rulemaking. Within 180 days after the effective date, the City shall adopt rules and procedures to implement and ensure compliance with this chapter, which shall require employers to maintain adequate records and to annually certify compliance with this chapter. The City shall seek feedback from worker organizations and covered employers before finalizing the rates and procedures. Section 13. Constitutional Subject. For constitutional purposes, this measure's subject "concerns labor standards for certain employers." See File Foods, LLC v. City of SeaTac, 183 Wash. 2d 770, 783, 357 P.3d 1040, 1047 (2015) (upholding this statement of subject for an initiative that set a minimum wage and addressed employees' access to hours). Section 14. Codification. All sections of this ordinance except section 9 shall be codified in a new chapter of the Renton Municipal Code. Section 15. Election date. In the event that the election on this measure takes place later than November 7, 2023, the Finance Department must establish and publish the initial minimum wage within 30 days of the effective date. Section 16. Severability. The provisions of this ordinance are declared to be separate and severable. If any clause, sentence, paragraph, subdivision, section, subsection, or portion of this ordinance, or the application thereof to any employer, employee, or circumstance, is held to be invalid, it shall not affect the validity of the remainder of this ordinance, or the validity of its application to other persons or circumstances. Raising The Minimum Wage In Renton 3 5.- 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. INITIATIVE PETITION FOR SUBMISSION TO THE RENTON CITY COUNCIL TO: The City Council of the City of Renton: We, the undersigned registered voters of the City of Renton, State of Washington, residing at the addresses set forth opposite our respective names, being equal to fifteen percent (15%) of the total number of names of persons listed as registered voters within the City on the day of the last preceding City general election, respectfully request that the following ordinance be enacted by the City Council or, if not so enacted, be submitted to a vote of the residents of the City. The title of the said ordinance is as follows: ORDINANCE CONCERNING LABOR STANDARDS FOR CERTAIN EMPLOYEES A full, true and correct copy of the ordinance is attached to this Petition. Each of us for himself or herself says: I have personally signed this petition; I am a registered voter of the City of Renton, State of Washington; and my residence is correctly stated. Signature Printed Name Street and Number City Phone Number Email saK=�Ceti°tom Printed Name 1234 Anywhere St. Re ton 206-555-1234 maria@something.org oG— Ftvx a �s G LyK/ _� /!3/v 5 i 21 Re ton .✓[ v� ems, R Renton Renton II '763(P Date 4/10/2023 S -16 -low - I (0 -A) / 41 V-, k0sa p(_z:) lcl_7_�� 1/1� /I U ke7' � ���o n 1:7-- M_ - -) ? s- (-4 G Warning' Every person who signs this petition with any other than his or her true name, or who knowingly signs more than one of these petitions, or signs a petition seek- ing an election when he or she is not a legal voter, or signs a petition when he or she is otherwise not qualified to sign, or who makes herein any false statement, shall be guilty of a misdemeanor. o`T�Bo 933-M AN ORDINANCE concerning labor standards for certain employees. Section 1. Findings. 1. The people of the City of Renton hereby adopt this citizen initiative addressing labor standards for certain employees, for the purpose of ensuring that, to the extent reasonably practicable, people employed in Renton have good wages and access to sufficient hours of work. 2. The City of Renton is one of the largestjob centers in Washington State, with thousands of shoppers and workers visiting daily to participate in the local economy. Renton is home to The Landing shopping center, the historic Downtown Urban Center, as well as retail and commercial office and warehouse districts around the Rainier/Grady Way Junction. The City is anet importer ofjobs, with nearly 60,000 employed workers. Renton has a wide array of both long established and new and evolving business sectors. Retail businesses, restaurants and bars, auto sales, hospitality, healthcare, and office workers are well represented. 3. The statewide minimum wage is not sufficient to afford rising rents and costs of living in Renton. According to the National Low Income Housing Coalition's Out of Reach 2022 report, a worker making Washington's minimum wage would have to work 72 hours each week (up from 70 hours each week in 2021) to afford a modest one -bedroom rental home at Fair Market Rent. 4. When working families earn insufficient income due to low wages and involuntary under -employment, they struggle to pay for basic necessities like health care, child care, and groceries, and they are more likely to be evicted and become homeless. 5. Nearby King County cities of SeaTac, Seattle, and Tukwila enacted higher minimum wages in 2013, 2014, and 2022 respectively, but until now Renton has not followed suit. 6. Children growing up in poverty experience insecurity with housing, nutrition, and health care while enduring other hardships that prevent their ability to learn in school. Full time working parents must be able to reasonably provide for their family to ensure access to the opportunities and promise of public education. Section 2. Intent. It is the intent of the people to establish fair labor standards and protect the rights of workers by: (1) ensuring that the vast majority of employees in the City of Renton receive a minimum wage comparable to employees in the nearby cities of Tukwila, SeaTac, and Seattle; (2) requiring covered employers to offer additional hours of work to qualified part-time employees before hiring new employees to fill those hours; and (3) adopting enforcement requirements. Section 3. Large Employers Shall Pay Minimum Wages Comparable to Those in Nearby Cities. 1. Effective July 1, 2024, every large employer shall pay to each employee an hourly wage of not less than the 2023 new minimum wage rate in the City of Tukwila, established by City of Tukwila Initiative Measure No. 1, approved by voters in November 2022, adjusted for 2024 by the annual rate of inflation. 2. On January 1, 2025, and on each January 1 thereafter, the hourly minimum wage shall increase by the annual rate of inflation to maintain employee purchasing power. 3. By December 31, 2023, and by October 15 of each year thereafter, the Finance Department shall establish and publish the applicable hourly minimum wage for the following year using the annual rate of inflation. 4. For purposes of this chapter, the annual rate of inflation means 100 percent of the annual average growth rate of the bi-monthly Seattle -Tacoma -Bellevue Area Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers, termed CPI-W, for the 12-month period ending in August, provided that the percentage increase shall not be less than zero. 5. An employer must pay to its employees: a. All tips and gratuities; and b. All service charges as defined under RCW 49.46.160 except those that, pursuant to RCW 49.46.160, are itemized as not being payable to the employee or employees servicing the customer. Tips and service charges paid to an employee are in addition to, and may not count towards, the employee's hourly minimum wage. Section 4. Other Covered Employers Shall Have a Multiyear Phase -In Period. Other covered employers shall phase in the new minimum wage, as follows: 1. Effective July 1, 2024, other covered employers shall pay employees not less than the hourly minimum wage established under Section 3 minus Two Dollars ($2) per hour. 2. Effective July 1, 2025, other covered employers shall pay employees not less than the hourly minimum wage established under Section 3 minus One Dollar ($1) per hour. 3. Effective July 1, 2026, and thereafter, all covered employers shall pay employees not less than the hourly minimum wage established under Section 3. Section 5. Coverage and Employer Classifications. 1. Covered employers must pay employees at least the minimum wage established by this chapter for each hour worked within the City. 2. Employer classification for the current calendar year will be calculated based upon the average number of employees during all weeks in the previous calendar year in which the employer had at least one employee. For employers that did not have any employees during the previous calendar year, classification will be based upon the average number of employees during the most recent three months of the current year. In this determination, all employees will be counted, regardless of their location, and including employees who worked in full-time employment, part-time employment, joint employment, temporary employment, or through the services of a temporary services or staffing agency or similar entity. 3. Employer classification for the current calendar year will be calculated based upon the gross revenue for the previous year. For employers that did not have gross revenue during the previous calendar year, annual gross revenue will be calculated from the gross revenue during the most recent three months of the current year. 4. For the purposes of employer classification, separate entities will be considered a single employer if they form an integrated enterprise or they are under joint control by one of those entities or a separate entity. The factors to consider in making this assessment include, but are not limited to: a. Degree of interrelation between the operations of multiple entities; b. Degree to which the entities share common management; C. Centralized control of labor relations; and d. Degree of common ownership or financial control over the entities. Section 6. Part -Time Employees Shall Have Fair Access to Additional Hours. 1. Before hiring additional employees or subcontractors, including hiring through the use of temporary services or staffing agencies, covered employers must offer additional hours of work to existing employees who, in the employer's good faith and reasonable judgment, have the skills and experience to perform the work, and shall use a reasonable, transparent, and nondiscriminatory process to distribute the hours of work among those existing employees. 2. This section shall not be construed to require any employer to offer an employee work hours if the employer would be required to compensate the employee at time -and -a -half or other premium rate under any law or collective bargaining agreement, nor to prohibit any employer from offering such work hours. Section 7. Retaliation Prohibited. 1. No employer or any other person shall interfere with, restrain, or deny the exercise of, or the attempt to exercise, any right protected under this chapter. 2. No employer or any other person shall take any adverse action against any person because the person has exercised in good faith the rights under this chapter. Such rights include but are not limited to the right to make inquiries about the rights protected under this chapter; the right to inform others about their rights under this chapter; the right to inform the person's employer, union, or similar organization, and/or the person's legal counsel or any other person about an alleged violation of this chapter; the right to bring a civil action for an alleged violation of this chapter; the right to testify in a proceeding under or related to this chapter; the right to refuse to participate in an activity that would result in a violation of city, state, or federal law; and the right to oppose any policy, practice, or act that is unlawful under this chapter. 3. For the purposes of this section, an adverse action means denying ajob or promotion, demoting, terminating, failing to rehire after a seasonal interruption of work, threatening, penalizing, retaliating, engaging in unfair immigration -related practices, filing a false report with a government agency, changing an employee's status to nonemployee, decreasing or declining to provide additional work hours when they otherwise would have been offered, scheduling an employee for hours outside of their availability, or otherwise discriminating against any person for any reason prohibited by this chapter. "Adverse action" for an employee may involve any aspect of employment, including pay, work hours, responsibilities, or other material change in the terms and conditions of employment. 4. No employer or any other person shall communicate to a person exercising rights protected under this chapter, directly or indirectly, the willingness to inform a government employee that the person is not lawfully in the United States, or to report, or to make an implied or express assertion of a willingness to report, suspected citizenship or immigration status of the person or a family member of the person to a federal, state, or local agency because the person has exercised a right under this chapter. 5. There shall be a rebuttable presumption of unlawful retaliation if an employer or any other person takes an adverse action against a person within 90 days of the person's exercise of any right protected in this chapter. However, in the case of seasonal work that ended before the close of the 90-day period, the presumption also applies if the employer fails to rehire a former employee at the next opportunity for work in the same position. The employer may rebut the presumption with clear and convincing evidence that the adverse action was taken for a permissible purpose. 6. Standard of Proof. Proof of retaliation under this chapter shall be sufficient upon a showing that an employer or any other person has taken an adverse action against a person and the person's exercise of rights protected in this chapter was a motivating factor in the adverse action, unless the employer can prove that the action would have been taken in the absence of such protected activity. 7. The protections afforded under this section shall apply to any person who mistakenly but in good faith alleges violations of this chapter. Section 8. Enforcement. 1. Any person or class of persons that suffers financial injury as a result of a violation of this chapter or is the subject of prohibited retaliation under this chapter, or any other individual or entity acting on their behalf, may bring a civil action in a court of competent jurisdiction against the employer or other person violating this chapter and, upon prevailing, shall be awarded reasonable attorney fees and costs and such legal or equitable relief as may be appropriate to remedy the violation including, without limitation, the payment of any unpaid wages plus interest due to the person and liquidated damages in an additional amount of up to twice the unpaid wages; compensatory damages; and a penalty payable to any aggrieved party of up to $5,000 if the aggrieved party was subject to prohibited retaliation. For the purposes of this section, an aggrieved party means an employee or other person who suffers tangible or intangible harm due to an employer or other person's violation of this chapter. Interest shall accrue from the date the unpaid wages were first due at the higher of twelve percent per annum or the maximum rate permitted under RCW 19.52.020. 2. For purposes of determining membership within a class of persons entitled to bring an action under this section, two or more employees are similarly situated if they: a. Are or were employed by the same employer or employers, whether concurrently or otherwise, at some point during the applicable statute of limitations period; b. Allege one or more violations that raise similar questions as to liability; and C. Seek similar forms of relief. d. Employees shall not be considered dissimilar solely because their claims seek damages that differ in amount, or their job titles or other means of classifying employees differ in ways that are unrelated to their claims. 3. Each covered employer shall retain records as required by RCW 49.46.070, as well as such information as the City may require to confirm compliance with this chapter. If an employer fails to retain such records, there shall be a presumption, rebuttable by clear and convincing evidence, that the employer violated this chapter for the periods and for each employee for whom records were not retained. 4. Employers shall permit authorized City representatives access to work sites and relevant records for the purpose of monitoring compliance with the chapter and investigating complaints of noncompliance, including production for inspection and copying of employment records. The City may designate representatives, including city contractors and representatives of unions or worker advocacy organizations, to access the worksite and relevant records. 5. Complaints that any provision of this chapter has been violated may also be presented to the City Attorney, who is hereby authorized to investigate and, if they deem appropriate, initiate legal or other action to remedy any violation of this chapter. 6. The City has the authority to issue administrative citations and to order injunctive relief including reinstatement, restitution, payment of back wages, or other forms of relief. 7. The City may, in the exercise of its authority and performance of its functions and services, agree by contract or otherwise to participate jointly or in cooperation with Washington State, King County, or any city, town, or other incorporated place, or subdivision thereof, or engage outside counsel, to enforce this chapter. 8. The remedies and penalties provided under this chapter are cumulative and are not intended to be exclusive of any other available remedies or penalties, including existing remedies for enforcement of Renton Municipal Code chapters. 9. The statute of limitations for any enforcement action shall be five (5) years. Section 9. A new section is added to Renton Municipal Code (RMC) Section 5-5-4 as follows: 1. The Finance Director may deny, suspend, or revoke any license under this chapter for violation of this ordinance. 2. The Finance Director must deny, suspend, or revoke any license under this chapter for repeated intentional violations of this ordinance. 3. Any action by the Finance Director under this section shall be subject to the procedures and requirements of RMC subsection 5-5-3.E, as well as other due process rights that a court may require. Section 10. Definitions. For the purposes of this chapter, the following terms shall have the following meanings: "City" means the City of Renton. "Covered employer" means an employer that either (1) employs at least 15 employees regardless of where those employees are employed, or (2) has annual gross revenue over $2 million. "Effective date" is the effective date of this ordinance. "Employee" is defined as set forth in RCW 49.46.010. An employer bears the burden of proof that the individual is, as a matter of economic reality, in business for oneself rather than dependent upon the alleged employer. "Employer" is defined as set forth in RCW 49.46,010. "Employer classification" includes the determination of whether an employer is a covered employer and whether a covered employer is a large employer. "Franchise" means an agreement, express or implied, oral or written by which: 1. A person is granted the right to engage in the business of offering, selling, or distributing goods or services under a marketing plan prescribed or suggested in substantial part by the grantor or its affiliate; 2. The operation of the business is substantially associated with a trademark, service mark, trade time, advertising, or other commercial symbol; designating, owned by, or licensed by the grantor or its affiliate; and 3. The person pays, agrees to pay, or is required to pay, directly or indirectly, a franchise fee. The term, "franchise fee" is meant to be construed broadly to include any instance in which the grantor or its affiliate derives income or profit from a person who enters into a franchise agreement with the grantor. "Hour worked within the City" is to be interpreted according to its ordinary meaning, including all hours worked within the geographic boundaries of the City, excluding time spent in the City solely for the purpose of traveling through the City from a point of origin outside the City to a destination outside the City, with no employment -related or commercial stops in the City except for refueling or the employee's personal meals or errands. "Large Employer" means all employers that employ more than 500 employees, regardless of where those employees are employed, and all franchisees associated with a franchisor or a network of franchises with franchisees that employ more than 500 employees in aggregate. "Other covered employer" means a covered employer that does not qualify as a large employer. "Service charge" is defined as set forth in RCW 49.46.160(2)(c). "Tips" means a verifiable sum to be presented by a customer as a gift or gratuity in recognition of some service performed for the customer by the employee receiving the tip. "Wage" is defined as set forth in RCW 49.46.010. Section 11. Other Legal Requirements. This ordinance shall not be construed to preempt, limit, or otherwise affect the applicability of any other law, regulation, requirement, policy, or standard that provides for greater wages or compensation; and nothing in this ordinance shall be interpreted or applied so as to create any power or duty in conflict with federal or state law. Section 12. Rulemaking. Within 180 days after the effective date, the City shall adopt rules and procedures to implement and ensure compliance with this chapter, which shall require employers to maintain adequate records and to annually certify compliance with this chapter. The City shall seek feedback from worker organizations and covered employers before finalizing the rules and procedures. Section 13. Constitutional Subject. For constitutional purposes, this measure's subject "concerns labor standards for certain employers." See Pilo Foods, LLC v. City of SeaTac, 183 Wash. 2d 770, 783, 357 P.3d 1040, 1047 (2015) (upholding this statement of subject for an initiative that set a minimmn wage and addressed employees' access to hours). Section 14. Codification. All sections of this ordinance except section 9 shall be codified in a new chapter of the Renton Municipal Code. Section 15. Election date. In the event that the election on this measure takes place later than November 7, 2023, the Finance Department must establish and publish the initial minimum wage within 30 days of the effective date. Section 16. Severability. The provisions of this ordinance are declared to be separate and severable. If any clause, sentence, paragraph, subdivision, section, subsection, or portion of this ordinance, or the application thereof to any employer, employee, or circumstance, is held to be invalid, it shall not affect the validity of the remainder of this ordinance, or the validity of its application to other persons or circumstances. Name Of Canvasser: Date Canvassed: ;s ,Emafl,&U oneglumber: Raising The Minimum Wage In Renton INITIATIVE PETITION FOR SUBMISSION TO THE RENTON CITY COUNCIL TO: The City Council of the City of Renton: We, the undersigned registered voters of the City of Renton, State of Washington, residing at the addresses set forth opposite our respective names, being equal to fifteen percent (15%) of the total number of names of persons listed as registered voters within the City on the day of the last preceding City general election, respectfully request that the following ordinance be enacted by the City Council or, if not so enacted, be submitted to a vote of the residents of the City. The title of the said ordinance is as follows: ORDINANCE CONCERNING LABOR STANDARDS FOR CERTAIN EMPLOYEES A full, true and correct copy of the ordinance is attached to this Petition. Each of us for himself or herself says: I have personally signed this petition; I am a registered voter of the City of Renton, State of Washington; and my residence is correctly stated. Signature Printed Name Street and Number city Phone Number Email Date SaTaree`Uot�c Printed Name 1234 Anywhere St. Renton 206-555-1234 maria@something.org 4/10/2023 t. FMo� �/'llJ�h �II�^iL ll, �� l�lP�'/'�i��^ i�� �Renton 2. 3. 44 _--k'3 1 4. 5. 6 61 9. -a S4 dL Renton zS.Zz� 8b LInD A � tM�So n 1-1150 kl3� Pt-, Sze 177� l/,> PI SE Renton 4?ab-za8-1�641-v Renton �75 S' i-4 3 )4AI A l I �ya Vn A I C ((' I NK 2i2� � 1 ?0 `T I �� Renton 5 I--3- Z yty\ 1� �U� % wi 'L5 S E Wo, S� Renton ® 9IM al Go vim` � � c 112j22j S� l�i� cj -'-- Renton 053�g1� �/ 7 n�I5h�wv 1�� 1�3Z3 5c 17-1 �3 - Renton Lo�oq G��/ �� i"rNU��yCSby ' 123 SC ' '! Renton 26(o N9 7j 10. 04 6 (2 113��5/,:-- ►� 4 Renton 51 / �1 Z3 Warning Every person who signs this petition with any other than his or her true name, or who knowingly signs more than one of these petitions, or signs a petition seek- ing an election when he or she is not a legal voter, or signs a petition when he or she is otherwise not qualified to sign, or who makes herein any false statement, shall be guilty of a misdemeanor. ® •-=GCC/IBT•^ 933-M AN ORDINANCE concerning labor standards for certain employees. Section 1. Findings. I. The people of the City of Renton hereby adopt this citizen initiative addressing labor standards for certain employees, for the purpose of ensuring that, to the extent reasonably practicable, people employed in Renton have good wages and access to sufficient hours of work. 2. The City of Renton is one of the largestjob centers in Washington State, with thousands of shoppers and workers visiting daily to participate in the local economy. Renton is home to The Landing shopping center, the historic Downtown Urban Center, as well as retail and commercial office and warehouse districts around the Rainier/Grady Way Junction. The City is a net importer ofjobs, with nearly 60,000 employed workers. Renton has a wide array of both long established and new and evolving business sectors. Retail businesses, restaurants and bars, auto sales, hospitality, healthcare, and office workers are well represented. 3. The statewide minimum wage is not sufficient to afford rising rents and costs of living in Renton. According to the National Low Income Housing Coalition's Out of Reach 2022 report, a worker making Washington's minimum wage would have to work 72 hours each week (up from 70 hours each week in 2021) to afford a modest one -bedroom rental home at Fair Market Rent. 4. When working families earn insufficient income due to low wages and involuntary under -employment, they struggle to pay for basic necessities like health care, child care, and groceries, and they are more likely to be evicted and become homeless. 5. Nearby King County cities of SeaTac, Seattle, and Tukwila enacted higher minimum wages in 2013, 2014, and 2022 respectively, but until now Renton has not followed suit. 6. Children growing up in poverty experience insecurity with housing, nutrition, and health care while enduring other hardships that prevent their ability to learn in school. Full time working parents must be able to reasonably provide for their family to ensure access to the opportunities and promise of public education. Section 2. Intent. It is the intent of the people to establish fair labor standards and protect the rights of workers by: (1) ensuring that the vast majority of employees in the City of Renton receive a minimum wage comparable to employees in the nearby cities of Tukwila, SeaTac, and Seattle; (2) requiring covered employers to offer additional hours of work to qualified part-time employees before hiring new employees to fill those hours; and (3) adopting enforcement requirements. Section 3. Large Employers Shall Pay Minimum Wages Comparable to Those in Nearby Cities. 1. Effective July 1, 2024, every large employer shall pay to each employee an hourly wage of not less than the 2023 new minimum wage rate in the City of Tukwila, established by City of Tukwila Initiative Measure No. 1, approved by voters in November 2022, adjusted for 2024 by the annual rate of inflation. 2. On January 1, 2025, and on each January 1 thereafter, the hourly minimum wage shall increase by the annual rate of inflation to maintain employee purchasing power. 3. By December 31, 2023, and by October 15 of each year thereafter, the Finance Department shall establish and publish the applicable hourly minimum wage for the following year using the annual rate of inflation. 4. For purposes of this chapter, the annual rate of inflation means 100 percent of the annual average growth rate of the bi-monthly Seattle -Tacoma -Bellevue Area Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers, termed CPI-W, for the 12-month period ending in August, provided that the percentage increase shall not be less than zero. 5. An employer must pay to its employees: a. All tips and gratuities; and b. All service charges as defined under RCW 49.46.160 except those that, pursuant to RCW 49.46.160, are itemized as not being payable to the employee or employees servicing the customer. Tips and service charges paid to an employee are in addition to, and may not count towards, the employee's hourly minimum wage. Section 4. Other Covered Employers Shall Have a Multiyear Phase -In Period. Other covered employers shall phase in the new minimum wage, as follows: 1. Effective July 1, 2024, other covered employers shall pay employees not less than the hourly minimum wage established under Section 3 minus Two Dollars ($2) per hour. 2. Effective July 1, 2025, other covered employers shall pay employees not less than the hourly minimum wage established under Section 3 minus One Dollar ($1) per hour. 3. Effective July 1, 2026, and thereafter, all covered employers shall pay employees not less than the hourly minimum wage established under Section 3. Section 5. Coverage and Employer Classifications. 1. Covered employers must pay employees at least the minimum wage established by this chapter for each hour worked within the City. 2. Employer classification for the current calendar year will be calculated based upon the average number of employees during all weeks in the previous calendar year in which the employer had at least one employee. For employers that did not have any employees during the previous calendar year, classification will be based upon the average number of employees during the most recent three months of the current year. In this determination, all employees will be counted, regardless of their location, and including employees who worked in full-time employment, part-time employment, joint employment, temporary employment, or through the services of a temporary services or staffing agency or similar entity. 3. Employer classification for the current calendar year will be calculated based upon the gross revenue for the previous year. For employers that did not have gross revenue during the previous calendar year, annual gross revenue will be calculated from the gross revenue during the most recent three months of the current year. 4. For the purposes of employer classification, separate entities will be considered a single employer if they form an integrated enterprise or they are underjoint control by one of those entities or a separate entity. The factors to consider in making this assessment include, but are not limited to: a. Degree of interrelation between the operations of multiple entities; b. Degree to which the entities share common management; C. Centralized control of labor relations; and d. Degree of common ownership or financial control over the entities. Section 6. Part -Time Employees Shall Have Fair Access to Additional Hours. 1. Before hiring additional employees or subcontractors, including hiring through the use of temporary services or staffing agencies, covered employers must offer additional hours of work to existing employees who, in the employer's good faith and reasonablejudgment, have the skills and experience to perform the work, and shall use a reasonable, transparent, and nondiscriminatory process to distribute the hours of work among those existing employees. 2. This section shall not be construed to require any employer to offer an employee work hours if the employer would be required to compensate the employee at time -and -a -half or other premium rate under any law or collective bargaining agreement, nor to prohibit any employer from offering such work hours. Section 7. Retaliation Prohibited. L No employer or any other person shall interfere with, restrain, or deny the exercise of, or the attempt to exercise, any right protected under this chapter. 2. No employer or any other person shall take any adverse action against any person because the person has exercised in good faith the rights under this chapter. Such rights include but are not limited to the right to make inquiries about the rights protected under this chapter; the right to inform others about their rights under this chapter; the right to inform the person's employer, union, or similar organization, and/or the person's legal counsel or any other person about an alleged violation of this chapter; the right to bring a civil action for an alleged violation of this chapter; the right to testify in a proceeding under or related to this chapter; the right to refuse to participate in an activity that would result in a violation of city, state, or federal law; and the right to oppose any policy, practice, or act that is unlawful under this chapter. 3. For the purposes of this section, an adverse notion means denying a job or promotion, demoting, terminating, failing to rehire after a seasonal interruption of work, threatening, penalizing, retaliating, engaging in unfair immigration -related practices, filing a false report with a government agency, changing an employee's status to nonemployee, decreasing or declining to provide additional work hours when they otherwise would have been offered, scheduling an employee for hours outside of their availability, or otherwise discriminating against any person for any reason prohibited by this chapter. "Adverse action" for an employee may involve any aspect of employment, including pay, work hours, responsibilities, or other material change in the terms and conditions of employment. 4. No employer or any other person shall communicate to a person exercising rights protected under this chapter, directly or indirectly, the willingness to inform a government employee that the person is not lawfully in the United States, or to report, or to make an implied or express assertion of a willingness to report, suspected citizenship or immigration status of the person or a family member of the person to a federal, state, or local agency because the person has exercised a right under this chapter. 5. There shall be a rebuttable presumption of unlawful retaliation if an employer or any other person takes an adverse action against a person within 90 days of the person's exercise of any right protected in this chapter. However, in the case of seasonal work that ended before the close of the 90-day period, the presumption also applies if the employer fails to rehire a former employee at the next opportunity for work in the same position. The employer may rebut the presumption with clear and convincing evidence that the adverse action was taken for a permissible purpose. 6. Standard of Proof. Proof of retaliation under this chapter shall be sufficient upon a showing that an employer or any other person has taken an adverse action against a person and the person's exercise of rights protected in this chapter was a motivating factor in the adverse action, unless the employer can prove that the action would have been taken in the absence of such protected activity. 7. The protections afforded under this section shall apply to any person who mistakenly but in good faith alleges violations of this chapter. Section 8. Enforcement. 1. Any person or class of persons that suffers financial injury as a result of a violation of this chapter or is the subject of prohibited retaliation under this chapter, or any other individual or entity acting on their behalf, may bring a civil action in a court of competent jurisdiction against the employer or other person violating this chapter and, upon prevailing, shall be awarded reasonable allomey fees and costs and such legal or equitable relief as may be appropriate to remedy the violation including, without limitation, the payment of any unpaid wages plus interest due to the person and liquidated damages in an additional amount of up to twice the unpaid wages; compensatory damages; and a penalty payable to any aggrieved party of up to $5,000 if the aggrieved party was subject to prohibited retaliation. For the purposes of this section, an aggrieved party means an employee or other person who suffers tangible or intangible harm due to an employer or other person's violation of this chapter. Interest shall accrue from the date the unpaid wages were first due at the higher of twelve percent per annum or the maximum rate permitted under RCW 19.52.020. 2. For purposes of determining membership within a class of persons entitled to bring an action under this section, two or more employees are similarly situated if they: a. Are or were employed by the same employer or employers, whether concurrently or otherwise, at some point during the applicable statute of limitations period; b. Allege one or more violations that raise similar questions as to liability; and C. Seek similar forms of relief. d. Employees shall not be considered dissimilar solely because their claims seek damages that differ in amount, or theirjob titles or other means of classifying employees differ in ways that are unrelated to their claims. 3. Each covered employer shall retain records as required by RCW 49.46.070, as well as such information as the City may require to confirm compliance with this chapter. If an employer fails to retain such records, there shall be a presumption, rebuttable by clear and convincing evidence, that the employer violated this chapter for the periods and for each employee for whom records were not retained. 4. Employers shall permit authorized City representatives access to work sites and relevant records for the purpose of monitoring compliance with the chapter and investigating complaints of noncompliance, including production for inspection and copying of employment records. The City may designate representatives, including city contractors and representatives of unions or worker advocacy organizations, to access the worksite and relevant records. 5. Complaints that any provision of this chapter has been violated may also be presented to the City Attorney, who is hereby authorized to investigate and, if they deem appropriate, initiate legal or other action to remedy any violation of this chapter, 6. The City has the authority to issue administrative citations and to order injunctive relief including reinstatement, restitution, payment of back wages, or other forms of relief. 7. The City may, in the exercise of its authority and performance of its functions and services, agree by contract or otherwise to participate jointly or in cooperation with Washington State, King County, or any city, town, or other incorporated place, or subdivision thereof, or engage outside counsel, to enforce this chapter. 8. The remedies and penalties provided under this chapter we cumulative and are not intended to be exclusive of any other available remedies or penalties, including existing remedies for enforcement of Renton Municipal Code chapters. 9. The statute of limitations for any enforcement action shall be five (5) years. Section 9. A new section is added to Renton Municipal Code (RMC) Section 5-5-4 as follows: 1. The Finance Director may deny, suspend, or revoke any license under this chapter for violation of this ordinance. 2. The Finance Director must deny, suspend, or revoke any license under this chapter for repeated intentional violations of this ordinance. 3. Any action by the Finance Director under this section shall be subject to the procedures and requirements of RMC subsection 5-5-3.E, as well as other due process rights that a court may require. Section 10. Definitions. For the purposes of this chapter, the following terms shall have the following meanings: "City" means the City of Renton. "Covered employer" means an employer that either (1) employs at least 15 employees regardless of where those employees are employed, or (2) has annual gross revenue over $2 million. "Effective date" is the effective date of this ordinance. "Employee" is defined as set forth in RCW 49.46.010. An employer bears the burden of proof that the individual is, as a matter of economic reality, in business for oneself rather than dependent upon the alleged employer. "Employer" is defined as set forth in RCW 49.46.010. "Employer classification" includes the determination of whether an employer is a covered employer and whether a covered employer is a large employer. "Franchise" means an agreement, express or implied, oral or written by which: 1. A person is granted the right to engage in the business of offering, selling, or distributing goods or services under a marketing plan prescribed or suggested in substantial part by the grantor or its affiliate; 2. The operation of the business is substantially associated with a trademark, service mark, trade name, advertising, or other commercial symbol; designating, owned by, or licensed by the grantor or its affiliate; and 3. The person pays, agrees to pay, or is required to pay, directly or indirectly, a franchise fee. The term, "franchise fee" is meant to be construed broadly to include any instance in which the grantor or its affiliate derives income or profit from a person who enters into a franchise agreement with the grantor. "Hour worked within the City" is to be interpreted according to its ordinary meaning, including all hours worked within the geographic boundaries of the City, excluding time spent in the City solely for the purpose of traveling through the City from a point of origin outside the City to a destination outside the City, with no employment -related or commercial stops in the City except for refueling or the employee's personal meals or errands. "Large Employer" means all employers that employ more than 500 employees, regardless of where those employees are employed, and all franchisees associated with a franchisor or a network of franchises with franchisees that employ more than 500 employees in aggregate. "Other covered employer" means a covered employer that does not qualify as a large employer. "Service charge" is defined as set forth in RCW 49.46.160(2)(c). "Tips" means a verifiable sum to be presented by a customer as a gift or gratuity in recognition of some service performed for the customer by the employee receiving the tip. "Wage" is defined as set forth in RCW 49.46.010. Section 11. Other Legal Requirements. This ordinance shall not be construed to preempt, limit, or otherwise affect the applicability of any other law, regulation, requirement, policy, or standard that provides for greater wages or compensation; and nothing in this ordinance shall be interpreted or applied so as to create any power or duty in conflict with federal or state law. Section 12. Rulemaking. Within 180 days after the effective date, the City shall adopt rules and procedures to implement and ensure compliance with this chapter, which shall require employers to maintain adequate records and to annually certify compliance with this chapter. The City shall seek feedback from worker organizations and covered employers before finalizing the rules and procedures. Section 13. Constitutional Subject. For constitutional purposes, this measure's subject `concerns labor standards for certain employers." See File Foods, LLC v. City of SeaTac, 183 Wash. 2d 770, 783, 357 P.3d 1040, 1047 (2015) (upholding this statement of subject for an initiative that set a minimum wage and addressed employees' access to hours). Section 14. Codification. All sections of this ordinance except section 9 shall be codified in a new chapter of the Renton Municipal Code. Section 15. Election date. In the event that the election on this measure takes place later than November 7, 2023, the Finance Department must establish and publish the initial minimum wage within 30 days of the effective date. Section 16. Severability. The provisions of this ordinance are declared to be separate and severable. If any clause, sentence, paragraph, subdivision, section, subsection, or portion of this ordinance, or the application thereof to any employer, employee, or circumstance, is held to be invalid, it shall not affect the validity of the remainder of this ordinance, or the validity of its application to other persons or circumstances. ... Name Of Canvasser: Date Canvassed: Number: 411 Raising The Minimum Wage In Renton INITIATIVE PETITION FOR SUBMISSION TO THE RENTON CITY COUNCIL TO: The City Council of the City of Renton: p GC q. 933�M We, the undersigned registered voters of the City of Renton, State of Washington, residing at the addresses set forth opposite our respective names, being equal to fifteen percent (15%) of the total number of names of persons listed as registered voters within the City on the day of the last preceding City general election, respectfully request that the following ordinance be enacted by the City Council or, if not so enacted, be submitted to a vote of the residents of the City. The title of the said ordinance is as follows: ORDINANCE CONCERNING LABOR STANDARDS FOR CERTAIN EMPLOYEES A full, true and correct copy of the ordinance is attached to this Petition. Each of us for himself or herself says: I have personally signed this petition; I am a registered voter of the City of Renton, State of Washington; and my residence is correctly stated. Signature Printed Name Street and Number City Phone Number Email Date Sas A&I/aft _ _ Printed Name 1234 Anywhere St. Renton 206-555-1234 maria@something.org 4/10/2023 i.►...M M Warning Every person who signs this petition with any other than his or her true name, or who knowingly signs more than one of these petitions, or signs a petition seek- ing an election when he or she is not a legal voter, or signs a petition when he or she is otherwise not qualified to sign, or who makes herein any false statement, shall be guilty of a misdemeanor. /Y i. AN ORDINANCE concerning labor standards for certain employees. Section 1. Findings. 1. The people of the City of Renton hereby adopt this citizen initiative addressing labor standards for certain employees, for the purpose of ensuring that, to the extent reasonably practicable, people employed in Renton have good wages and access to sufficient hours of work. 2. The City of Renton is one of the largest job centers in Washington State, with thousands of shoppers and workers visiting daily to participate in the local economy. Renton is home to The Landing shopping center, the historic Downtown Urban Center, as well as retail and commercial office and warehouse districts around the Rainier/Grady Way Junction. The City is a net importer ofjobs, with nearly 60,000 employed workers. Renton has a wide array of both long established and new and evolving business sectors. Retail businesses, restaurants and bars, auto sales, hospitality, healthcare, and office workers are well represented. 3. The statewide minimum wage is not sufficient to afford rising rents and costs of living in Renton. According to the National Low Income Housing Coalition's Out of Reach 2022 report, a worker making Washington's minimum wage would have to work 72 hours each week (up from 70 hours each week in 2021) to afford a modest one -bedroom rental home at Fair Market Rent. 4. When working families earn insufficient income due to low wages and involuntary under -employment, they struggle to pay for basic necessities like health cue, child care, and groceries, and they me more likely to be evicted and become homeless. 5. Nearby King County cities of SeaTac, Seattle, and Tukwila enacted higher minimum wages in 2013, 2014, and 2022 respectively, but until now Renton has not followed suit. 6. Children growing up in poverty experience insecurity with housing, nutrition, and health care while enduring other hardships that prevent their ability to learn in school. Full time working parents must be able to reasonably provide for their family to ensure access to the opportunities and promise of public education. Section 2. Intent. It is the intent of the people to establish fair labor standards and protect the rights of workers by: (1) ensuring that the vast majority of employees in the City of Renton receive a minimum wage comparable to employees in the nearby cities of Tukwila, SeaTac, and Seattle; (2) requiring covered employers to offer additional hours of work to qualified part-time employees before hiring new employees to fill those hours; and (3) adopting enforcement requirements. Section 3. Large Employers Shall Pay Minimum Wages Comparable to Those in Nearby Cities. 1. Effective July 1, 2024, every large employer shall pay to each employee an hourly wage of not less than the 2023 new minimum wage rate in the City of Tukwila, established by City of Tukwila Initiative Measure No. 1, approved by voters in November 2022, adjusted for 2024 by the annual rate of inflation. 2. On January 1, 2025, and on each January I thereafter, the hourly minimum wage shall increase by the annual rate of inflation to maintain employee purchasing power. 3. By December 31, 2023, and by October 15 of each year thereafter, the Finance Department shall establish and publish the applicable hourly minimum wage for the following year using the annual rate of inflation. 4. For purposes of this chapter, the annual rate of inflation means 100 percent of the annual average growth rate of the bi-monthly Seattle -Tacoma -Bellevue Area Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Eamers and Clerical Workers, termed CPI-W, for the 12-month period ending in August, provided that the percentage increase shall not be less than zero. 5. An employer must pay to its employees: a. All tips and gratuities; and b. All service charges as defined under RCW 49.46.160 except those that, pursuant to RCW 49.46.160, are itemized as not being payable to the employee or employees servicing the customer. Tips and service charges paid to an employee are in addition to, and may not count towards, the employee's hourly minimum wage. Section 4. Other Covered Employers Shall Have a Multiyear Phase -In Period. Other covered employers shall phase in the new minimum wage, as follows: 1. Effective July 1, 2024, other covered employers shall pay employees not less than the hourly minimum wage established under Section 3 minus Two Dollars ($2) per hour. 2. Effective July 1, 2025, other covered employers shall pay employees not less than the hourly minimum wage established under Section 3 minus One Dollar ($1) per hour. 3. Effective July 1, 2026, and thereafter, all covered employers shall pay employees not less than the hourly minimum wage established under Section 3. Section 5. Coverage and Employer Classifications. 1. Covered employers must pay employees at least the minimum wage established by this chapter for each hour worked within the City. 2. Employer classification for the current calendar year will be calculated based upon the average number of employees during all weeks in the previous calendar year in which the employer had at least one employee. For employers that did not have any employees during the previous calendar year, classification will be based upon the average number of employees during the most recent three months of the current year. In this determination, all employees will be counted, regardless of their location, and including employees who worked in full-time employment, part-time employment, joint employment, temporary employment, or through the services of a temporary services or staffing agency or similar entity. 3. Employer classification for the current calendar year will be calculated based upon the gross revenue for the previous year. For employers that did not have gross revenue during the previous calendar year, annual gross revenue will be calculated from the gross revenue during the most recent three months of the current year. 4. For the purposes of employer classification, separate entities will be considered a single employer if they form an integrated enterprise or they are underjoint control by one of those entities or a separate entity. The factors to consider in making this assessment include, but are not limited to: a. Degree of interrelation between the operations of multiple entities; b. Degree to which the entities share common management; C. Centralized control of labor relations; and d. Degree of common ownership or financial control over the entities. Section 6. Part -Time Employees Shall Have Fair Access to Additional Hours. 1. Before hiring additional employees or subcontractors, including hiving through the use of temporary services or staffing agencies, covered employers must offer additional hours of work to existing employees who, in the employer's good faith and reasonable judgment, have the skills and experience to perform the work, and shall use a reasonable, transparent, and nondiscriminatory process to distribute the hours of work among those existing employees. 2. This section shall not be construed to require any employer to offer an employee work hours if the employer would be required to compensate the employee at time -and -a -half or other premium rate under any law or collective bargaining agreement, nor to prohibit any employer from offering such work hours. Section 7. Retaliation Prohibited. 1. No employer or any other person shall interfere with, restrain, or deny the exercise of, or the attempt to exercise, any right protected under this chapter. 2. No employer or any other person shall take any adverse action against any person because the person has exercised in good faith the rights under this chapter. Such rights include but are not limited to the right to make inquiries about the rights protected under this chapter; the right to inform others about their rights under this chapter; the right to inform the person's employer, union, or similar organization, and/or the person's legal counsel or any other person about an alleged violation of this chapter; the right to bring a civil action for an alleged violation of this chapter•, the right to testify in a proceeding under or related to this chapter; the right to refuse to participate in an activity that would result in a violation of city, state, or federal law; and the right to oppose any policy, practice, or act that is unlawful under this chapter. 3. For the purposes of this section, an adverse action means denying a job or promotion, demoting, terminating, failing to rehire after a seasonal interruption of work, threatening, penalizing, retaliating, engaging in unfair immigration -related practices, filing a false report with a government agency, changing an employee's status to nonemployee, decreasing or declining to provide additional work hours when they otherwise would have been offered, scheduling an employee for hours outside of their availability, or otherwise discriminating against any person for any reason prohibited by this chapter. "Adverse action" for an employee may involve any aspect of employment, including pay, work hours, responsibilities, or other material change in the terms and conditions of employment. 4. No employer or any other person shall communicate to a person exercising rights protected under this chapter, directly or indirectly, the willingness to inform a government employee that the person is not lawfully in the United States, or to report, or to make an implied or express assertion of a willingness to report, suspected citizenship or immigration status of the person or a family member of the person to a federal, state, or local agency because the person has exercised a right under this chapter. 5. There shall be a rebuttable presumption of unlawful retaliation if an employer or any other person takes an adverse action against a person within 90 days of the person's exercise of any right protected in this chapter. However, in the case of seasonal work that ended before the close of the 90-day period, the presumption also applies if the employer fails to rehire a former employee at the next opportunity for work in the same position. The employer may rebut the presumption with clear and convincing evidence that the adverse action was taken for a permissible purpose. 6. Standard of Proof. Proof of retaliation under this chapter shall be sufficient upon a showing that an employer or any other person has taken an adverse action against a person and the person's exercise of rights protected in this chapter was a motivating factor in the adverse action, unless the employer can prove that the action would have been taken in the absence of such protected activity. 7. The protections afforded under this section shall apply to any person who mistakenly but in good faith alleges violations of this chapter. Section 8. Enforcement. I. Any person or class of persons that suffers financial injury as a result of a violation of this chapter or is the subject of prohibited retaliation under this chapter, or any other individual or entity acting on their behalf, may bring a civil action in a court of competent jurisdiction against the employer or other person violating this chapter and, upon prevailing, shall be awarded reasonable attorney fees and costs and such legal or equitable relief as may be appropriate to remedy the violation including, without limitation, the payment of any unpaid wages plus interest due to the person and liquidated damages in an additional amount of up to twice the unpaid wages; compensatory damages; and a penalty payable to any aggrieved party of up to $5,000 if the aggrieved party was subject to prohibited retaliation. For the purposes of this section, an aggrieved party means an employee or other person who suffers tangible or intangible harm due to an employer or other person's violation of this chapter. Interest shall accrue from the date the unpaid wages were first due at the higher of twelve percent per annum or the maximum rate permitted under RCW 19.52.020. 2. For purposes of determining membership within a class of persons entitled to bring an action under this section, two or more employees are similarly situated if they: a. Are or were employed by the same employer or employers, whether concurrently or otherwise, at some point during the applicable statute of limitations period; b. Allege one or more violations that raise similar questions as to liability; and C. Seek similar forms of relief. d. Employees shall not be considered dissimilar solely because their claims seek damages that differ in amount, or theirjob titles or other means of classifying employees differ in ways that are unrelated to their claims. 3. Each covered employer shall retain records as required by RCW 49.46.070, as well as such information as the City may require to confirm compliance with this chapter. If an employer fails to retain such records, there shall be a presumption, rebuttable by clear and convincing evidence, that the employer violated this chapter for the periods and for each employee for whom records were not retained. 4. Employers shall permit authorized City representatives access to work sites and relevant records for the purpose of monitoring compliance with the chapter and investigating complaints of noncompliance, including production for inspection and copying of employment records. The City may designate representatives, including city contractors and representatives of unions or worker advocacy organizations, to access the worksite and relevant records. 5. Complaints that any provision of this chapter has been violated may also be presented to the City Attorney, who is hereby authorized to investigate and, if they deem appropriate, initiate legal or other action to remedy any violation of this chapter. 6. The City has the authority to issue administrative citations and to order injunctive relief including reinstatement, restitution, payment of back wages, or other forms of relief. 7. The City may, in the exercise of its authority and performance of its functions and services, agree by contract or otherwise to participate jointly or in cooperation with Washington State, King County, or any city, town, or other incorporated place, or subdivision thereof, or engage outside counsel, to enforce this chapter. 8. The remedies and penalties provided under this chapter are cumulative and are not intended to be exclusive of any other available remedies or penalties, including existing remedies for enforcement of Renton Municipal Code chapters. 9. The statute of limitations for any enforcement action shall be five (5) years. Section 9. A new section is added to Renton Municipal Code (RMC) Section 5-5-4 as follows: 1. The Finance Director may deny, suspend, or revoke any license under this chapter for violation of this ordinance. 2. The Finance Director must deny, suspend, or revoke any license under this chapter for repeated intentional violations of this ordinance. 3. Any action by the Finance Director under this section shall be subject to the procedures and requirements of RMC subsection 5-5-3.E, as well as other due process rights that a court may require. Section 10. Definitions. For the purposes of this chapter, the following terms shall have the following meanings: "City" means the City of Renton. "Covered employer" means an employer that either (1) employs at least 15 employees regardless of where those employees are employed, or (2) has annual gross revenue over $2 million. "Effective date" is the effective date of this ordinance. "Employee" is defined as set forth in RCW 49.46.010. An employer bears the burden of proof that the individual is, as a matter of economic reality, in business for oneself rather than dependent upon the alleged employer. "Employer" is defined as set forth in RCW 49.46.010. "Employer classification" includes the determination of whether an employer is a covered employer and whether a covered employer is a large employer. "Franchise" means an agreement, express or implied, oral or written by which: l . A person is granted the right to engage in the business of offering, selling, or distributing goods or services under a marketing plan prescribed or suggested in substantial part by the grantor or its affiliate; 2. The operation of the business is substantially associated with a trademark, service mark, trade time, advertising, or other commercial symbol; designating, owned by, or licensed by the grantor or its affiliate; and 3. The person pays, agrees to pay, or is required to pay, directly or indirectly, a franchise fee. The term, "franchise fee" is meant to be construed broadly to include any instance in which the grantor or its affiliate derives income or profit from a person who enters into a franchise agreement with the grantor. "Hour worked within the City" is to be interpreted according to its ordinary meaning, including all hours worked within the geographic boundaries of the City, excluding time spent in the City solely for the purpose of traveling through the City from a point of origin outside the City to a destination outside the City, with no employment -related or commercial stops in the City except for refueling or the employee's personal meals or errands. "Large Employer" means all employers that employ more than 500 employees, regardless of where those employees are employed, and all franchisees associated with a Franchisor or a network of franchises with franchisees that employ more than 500 employees in aggregate. "Other covered employer" means a covered employer that does not qualify as a large employer. "Service charge" is defined as set forth in RCW 49.46.160(2)(c). "Tips" means a verifiable sum to be presented by a customer as a gift or gratuity in recognition of some service performed for the customer by the employee receiving the tip. "Wage" is defined as set forth in RCW 49.46.010. Section 11. Other Legal Requirements. This ordinance shall not be construed to preempt, limit, or otherwise affect the applicability of any other law, regulation, requirement, policy, or standard that provides for greater wages or compensation; and nothing in this ordinance shall be interpreted or applied so as to create any power or duty in conflict with federal or state law. Section 12. Rulemaking. Within 180 days after the effective date, the City shall adopt rules and procedures to implement and ensure compliance with this chapter, which shall require employers to maintain adequate records and to annually certify compliance with this chapter. The City shall seek feedback from worker organizations and covered employers before finalizing the rules and procedures. Section 13. Constitutional Subject. For constitutional purposes, this measure's subject "concerns labor standards for certain employers." See Filo Foods, LLC v. City of SeaTac, 183 Wash. 2d 770, 783, 357 P.3d 1040, 1047 (2015) (upholding this statement of subject for an initiative that set a minimum wage and addressed employees' access to hours). Section 14. Codification. All sections of this ordinance except section 9 shall be codified in a new chapter of the Renton Municipal Code. Section 15. Election date. In the event that the election on this measure takes place later than November 7, 2023, the Finance Department must establish and publish the initial minimum wage within 30 days of the effective date. Section 16. Severability. The provisions of this ordinance are declared to be separate and severable. If any clause, sentence, paragraph, subdivision, section, subsection, or portion of this ordinance, or the application thereof to any employer, employee, or circumstance, is held to be invalid, it shall not affect the validity of the remainder of this ordinance, or the validity of its application to other persons or circumstances. Raising The Minimum Wage In Renton INITIATIVE PETITION FOR SUBMISSION TO THE RENTON CITY COUNCIL TO: The City Council of the City of Renton: p VIED) cccner� 933-M We, the undersigned registered voters of the City of Renton, State of Washington, residing at the addresses set forth opposite our respective names, being equal to fifteen percent (15%) of the total number of names of persons listed as registered voters within the City on the day of the last preceding City general election, respectfully request that the following ordinance be enacted by the City Council or, if not so enacted, be submitted to a vote of the residents of the City. The title of the said ordinance is as follows: ORDINANCE CONCERNING LABOR STANDARDS FOR CERTAIN EMPLOYEES A full, true and correct copy of the ordinance is attached to this Petition. Each of us for himself or herself says: I have personally signed this petition; I am a registered voter of the City of Renton, State of Washington; and my residence is correctly stated. Signature SaKe`!/ot� Printed Name Printed Name Street and Number 1234 Anywhere St. City Renton Phone Number Email 206-555-1234 maria@something.org Date 4/10/2023 1. (// �' 7/ ��'�l I �j I��M� C (� h*�Z 2-e� (' yL IJ r Renton " C �/ F�,(jbe A 1.� (fie 5j ��,pi�2c�1 '� �!r Renton ���IZ3 2. /" 3. (� /� r , ��;t�h��i4 Renton %� 4. %%�G` C/ f���L�/� i P�� �l�ir2�7�d Z2?33 �✓�JP�f'GC�G�i Y1�2 Renton --� X(Ar) � � P � ll H orS�e� A& /Jc— Renton s/(6 13 5. !✓, 1 I / AA. Imo (r , (Ib2 µanyerc� �1�� Renton 6.� %. I �, `� ' l� 0' I� I-- �j(� ,S {� �D lY U� 1 I b'{ t� l'�-V�' V`�' i. LyER� �t✓ /z �>`� _��( cScobczPo 7i12 Ili j�,src �G Renton 0i'7_B�S t7_ -2 ao S% �1�Z3 s. 9. ,� `` �%Z /} j 6 Z 16C� Renton io✓ � .� ���� ��� Renton ��� -/ 7 S/i 23 Warning Every person who signs this petition with any other than his or her true name, or who knowingly signs more than one of these petitions, or signs a petition seek- ing an election when he or she is not a legal voter, or signs a petition when he or she is otherwise not qualified to sign, or who makes herein any false statement, shall be guilty of a misdemeanor. AN ORDINANCE concerning labor standards for certain employees. Section 1. Findings. 1. The people of the City of Renton hereby adopt this citizen initiative addressing labor standards for certain employees, for the purpose of ensuring that, to the extent reasonably practicable, people employed in Renton have good wages and access to sufficient hours of work. 2. The City of Renton is one of the largest job centers in Washington State, with thousands of shoppers and workers visiting daily to participate in the local economy. Renton is home to The Landing shopping center, the historic Downtown Urban Center, as well as retail and commercial office and warehouse districts around the Rainier/Grady Way Junction. The City is a net importer ofjobs, with nearly 60,000 employed workers. Renton has a wide array of both long established and new and evolving business sectors. Retail businesses, restaurants and bars, auto sales, hospitality, healthcare, and office workers are well represented. 3. The statewide minimum wage is not sufficient to afford rising rents and costs of living in Renton. According to the National Low Income Housing Coalition's Out of Reach 2022 report, a worker making Washington's minimum wage would have to work 72 hours each week (up from 70 hours each week in 2021) to afford a modest one -bedroom rental home at Fair Market Rent. 4. When working families earn insufficient income due to low wages and involuntary under -employment, they struggle to pay for basic necessities like health cue, child cue, and groceries, and they are more likely to be evicted and become homeless. 5. Nearby King County cities of SeaTac, Seattle, and Tukwila enacted higher minimum wages in 2013, 2014, and 2022 respectively, but until now Renton has not followed suit. 6. Children growing up in poverty experience insecurity with housing, nutrition, and health cue while enduring other hardships that prevent their ability to learn in school. Full time working parents must be able to reasonably provide for their family to ensure access to the opportunities and promise of public education. Section 2. Intent. It is the intent of the people to establish fair labor standards and protect the rights of workers by: (1) ensuring that the vast majority of employees in the City of Renton receive a minimum wage comparable to employees in the nearby cities of Tukwila, SeaTac, and Seattle; (2) requiring covered employers to offer additional hours of work to qualified part-time employees before hiring new employees to fill those hours; and (3) adopting enforcement requirements. Section 3. Large Employers Shall Pay Minimum Wages Comparable to Those in Nearby Cities. 1. Effective July 1, 2024, every large employer shall pay to each employee an hourly wage of not less than the 2023 new minimum wage rate in the City of Tukwila, established by City of Tukwila Initiative Measure No. 1, approved by voters in November 2022, adjusted for 2024 by the annual rate of inflation. 2. On January 1, 2025, and on each January 1 thereafter, the hourly minimum wage shall increase by the annual rate of inflation to maintain employee purchasing power. 3. By December 31, 2023, and by October 15 of each year thereafter, the Finance Department shall establish and publish the applicable hourly minimum wage for the following year using the annual rate of inflation. 4. For purposes of this chapter, the annual rate of inflation means 100 percent of the annual average growth rate of the bi-monthly Seattle -Tacoma -Bellevue Area Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers, termed CPI-W, for the 12-month period ending in August, provided that the percentage increase shall not be less than zero. 5. An employer must pay to its employees: a. All tips and gratuities; and b. All service charges as defined under RCW 49.46.160 except those that, pursuant to RCW 49.46.160, we itemized as not being payable to the employee or employees servicing the customer. Tips and service charges paid to an employee are in addition to, and may not count towards, the employee's hourly minimum wage. Section 4. Other Covered Employers Shall Have a Multiyear Phase -In Period. Other covered employers shall phase in the new minimum wage, as follows: 1. Effective July 1, 2024, other covered employers shall pay employees not less than the hourly minimum wage established under Section 3 minus Two Dollars ($2) per hour. 2. Effective July 1, 2025, other covered employers shall pay employees not less than the hourly minimum wage established under Section 3 minus One Dollar ($1) per hour. 3. Effective July 1, 2026, and thereafter, all covered employers shall pay employees not less than the hourly minimum wage established under Section 3. Section 5. Coverage and Employer Classifications. 1. Covered employers must pay employees at least the minimum wage established by this chapter for each hour worked within the City. 2. Employer classification for the current calendar year will be calculated based upon the average number of employees during all weeks in the previous calendar year in which the employer had at least one employee. For employers that did not have any employees during the previous calendar you, classification will be based upon the average number of employees during the most recent three months of the current year. In this determination, all employees will be counted, regardless of their location, and including employees who worked in full-time employment, part-time employment, joint employment, temporary employment, or through the services of a temporary services or staffing agency or similar entity. 3. Employer classification for the current calendar year will be calculated based upon the gross revenue for the previous yew. For employers that did not have gross revenue during the previous calendar year, annual gross revenue will be calculated from the gross revenue during the most recent three months of the current year. 4. For the purposes of employer classification, separate entities will be considered a single employer if they form an integrated enterprise or they are under joint control by one of those entities or a separate entity. The factors to consider in making this assessment include, but are not limited to: a. Degree of interrelation between the operations of multiple entities; b. Degree to which the entities share common management; C. Centralized control of labor relations; and it. Degree of common ownership or financial control over the entities. Section 6. Part -Time Employees Shall Have Fair Access to Additional Hours. 1. Before hiring additional employees or subcontractors, including hiring through the use of temporary services or staffing agencies, covered employers must offer additional hours of work to existing employees who, in the employer's good faith and reasonable judgment, have the skills and experience to perform the work, and shall use a reasonable, transparent, and nondiscriminatory process to distribute the hours of work among thoseexisting employees. 2. This section shall not be construed to require any employer to offer an employee work hours if the employer would be required to compensate the employee at time -and -a -half or other premium rate under any law or collective bargaining agreement, nor to prohibit any employer from offering such work hours. Section 7. Retaliation Prohibited. 1. No employer or any other person shall interfere with, restrain, or deny the exercise of, or the attempt to exercise, any right protected under this chapter. 2. No employer or any other person shall take any adverse action against any person because the person has exercised in good faith the rights under this chapter. Such rights include but are not limited to the right to make inquiries about the rights protected under this chapter; the right to inform others about their rights under this chapter; the right to inform the person's employer, union, or similar organization, and/or the person's legal counsel or any other person about an alleged violation of this chapter; the right to bring a civil action for an alleged violation of this chapter; the right to testify in a proceeding under or related to this chapter•, the right to refuse to participate in an activity that would result in a violation of city, state, or federal law; and the right to oppose any policy, practice, or act that is unlawful under this chapter. 3. For the purposes of this section, an adverse action means denying a job or promotion, demoting, terminating, failing to rehire after a seasonal interruption of work, threatening, penalizing, retaliating, engaging in unfair immigration -related practices, filing a false report with a government agency, changing an employee's status to nonemployee, decreasing or declining to provide additional work hours when they otherwise would have been offered, scheduling an employee for hours outside of their availability, or otherwise discriminating against any person for any reason prohibited by this chapter. "Adverse action" for an employee may involve any aspect of employment, including pay, work hours, responsibilities, or other material change in the terms and conditions of employment. 4. No employer or any other person shall communicate to a person exercising rights protected under this chapter, directly or indirectly, the willingness to inform a government employee that the person is not lawfully in the United States, or to report, or to make an implied or express assertion of a willingness to report, suspected citizenship or immigration status of the person or a family member of the person to a federal, state, or local agency because the person has exercised a right under this chapter. 5. There shall be a rebuttable presumption of unlawful retaliation if an employer or any other person takes an adverse action against a person within 90 days of the person's exercise of any right protected in this chapter. However, in the case of seasonal work that ended before the close of the 90-day period, the presumption also applies if the employer fails to rehire a former employee at the next opportunity for work in the same position. The employer may rebut the presumption with clear and convincing evidence that the adverse action was taken for a permissible purpose. 6. Standard of Proof. Proof of retaliation under this chapter shall be sufficient upon a showing that an employer or any other person has taken an adverse action against a person and the person's exercise of rights protected in this chapter was a motivating factor in the adverse action, unless the employer can prove that the action would have been taken in the absence of such protected activity. 7. The protections afforded under this section shall apply to any person who mistakenly but in good faith alleges violations of this chapter. Section 8. Enforcement. 1. Any person or class of persons that suffers financial injury as a result of a violation of this chapter or is the subject of prohibited retaliation under this chapter, or any other individual or entity acting on their behalf, may bring a civil action in a court of competent jurisdiction against the employer or other person violating this chapter and, upon prevailing, shall be awarded reasonable attorney fees and costs and such legal or equitable relief as may be appropriate to remedy the violation including, without limitation, the payment of any unpaid wages plus interest due to the person and liquidated damages in an additional amount of up to twice the unpaid wages; compensatory damages; and a penalty payable to any aggrieved party of up to $5,000 if the aggrieved party was subject to prohibited retaliation. For the purposes of this section, an aggrieved party means an employee or other person who suffers tangible or intangible harm due to an employer or other person's violation of this chapter. Interest shall accrue from the date the unpaid wages were first due at the higher of twelve percent per antrum or the maximum rate permitted under RCW 19.52.020. 2. For purposes of determining membership within a class of persons entitled to bring an action under this section, two or more employees are similarly situated if they: a. Are or were employed by the same employer or employers, whether concurrently or otherwise, at some point during the applicable statute of limitations period; b. Allege one or more violations that raise similar questions as to liability; and c. Seek similar forms of relief. d. Employees shall not be considered dissimilar solely because their claims seek damages that differ in amount, or theirjob titles or other means of classifying employees differ in ways that are unrelated to their claims. 3. Each covered employer shall retain records as required by RCW 49.46.070, as well as such information as the City may require to confirm compliance with this chapter. If an employer fails to retain such records, there shall be a presumption, rebuttable by clear and convincing evidence, that the employer violated this chapter for the periods and for each employee for whom records were not retained. 4. Employers shall permit authorized City representatives access to work sites and relevant records for the purpose of monitoring compliance with the chapter and investigating complaints of noncompliance, including production for inspection and copying of employment records. The City may designate representatives, including city contractors and representatives of unions or worker advocacy organizations, to access the worksite and relevant records. 5. Complaints that an provision of this chapter has been violated p y p p o a[ed may also be presented to the City Attorney, who is hereby authorized to investigate and, if they deem appropriate, initiate legal or other action to remedy any violation of this chapter. 6. The City has the authority to issue administrative citations and to order injunctive relief including reinstatement, restitution, payment of back wages, or other forms of relief. 7. The City may, in the exercise of its authority and performance of its functions and services, agree by contract or otherwise to participate jointly or in cooperation with Washington State, King County, or any city, town, or other incorporated place, or subdivision thereof, or engage outside counsel, to enforce this chapter. 8. The remedies and penalties provided under this chapter are cumulative and are not intended to be exclusive of any other available remedies or penalties, including existing remedies for enforcement of Renton Municipal Code chapters. 9. The statute of limitations for any enforcement action shall be five (5) years. Section 9. A new section is added to Renton Municipal Code (RMC) Section 5-5-4 as follows: 1. The Finance Director may deny, suspend, or revoke any license under this chapter for violation of this ordinance. 2. The Finance Director must deny, suspend, or revoke any license under this chapter for repeated intentional violations of this ordinance. 3. Any action by the Finance Director under this section shall be subject to the procedures and requirements of RMC subsection 5-5-3.E, as well as other due process rights that a court may require. Section 10. Definitions. For the purposes of this chapter, the following terms shall have the following meanings: "City" means the City of Renton. "Covered employer" means an employer that either (1) employs at least 15 employees regardless of where those employees me employed, or (2) has annual gross revenue over $2 million. "Effective date" is the effective date of this ordinance. "Employee" is defined as set forth in RCW 49.46.010. An employer bears the burden of proof that the individual is, as a matter of economic reality, in business for oneself rather than dependent upon the alleged employer. "Employer" is defined as set forth in RCW 49,46.010. "Employer classification" includes the determination of whether an employer is a covered employer and whether a covered employer is a large employer. "Franchise" means an agreement, express or implied, oral or written by which: 1. A person is granted the right to engage in the business of offering, selling, or distributing goods or services under a marketing plan prescribed or suggested in substantial part by the grantor or its affiliate; 2. The operation of the business is substantially associated with a trademark, service mark, trade time, advertising, or other commercial symbol; designating, owned by, or licensed by the grantor or its affiliate; and 3. The person pays, agrees to pay, or is required to pay, directly or indirectly, a franchise fee. The term, "franchise fee" is meant to be construed broadly to include any instance in which the grantor or its affiliate derives income or profit from a person who enters into a franchise agreement with the grantor. "Hour worked within the City" is to be interpreted according to its ordinary meaning, including all hours worked within the geographic boundaries of the City, excluding time spent in the City solely for the purpose of traveling through the City from a point of origin outside the City to a destination outside the City, with no employment -related or commercial stops in the City except for refueling or the employee's personal meals or errands. "Large Employer" means all employers that employ more than 500 employees, regardless of where those employees are employed, and all franchisees associated with a franchisor or a network of franchises with franchisees that employ more than 500 employees in aggregate. "Other covered employer" means a covered employer that does not qualify as a large employer. "Service charge" is defined as set forth in RCW 49.46.160(2)(c). "Tips" means a verifiable sum to be presented by a customer as a gift or gratuity in recognition of some service performed for the customer by the employee receiving the tip. "Wage" is defined as set forth in RCW 49.46.010. Section 11. Other Legal Requirements. This ordinance shall not be construed to preempt, limit, or otherwise affect the applicability of any other law, regulation, requirement, policy, or standard that provides for greater wages or compensation; and nothing in this ordinance shall be interpreted or applied so as to create any power or duty in conflict with federal or state law. Section 12. Rulemaking. Within 180 days after the effective date, the City shall adopt rules and procedures to implement and ensure compliance with this chapter, which shall require employers to maintain adequate records and to annually certify compliance with this chapter. The City shall seek feedback from worker organizations and covered employers before finalizing the rates and procedures. Section 13. Constitutional Subject. For constitutional purposes, this measure's subject "concerns labor standards for certain employers." See File Foods, LLC v. City of SeaTac, 183 Wash. 2d 770, 783, 357 P.3d 1040, 1047 (2015) (upholding this statement of subject for an initiative that set a minimum wage and addressed employees' access to hours). Section 14. Codification. All sections of this ordinance except section 9 shall be codified in a new chapter of the Renton Municipal Code. Section 15. Election date. In the event that the election on this measure takes place later than November 7, 2023, the Finance Department must establish and publish the initial minimum wage within 30 days of the effective date. Section 16. Severability. The provisions of this ordinance we declared to be separate and severable. If any clause, sentence, paragraph, subdivision, section, subsection, or portion of this ordinance, or the application thereof to any employer, employee, or circumstance, is held to be invalid, it shall not affect the validity of the remainder of this ordinance, or the validity of its application to other persons or circumstances. Name Of Canvass . Date Canvassed: kti,,iuser Email and Phone Number: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. s. 9. 10. Raising The Minimum Wage In Renton INITIATIVE PETITION FOR SUBMISSION TO THE RENTON CITY COUNCIL TO: The City Council of the City of Renton: We, the undersigned registered voters of the City of Renton, State of Washington, residing at the addresses set forth opposite our respective names, being equal to fifteen percent (15%) of the total number of names of persons listed as registered voters within the City on the day of the last preceding City general election, respectfully request that the following ordinance be enacted by the City Council or, if not so enacted, be submitted to a vote of the residents of the City. The title of the said ordinance is as follows: ORDINANCE CONCERNING LABOR STANDARDS FOR CERTAIN EMPLOYEES A full, true and correct copy of the ordinance is attached to this Petition. Each of us for himself or herself says: I have personally signed this petition; I am a registered voter of the City of Renton, State of Washington; and my residence is correctly stated. Signature Printed Name Street and Number City Phone Number Email Date .Sa `/mm Printed Name 1234 Anywhere St. Renton 206-555-1234 maria@something.org 4/10/2023 I m �tt 0 L �lS S Sr�.s�t2 V>C- Renton a5(0-Gu -�a-3� ctras5514s1�¢( (mac L�wr�til,Cdl� S--3i-�:�' 13S15 3coo 2�ny �i�lS Jo '50 5�t 7 Z/ 4 I(�j�1 SE (7S= ST 1 Renton Renton VAN Renton Renton Renton "I Renton Renton S OCO Renton Renton 3-111 - !M vdrk yip kS l - 'o v 1.r-• co @- . C_ AN va.e-an,. S/"3 t5- 62:3(0 i�36 f�P �6�iu V1�16veivca ab(o e�,�, ,l 6u, � 't 23 Warning Every person who signs this petition with any other than his or her true name, or who knowingly signs more than one of these petitions, or signs a petition seek- ing an election when he or she is not a legal voter, or signs a petition when he or she is otherwise not qualified to sign, or who makes herein any false statement, shall be guilty of a misdemeanor. AN ORDINANCE concerning labor standards for certain employees. Section 1. Findings. 1. The people of the City of Renton hereby adopt this citizen initiative addressing labor standards for certain employees, for the purpose of ensuring that, to the extent reasonably practicable, people employed in Renton have good wages and access to sufficient hours of work. 2. The City of Renton is one of the largest job centers in Washington State, with thousands of shoppers and workers visiting daily to participate in the local economy. Renton is home to The Landing shopping center, the historic Downtown Urban Center, as well as retail and commercial office and warehouse districts around the Rainier/Grady Way Junction, The City is a net importer ofjobs, with nearly 60,000 employed workers. Renton has a wide array of both long established and new and evolving business sectors. Retail businesses, restaurants and bars, auto sales, hospitality, healthcare, and office workers are well represented. 3. The statewide minimum wage is not sufficient to afford rising rents and costs of living in Renton. According to the National Low Income Housing Coalition's Out of Reach 2022 report, a worker making Washington's minimum wage would have to work 72 hours each week (up from 70 hours each week in 2021) to afford a modest one -bedroom rental home at Fair Market Rent. 4. When working families earn insufficient income due to low wages and involuntary under -employment, they struggle to pay for basic necessities like health cue, child care, and groceries, and they are more likely to be evicted and become homeless. 5. Nearby King County cities of SeaTac, Seattle, and Tukwila enacted higher minimum wages in 2013, 2014, and 2022 respectively, but until now Renton has not followed suit. 6. Children growing up in poverty experience insecurity with housing, nutrition, and health care while enduring other hardships that prevent their ability to learn in school. Full time working parents must be able to reasonably provide for their family to ensure access to the opportunities and promise of public education. Section 2. Intent. It is the intent of the people to establish fair labor standards and protect the rights of workers by: (1) ensuring that the vast majority of employees in the City of Renton receive a minimum wage comparable to employees in the nearby cities of Tukwila, SeaTac, and Seattle; (2) requiring covered employers to offer additional hours of work to qualified part-time employees before hiring new employees to fill those hours; and (3) adopting enforcement requirements. Section 3. Large Employers Shall Pay Minimum Wages Comparable to Those in Nearby Cities. 1. Effective July 1, 2024, every large employer shall pay to each employee an hourly wage of not less than the 2023 new minimum wage rate in the City of Tukwila, established by City of Tukwila Initiative Measure No. 1, approved by voters in November 2022, adjusted for 2024 by the annual rate of inflation. 2. On January 1, 2025, and on each January 1 thereafter, the hourly minimum wage shall increase by the annual rate of inflation to maintain employee purchasing power. 3. By December 31, 2023, and by October 15 of each year thereafter, the Finance Department shall establish and publish the applicable hourly minimum wage for the following year using the annual rate of inflation. 4. For purposes of this chapter, the annual rate of inflation means 100 percent of the annual average growth rate of the bi-monthly Seattle -Tacoma -Bellevue Area Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers, termed CPI-W, for the 12-month period ending in August, provided that the percentage increase shall not be less than zero. 5. An employer must pay to its employees: a. All tips and gratuities; and b. All service charges as defined under RCW 49,46.160 except those that, pursuant to RCW 49.46.160, are itemized as not being payable to the employee or employees servicing the customer. Tips and service charges paid to an employee are in addition to, and may not count towards, the employee's hourly minimum wage. Section 4. Other Covered Employers Shall Have a Multiyear Phase -In Period. Other covered employers shall phase in the new minimum wage, as follows: 1. Effective July 1, 2024, other covered employers shall pay employees not less than the hourly minimum wage established under Section 3 minus Two Dollars ($2) per hour. 2. Effective July 1, 2025, other covered employers shall pay employees not less than the hourly minimum wage established under Section 3 minus One Dollar ($I) per hour. 3. Effective July 1, 2026, and thereafter, all covered employers shall pay employees not less than the hourly minimum wage established under Section 3. Section 5. Coverage and Employer Classifications. 1. Covered employers must pay employees at least the minimum wage established by this chapter for each hour worked within the City. 2. Employer classification for the current calendar year will be calculated based upon the average number of employees timing all weeks in the previous calendar year in which the employer had at least one employee. For employers that did not have any employees during the previous calendar year, classification will be based upon the average number of employees during the most recent three months of the current year. In this determination, all employees will be counted, regardless of their location, and including employees who worked in full-time employment, part-time employment, joint employment, temporary employment, or through the services of a temporary services or staffing agency or similar entity. 3. Employer classification for the current calendar year will be calculated based upon the gross revenue for the previous year. For employers that did not have gross revenue during the previous calendar year, annual gross revenue will be calculated from the gross revenue during the most recent three months of the current year. 4. For the purposes of employer classification, separate entities will be considered a single employer if they form an integrated enterprise or they are underjoint control by one of those entities or a separate entity. The factors to consider in making this assessment include, but are not limited to: a. Degree of interrelation between the operations of multiple entities; b. Degree to which the entities share common management; C. Centralized control of labor relations; and d. Degree of common ownership or financial control over the entities. Section 6. Part -Time Employees Shall Have Fair Access to Additional Hours. 1. Before hiring additional employees or subcontractors, including hiring through the use of temporary services or staffing agencies, covered employers must offer additional hours of work to existing employees who, in the employer's good faith and reasonable judgment, have the skills and experience to perform the work, and shall use a reasonable, transparent, and nondiscriminatory process to distribute the hours of work among those existing employees. 2. This section shall not be construed to require any employer to offer an employee work hours if the employer would be required to compensate the employee at time -and -a -half or other premium rate under any law or collective bargaining agreement, nor to prohibit any employer from offering such work hours. Section 7. Retaliation Prohibited. 1. No employer or any other person shall interfere with, restrain, or deny the exercise of, or the attempt to exercise, any right protected under this chapter. 2. No employer or any other person shall take any adverse action against any person because the person has exercised in good faith the rights under this chapter. Such rights include but are not limited to the right to make inquiries about the rights protected under this chapter; the right to inform others about their rights under this chapter; the right to inform the person's employer, union, or similar organization, and/or the person's legal counsel or any other person about an alleged violation of this chapter; the right to bring a civil action for an alleged violation of this chapter; the right to testify in a proceeding under or related to this chapter; the right to refuse to participate in an activity that would result in a violation of city, state, or federal law; and the right to oppose any policy, practice, or act that is unlawful under this chapter. 3. For the purposes of this section, an adverse action means denying a job or promotion, demoting, terminating, failing to rehire after a seasonal interruption of work, threatening, penalizing, retaliating, engaging in unfair immigration -related practices, filing a false report with a government agency, changing an employee's status to nonemployee, decreasing or declining to provide additional work hours when they otherwise would have been offered, scheduling an employee for horns outside of their availability, or otherwise discriminating against any person for any reason prohibited by this chapter. "Adverse action" for an employee may involve any aspect of employment, including pay, work hours, responsibilities, or other material change in the terms and conditions of employment. 4. No employer or any other person shall communicate to a person exercising rights protected under this chapter, directly or indirectly, the willingness to inform a government employee that the person is not lawfully in the United States, or to report, or to make an implied or express assertion of a willingness to report, suspected citizenship or immigration status of the person or a family member of the person to a federal, state, or local agency because the person has exercised a right under this chapter. 5. There shall be a rebuttable presumption of unlawful retaliation if an employer or any other person takes an adverse action against a person within 90 days of the person's exercise of any right protected in this chapter. However, in the case of seasonal work that ended before the close of the 90-day period, the presumption also applies if the employer fails to rehire a former employeeat the next opportunity for work in the same position. The employer may rebut the presumption with clear and convincing evidence that the adverse action was taken for a permissible purpose. 6. Standard of Proof. Proof of retaliation under this chapter shall be sufficient upon a showing that an employer or any other person has taken an adverse action against a person and the person's exercise of rights protected in this chapter was a motivating factor in the adverse action, unless the employer can prove that the action would have been taken in the absence of such protected activity. 7. The protections afforded under this section shall apply to any person who mistakenly but in good faith alleges violations of this chapter. Section 8. Enforcement. 1. Any person or class of persons that suffers financial injury as a result of a violation of this chapter or is the subject of prohibited retaliation under this chapter, or any other individual or entity acting on their behalf, may bring a civil action in a court of competent jurisdiction against the employer or other person violating this chapter and, upon prevailing, shall be awarded reasonable attorney fees and costs and such legal or equitable relief as may be appropriate to remedy the violation including, without limitation, the payment of any unpaid wages plus interest due to the person and liquidated damages in an additional amount of up to twice the unpaid wages; compensatory damages; and a penalty payable to any aggrieved party of up to $5,000 if the aggrieved party was subject to prohibited retaliation. For the purposes of this section, an aggrieved party means an employee or other person who suffers tangible or intangible harm due to an employer or other person's violation of this chapter. Interest shall accrue from the date the unpaid wages were first due at the higher of twelve percent per annum or the maximum rate permitted under RCW 19.52.020. 2. For purposes of determining membership within a class of persons entitled to bring an action under this section, two or more employees we similarly situated if they: a. Are or were employed by the same employer or employers, whether concurrently or otherwise, at some point during the applicable statute of limitations period; b. Allege one or more violations that raise similar questions as to liability; and C. Seek similar forms of relief. d. Employees shall not be considered dissimilar solely because their claims seek damages that differ in amount, or their job titles or other means of classifying employees differ in ways that are unrelated to their claims. 3. Each covered employer shall retain records as required by RCW 49.46.070, as well as such information as the City may require to confirm compliance with this chapter. If an employer fails to retain such records, there shall be a presumption, rebuttable by clear and convincing evidence, that the employer violated this chapter for the periods and for each employee for whom records were not retained. 4. Employers shall permit authorized City representatives access to work sites and relevant records for the purpose of monitoring compliance with the chapter and investigating complaints of noncompliance, including production for inspection and copying of employment records. The City may designate representatives, including city contractors and representatives of unions or worker advocacy organizations, to access the worksite and relevant records. 5. Complaints that any provision of this chapter has been violated may also be presented to the City Attorney, who is hereby authorized to investigate and, if they deem appropriate, initiate legal or other action to remedy any violation of this chapter. 6. The City has the authority to issue administrative citations and to order injunctive relief including reinstatement, restitution, payment of back wages, or other forms of relief. 7. The City may, in the exercise of its authority and performance of its functions and services, agree by contract or otherwise to participate jointly or in cooperation with Washington State, King County, or any city, town, or other incorporated place, or subdivision thereof, or engage outside counsel, to enforce this chapter. 8. The remedies and penalties provided under this chapter are cumulative and are not intended to be exclusive of any other available remedies or penalties, including existing remedies for enforcement of Renton Municipal Code chapters. 9. The statute of limitations for any enforcement action shall be five (5) years. Section 9. A new section is added to Renton Municipal Code (RMC) Section 5-5-4 as follows: 1. The Finance Director may deny, suspend, or revoke any license under this chapter for violation of this ordinance. 2. The Finance Director must deny, suspend, or revoke any license under this chapter for repeated intentional violations of this ordinance. 3. Any action by the Finance Director under this section shall be subject to the procedures and requirements of RMC subsection 5-5-3.E, as well as other due process rights that a court may require. Section 10. Definitions. For the purposes of this chapter, the following terms shall have the following meanings: "City" means the City of Renton. "Covered employer" means an employer that either (1) employs at least 15 employees regardless of where those employees are employed, or (2) has annual gross revenue over $2 million. "Effective date" is the effective date of this ordinance. "Employee" is defined as set forth in RCW 49.46.010. An employer bears the burden of proof that the individual is, as a matter of economic reality, in business for oneself rather than dependent upon the alleged employer. "Employer" is defined as set forth in RCW 49.46.010. "Employer classification" includes the determination of whether an employer is a covered employer and whether a covered employer is a large employer. "Franchise" means an agreement, express or implied, oral or written by which: 1. A person is granted the right to engage in the business of offering, selling, or distributing goods or services under a marketing plan prescribed or suggested in substantial part by the grantor or its affiliate; 2. The operation of the business is substantially associated with a trademark, service mark, trade time, advertising, or other commercial symbol; designating, owned by, or licensed by the grantor or its affiliate; and 3. The person pays, agrees to pay, or is required to pay, directly or indirectly, a franchise fee. The term, "franchise fee" is meant to be construed broadly to include any instance in which the grantor or its affiliate derives income or profit from a person who enters into a franchise agreement with the grantor. "Hour worked within the City" is to be interpreted according to its ordinary meaning, including all hours worked within the geographic boundaries of the City, excluding time spent in the City solely for the purpose of traveling through the City from a point of origin outside the City to a destination outside the City, with no employment -related or commercial stops in the City except for refueling or the employee's personal meals or errands. "Large Employer" means all employers that employ more than 500 employees, regardless of where those employees are employed, and all franchisees associated with a franchisor or a network of franchises with franchisees that employ more than 500 employees in aggregate. "Other covered employer" means a covered employer that does not qualify as a large employer. "Service charge" is defined as set forth in RCW 49.46.160(2)(c). "Tips" means a verifiable sum to be presented by a customer as a gift or gratuity in recognition of some service performed for the customer by the employee receiving the tip. "Wage" is defined as set forth in RCW 49.46.010. Section 11. Other Legal Requirements. This ordinance shall not be construed to preempt, limit, or otherwise affect the applicability of any other law, regulation, requirement, policy, or standard that provides for greater wages or compensation; and nothing in this ordinance shall be interpreted or applied so as to create any power or duty in conflict with federal or state law. Section 12. Rulemaking. Within 180 days after the effective date, the City shall adopt rules and procedures to implement and ensure compliance with this chapter, which shall require employers to maintain adequate records and to annually certify compliance with this chapter. The City shall seek feedback from worker organizations and covered employers before finalizing the rules and procedures. Section 13. Constitutional Subject. For constitutional purposes, this measure's subject "concerns labor standards for certain employers." See Filo Foods, LLC v. City of SeaTac, 183 Wash. 2d 770, 783, 357 P.3d 1040, 1047 (2015) (upholding this statement of subject for an initiative that set a minimum wage and addressed employees' access to hours). Section 14. Codification. All sections of this ordinance except section 9 shall be codified in a new chapter of the Renton Municipal Code. Section 15. Election date. In the event that the election on this measure takes place later than November 7, 2023, the Finance Department must establish and publish the initial minimum wage within 30 days of the effective date. Section 16. Severability. The provisions of this ordinance are declared to be separate and severable. If any clause, sentence, paragraph, subdivision, section, subsection, or portion of this ordinance, or the application thereof to any employer, employee, or circumstance, is held to be invalid, it shall not affect the validity of the remainder of this ordinance, or the validity of its application to other persons or circumstances. Name Of Canvasser: Date Canvassed: Canvasser Email and Phone Number: Raising The Minimum Wage In Renton INITIATIVE PETITION FOR SUBMISSION TO THE RENTON CITY COUNCIL TO: The City Council of the City of Renton: We, the undersigned registered voters of the City of Renton, State of Washington, residing at the addresses set forth opposite our respective names, being equal to fifteen percent (15%) of the total number of names of persons listed as registered voters within the City on the day of the last preceding City general election, respectfully request that the following ordinance be enacted by the City Council or, if not so enacted, be submitted to a vote of the residents of the City. The title of the said ordinance is as follows: ORDINANCE CONCERNING LABOR STANDARDS FOR CERTAIN EMPLOYEES A full, true and correct copy of the ordinance is attached to this Petition. Each of us for himself or herself says: I have personally signed this petition; I am a registered voter of the City of Renvon, State of Washington; and my residence is correctly stated. Signature Printed Name Street and Number City Phone Number Email Date Printed Name 1234 Anywhere St. Renton 206-555-1234 maria@something.org 4/10/2023 01 1. ��IN►�L- C�la�t l�f��ll l� \tr I.U\NC >L' Renton \`� QZ@ 6,,k p L_ Lon 2. 3. r /f 4. 5. 6. 8. 9. 10. 30 S& �5 P t- Renton r ru4 1 �/I I s/ 5 /�334) S"r I S lG I Z l /BZ�Arr�€ 5� Renton Renton 2_t7 �'--?3S`�3Cj Renton 46n..q(03. Renton Renton CA­�6� 1�1�t��i! Renton 441d L44A�P_ U0 vs lot, '(- Zar $toy /1z4 Renton Z-060 - �/ O Renton zov - o 0 —li�l� n"G OLA ul S 13� 12()2--3 S--- 3l - ZO 23 Warning Every person who signs this petition with any other than his or her true name, or who knowingly signs more than one of these petitions, or signs a petition seek- guilty _ shall be in an election when he or she is not a legal voter, or signs a petition when he or she is otherwise not qualified to sign, or who makes herein an false statement 933-M seek- ing of a misdemeanor. g g p q g y AN ORDINANCE concerning labor standards for certain employees. Section 1. Findings. 1. The people of the City of Renton hereby adopt this citizen initiative addressing labor standards for certain employees, for the purpose of ensuring that, to the extent reasonably practicable, people employed in Renton have good wages and access to sufficient hours of work. 2. The City of Renton is one of the largestjob centers in Washington State, with thousands of shoppers and workers visiting daily to participate in the local economy. Renton is home to The Landing shopping center, the historic Downtown Urban Center, as well as retail and commercial office and warehouse districts around the Rainier/Grady Way Junction. The City is a net importer ofjobs, with nearly 60,000 employed workers. Renton has a wide array of both long established and new and evolving business sectors. Retail businesses, restaurants and bus, auto sales, hospitality, healthcare, and office workers are well represented. 3. The statewide minimum wage is not sufficient to afford rising rents and costs of living in Renton. According to the National Low Income Housing Coalition's Out of Reach 2022 report, a worker making Washington's minimum wage would have to work 72 hours each week (up from 70 hours each week in 2021) to afford a modest one -bedroom rental home at Fair Market Rent, 4. When working families earn insufficient income due to low wages and involuntary under -employment, they struggle to pay for basic necessities like health care, child care, and groceries, and they are more likely to be evicted and become homeless. 5. Nearby King County cities of SeaTac, Seattle, and Tukwila enacted higher minimum wages in 2013, 2014, and 2022 respectively, but until now Renton has not followed suit. 6. Children growing up in poverty experience insecurity with housing, nutrition, and health care while enduring other hardships that prevent their ability to learn in school. Full time working parents must be able to reasonably provide for their family to ensure access to the opportunities and promise of public education. Section 2. Intent. It is the intent of the people to establish fair labor standards and protect the rights of workers by: (1) ensuring that the vast majority of employees in the City of Renton receive a minimum wage comparable to employees in the nearby cities of Tukwila, SeaTac, and Seattle; (2) requiring covered employers to offer additional hours of work to qualified part-time employees before hiring new employees to fill those hours; and (3) adopting enforcement requirements. Section 3. Large Employers Shall Pay Minimum Wages Comparable to Those in Nearby Cities. 1. Effective July 1, 2024, every large employer shall pay to each employee an hourly wage of not less than the 2023 new minimum wage rate in the City of Tukwila, established by City of Tukwila Initiative Measure No. 1, approved by voters in November 2022, adjusted for 2024 by the annual rate of inflation. 2. On January 1, 2025, and on each January 1 thereafter, the hourly minimum wage shall increase by the annual rate of inflation to maintain employee purchasing power. 3. By December 31, 2023, and by October 15 of each year thereafter, the Finance Department shall establish and publish the applicable hourly minimum wage for the following year using the annual rate of inflation. 4. For purposes of this chapter, the annual rate of inflation means 100 percent of the annual average growth rate of the bi-monthly Seattle -Tacoma -Bellevue Area Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Farmers and Clerical Workers, termed CPI-W, for the 12-month period ending in August, provided that the percentage increase shall not be less than zero. 5. An employer must pay to its employees: a. All tips and gratuities; and b. All service charges as defined under RCW 49.46.160 except those that, pursuant to RCW 49.46.160, are itemized as not being payable to the employee or employees servicing the customer. Tips and service charges paid to an employee are in addition to, and may not count towards, the employee's hourly minimum wage. Section 4. Other Covered Employers Shall Have a Multiyear Phase -In Period. Other covered employers shall phase in the new minimum wage, as follows: 1. Effective July 1, 2024, other covered employers shall pay employees not less than the hourly minimum wage established under Section 3 minus Two Delius ($2) per hour. 2. Effective July 1, 2025, other covered employers shall pay employees not less than the hourly minimum wage established under Section 3 minus One Dollar ($1) per hour. 3. Effective July 1, 2026, and thereafter, all covered employers shall pay employees not less than the hourly minimum wage established under Section 3. Section 5. Coverage and Employer Classifications. 1. Covered employers must pay employees at least the minimum wage established by this chapter for each hour worked within the City. 2. Employer classification for the current calendar year will be calculated based upon the average number of employees during all weeks in the previous calendar year in which the employer had at least one employee. For employers that did not have any employees during the previous calendar year, classification will be based upon the average number of employees during the most recent three months of the current year. In this determination, all employees will be counted, regardless of their location, and including employees who worked in full-time employment, part-time employment, joint employment, temporary employment, or through the services of a temporary services or staffing agency or similar entity. 3. Employer classification for the current calendar year will be calculated based upon the gross revenue for the previous year. For employers that did not have gross revenue during the previous calendar year, annual gross revenue will be calculated from the gross revenue during the most recent three months of the current year. 4. For the purposes of employer classification, separate entities will be considered a single employer if they form an integrated enterprise or they are underjoint control by one of those entities or a separate entity. The factors to consider in making this assessment include, but are not limited to: a. Degree of interrelation between the operations of multiple entities; b. Degree to which the entities share common management C. Centralized control of labor relations; and d. Degree of common ownership or financial control over the entities. Section 6. Part -Time Employees Shall Have Fair Access to Additional Hours. 1. Before hiring additional employees or subcontractors, including hiring through the use of temporary services or staffing agencies, covered employers must offer additional hums of work to existing employees who, in the employer's good faith and reasonable judgment, have the skills and experience to perform the work, and shall use a reasonable, transparent, and nondiscriminatory process to distribute the hours of work among those existing employees. 2. This section shall not be construed to require any employer to offer an employee work hours if the employer would be required to compensate the employee at time -and -a -half or other premium rate under any law or collective bargaining agreement, nor to prohibit any employer from offering such work hours. Section 7. Retaliation Prohibited. 1. No employer or any other person shall interfere with, restrain, or deny the exercise of, or the attempt to exercise, any right protected under this chapter. 2. No employer or any other person shall take any adverse action against any person because the person has exercised in good faith the rights under this chapter. Such rights include but are not limited to the right to make inquiries about the rights protected under this chapter; die right to inform others about their rights under this chapter; the right to inform the person's employer, union, or similar organization, and/or the person's legal counsel or any other person about an alleged violation of this chapter; the right to bring a civil action for an alleged violation of this chapter; the right to testify in a proceeding under or related to this chapter; the right to refuse to participate in an activity that would result in a violation of city, state, or federal law; and the right to oppose any policy, practice, or act that is unlawful under this chapter. 3. For the purposes of this section, an adverse action means denying ajob or promotion, demoting, terminating, failing to rehire after a seasonal interruption of work, threatening, penalizing, retaliating, engaging in unfair immigration -related practices, filing a false report with a government agency, changing an employee's status to nonemployee, decreasing or declining to provide additional work hems when they otherwise would have been offered, scheduling an employee for hours outside of their availability, or otherwise discriminating against any person for any reason prohibited by this chapter. "Adverse action" for an employee may involve any aspect of employment, including pay, work hems, responsibilities, or other material change in the terms and conditions of employment. 4. No employer or any other person shall communicate to a person exercising rights protected under this chapter, directly or indirectly, the willingness to inform a government employee that the person is not lawfully in the United States, or to report, or to make an implied or express assertion of a willingness to report, suspected citizenship or immigration status of the person or a family member of the person to a federal, state, or local agency because the person has exercised a right under this chapter. 5. There shall be a rebuttable presumption of unlawful retaliation if an employer or any other person takes an adverse action against a person within 90 days of the person's exercise of any right protected in this chapter. However, in the case of seasonal work that ended before the close of the 90-day period, the presumption also applies if the employer fails to rehire a former employee at the next opportunity for work in the same position. The employer may rebut the presumption with clear and convincing evidence that the adverse action was taken for a permissible purpose. 6. Standard of Proof. Proof of retaliation under this chapter shall be sufficient upon a showing that an employer or any other person has taken an adverse action against a person and the person's exercise of rights protected in this chapter was a motivating factor in the adverse action, sinless the employer can prove that the action would have been taken in the absence of such protected activity. 7. The protections afforded under this section shall apply to any person who mistakenly but in good faith alleges violations of this chapter. Section 8. Enforcement. 1. Any person or class of persons that suffers financial injury as a result of a violation of this chapter or is the subject of prohibited retaliation under this chapter, or any other individual or entity acting on their behalf, may bring a civil action in a court of competent jurisdiction against the employer or other person violating this chapter and, upon prevailing, shall be awarded reasonable attorney fees and costs and such legal or equitable relief as may be appropriate to remedy the violation including, without limitation, the payment of any unpaid wages plus interest due to the person and liquidated damages in an additional amount of up to twice the unpaid wages; compensatory damages; and a penalty payable to any aggrieved party of up to $5,000 if the aggrieved party was subject to prohibited retaliation. For the purposes of this section, an aggrieved party means an employee or other person who suffers tangible or intangible hasan due to an employer or other person's violation of this chapter. Interest shall accrue from the date the unpaid wages were first due at the higher of twelve percent per annum or the maximum rate permitted under RCW 19.52.020. 2. For purposes of determining membership within a class of persons entitled to bring an action under this section, two or more employees are similarly situated if they: a. Are or were employed by the same employer or employers, whether concurrently or otherwise, at some point during the applicable statute of limitations period; b. Allege one or more violations that raise similar questions as to liability; and C. Seek similar forms of relief. d. Employees shall not be considered dissimilar solely because their claims seek damages that differ in amount, or their job titles or other means of classifying employees differ in ways that me unrelated to their claims. 3. Each covered employer shall retain records as required by RCW 49.46.070, as well as such information as the City may require to confirm compliance with this chapter. If an employer fails to retain such records, there shall be a presumption, rebuttable by clear and convincing evidence, that the employer violated this chapter for the periods and for each employee for whom records were not retained. 4. Employers shall permit authorized City representatives access to work sites and relevant records for the purpose of monitoring compliance with the chapter and investigating complaints of noncompliance, including production for inspection and copying of employment records. The City may designate representatives, including city contractors and representatives of unions or worker advocacy organizations, to access the worksite and relevant records. 5. Complaints that any provision of this chapter has been violated may also be presented to the City Attorney, who is hereby authorized to investigate and, if they deem appropriate, initiate legal or other action to remedy any violation of this chapter. 6. The City has the authority to issue administrative citations and to order injunctive relief including reinstatement, restitution, payment of back wages, or other forms of relief. 7. The City may, in the exercise of its authority and performance of its functions and services, agree by contract or otherwise to participate jointly or in cooperation with Washington State, King County, or any city, town, or other incorporated place, or subdivision thereof, or engage outside counsel, to enforce this chapter. 8. The remedies and penalties provided under this chapter are cumulative and are not intended to be exclusive of my other available remedies or penalties, including existing remedies for enforcement of Renton Municipal Code chapters. 9. The statute of limitations for any enforcement action shall be five (5) years. Section 9. A new section is added to Renton Municipal Code (RMC) Section 5-5-4 as follows: 1. The Finance Director may deny, suspend, or revoke any license under this chapter for violation of this ordinance. 2. The Finance Director must deny, suspend, or revoke any license under this chapter for repeated intentional violations of this ordinance. 3. Any action by the Finance Director under this section shall be subject to the procedures and requirements of RMC subsection 5-5-3.E, as well as other due process rights that a court may require. Section 10. Definitions. For the purposes of this chapter, the following terms shall have the following meanings: "City" means the City of Renton. "Covered employer" means an employer that either (1) employs at least 15 employees regardless of where those employees are employed, or (2) has annual gross revenue over $2 million. "Effective date" is the effective date of this ordinance. "Employee" is defined as set forth in RCW 49.46.010. An employer bears the burden of proof that the individual is, as a matter of economic reality, in business for oneself rather than dependent upon the alleged employer. "Employer" is defined as set forth in RCW 49.46.010. "Employer classification" includes the determination of whether an employer is a covered employer and whether a covered employer is a large employer. "Franchise" means an agreement, express or implied, oral or written by which: 1. A person is granted the right to engage in the business of offering, selling, or distributing goods or services under a marketing plan prescribed or suggested in substantial part by the grantor or its affiliate; 2. The operation of the business is substantially associated with a trademark, service mark, trade time, advertising, or other commercial symbol; designating, owned by, or licensed by the grantor or its affiliate; and 3. The person pays, agrees to pay, or is required to pay, directly or indirectly, a franchise fee. The term, "franchise fee" is meant to be construed broadly to include any instance in which the grantor or its affiliate derives income or profit from a person who enters into a franchise agreement with the grantor. "Hour worked within the City" is to be interpreted according to its ordinary meaning, including all hours worked within the geographic boundaries of the City, excluding time spent in the City solely for the purpose of traveling through the City from a point of origin outside the City to a destination outside the City, with no employment -related or commercial stops in the City except for refueling or the employee's personal meals or errands. "Large Employer" means all employers that employ more than 500 employees, regardless of where those employees are employed, and all franchisees associated with a franchisor or a network of franchises with franchisees that employ more than 500 employees in aggregate. "Other covered employer" means a covered employer that does not qualify as a large employer. "Service charge" is defined as set foith in RCW 49.46.160(2)(c). "Tips" means a verifiable sum to be presented by a customer as a gift or gratuity in recognition of some service performed for the customer by the employee receiving the tip. "Wage" is defined as set forth in RCW 49.46.010. Section 11. Other Legal Requirements. This ordinance shall not be construed to preempt, limit, or otherwise affect the applicability of any other law, regulation, requirement, policy, or standard that provides for greater wages or compensation; and nothing in this ordinance shall be interpreted or applied so as to create any power or duty in conflict with federal or state law. Section 12. Rulemaking. Within 180 days after the effective date, the City shall adopt rules and procedures to implement and ensure compliance with this chapter, which shall require employers to maintain adequate records and to annually certify compliance with this chapter. The City shall seek feedback from worker organizations and covered employers before finalizing the rules and procedures. Section 13. Constitutional Subject. - For constitutional purposes, this measure's subject "concerns labor standards for certain employers." See Filo Foods, LLC v. City of SeaTac, 183 Wash. 2d 770, 783, 357 P.3d 1040, 1047 (2015) (upholding this statement of subject for an initiative that set a minimum wage and addressed employees' access to hours). Section 14. Codification. All sections of this ordinance except section 9 shall be codified in a new chapter of the Renton Municipal Code. Section 15. Election date. In the event that the election on this measure takes place later than November 7, 2023, the Finance Department must establish and publish the initial minimum wage within 30 days of the effective date. Section 16. Severability. The provisions of this ordinance are declared to be separate and severable. If any clause, sentence, paragraph, subdivision, section, subsection, or portion of this ordinance, or the application thereof to any employer, employee, or circumstance, is held to be invalid, it shall not affect the validity of the remainder of this ordinance, or the validity of its application to other persons or circumstances. Name Of Canvasser t' Date Canvassed !:CanasserEmail and Phone Number: ... 1 2. 0 5. 1.1 7 A 10. Raising The Minimum Wage In Renton INITIATIVE PETITION FOR SUBMISSION TO THE RENTON CITY COUNCIL TO: The City Council of the City of Renton: We, the undersigned registered voters of the City of Renton, State of Washington, residing at the addresses set forth opposite our respective names, being equal to fifteen percent (15%) of the total number of names of persons listed as registered voters within the City on the day of the last preceding City general election, respectfully request that the following ordinance be enacted by the City Council or, if not so enacted, be submitted to a vote of the residents of the City. The title of the said ordinance is as follows: ORDINANCE CONCERNING LABOR STANDARDS FOR CERTAIN EMPLOYEES A full, true and correct copy of the ordinance is attached to this Petition. Each of us for himself or herself says: I have personally signed this petition; I am a registered voter of the City of Renton, State of Washington; and my residence is correctly stated. Signature Printed Name Street and Number City Phone Number Email S %&% Printed Name 1234 Anywhere St. Renton 206-555-1234 maria@something.org 4 iz�j �4m Ii�eZ lia)1wo Lase Renton :78 6 ys93 h�� yf1j�411 Renton VI/4-I1-t- �\"! `� s%� Renton vkvw NA�\ -- 1131�\ Lay�z STI A,,ZZ'�C� Renton 1,S4,.;, 5 Q \ 3Cvz5'1 Date 4/10/2023 0,5/31/z 3 Z 15 (31 1Z3 /\ ��Z �- "��5� ' 'r� IV/),1 56 /��i%tiL ^� ��i.,/a Renton yas 1&)2Lk l 'lY Akxp 1100) S-e P•e 0y-(�(S; Renton Ul�i• U�` I V G S I1 D 0 2 S � I` C� ' �yrKY v� Renton _ T' '— a 7� -tS7-6 NA. 1-42CFIj /oS30�F/'fjS s!! v(R/' \o DOMINO Clvoq pL sue. Renton Renton Renton 4-Zj-2&q-2.5?7 -;�5) ('2n'1 cG-1- ca—I—a5 Warning Every person who signs this petition with any other than his or her true name, or who knowingly signs more than one of these petitions, or signs a petition seek- ing an election when he or she is not a legal voter, or signs a petition when he or she is otherwise not qualified to sign, or who makes herein any false statement, shall be guilty of a misdemeanor. AN ORDINANCE concerning labor standards for certain employees. Section 1. Findings. 1. The people of the City of Renton hereby adopt this citizen initiative addressing labor standards for certain employees, for the purpose of ensuring that, to the extent reasonably practicable, people employed in Renton have good wages and access to sufficient hours of work, 2. The City of Renton is one of the largestjob centers in Washington State, with thousands of shoppers and workers visiting daily to participate in the local economy. Renton is home to The Landing shopping center, the historic Downtown Urban Center, as well as retail and commercial office and warehouse districts around the Rainier/Grady Way Junction. The City is a net importer ofjobs, with nearly 60,000 employed workers. Renton has a wide array of both long established and new and evolving business sectors. Retail businesses, restaurants and bars, auto sales, hospitality, healthcare, and office workers are well represented. 3. The statewide minimum wage is not sufficient to afford rising rents and costs of living in Renton. According to the National Low Income Housing Coalition's Out of Reach 2022 report, a worker making Washington's minimum wage would have to work 72 hours each week (up from 70 hours each week in 2021) to afford a modest one -bedroom rental home at Fair Market Rent. 4. When working families earn insufficient income due to low wages and involuntary under -employment, they struggle to pay for basic necessities like health care, child care, and groceries, and they are more likely to be evicted and become homeless. 5. Nearby King County cities of SeaTac, Seattle, and Tukwila enacted higher minimum wages in 2013, 2014, and 2022 respectively, but until now Renton has not followed suit. 6. Children growing up in poverty experience insecurity with housing, nutrition, and health care while enduring other hardships that prevent their ability to learn in school. Full time working parents must be able to reasonably provide for their family to ensure access to the opportunities and promise of public education. Section 2. Intent. It is the intent of the people to establish fair labor standards and protect the rights of workers by: (1) ensuring that the vast majority of employees in the City of Renton receive a minimum wage comparable to employees in the nearby cities of Tukwila, SeaTac, and Seattle; (2) requiring covered employers to offer additional hours of work to qualified part-time employees before hiring new employees to fill those hours; and (3) adopting enforcement requirements. Section 3. Large Employers Shall Pay Minimum Wages Comparable to Those in Nearby Cities. 1. Effective July 1, 2024, every large employer shall pay to each employee an hourly wage of not less than the 2023 new minimum wage rate in the City of Tukwila, established by City of Tukwila Initiative Measure No. 1, approved by voters in November 2022, adjusted for 2024 by the annual rate of inflation. 2. On January 1, 2025, and on each January 1 thereafter, the hourly minimum wage shall increase by the annual rate of inflation to maintain employee purchasing power. 3. By December 31, 2023, and by October 15 of each year thereafter, the Finance Department shall establish and publish the applicable hourly minimum wage for the following year using the annual rate of inflation. 4. For purposes of this chapter, the annual rate of inflation means 100 percent of the annual average growth rate of the bi-monthly Seattle -Tacoma -Bellevue Area Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers, termed CPI-W, for the 12-month period ending in August, provided that the percentage increase shall not be less than zero. 5. An employer must pay to its employees: a. All tips and gratuities; and b. All service charges as defined under RCW 49.46.160 except those that, pursuant to RCW 49.46.160, are itemized as not being payable to the employee or employees servicing the customer. Tips and service charges paid to an employee are in addition to, and may not count towards, the employee's hourly minimum wage. Section 4. Other Covered Employers Shall Have a Multiyear Phase -In Period. Other covered employers shall phase in the new minimum wage, as follows: 1. Effective July 1, 2024, other covered employers shall pay employees not less than the hourly minimum wage established under Section 3 minus Two Dollars ($2) per hour. 2. Effective July 1, 2025, other covered employers shall pay employees not less than the hourly minimum wage established under Section 3 minus One Dollar ($1) per hour. 3. Effective July 1, 2026, and thereafter, all covered employers shall pay employees not less than the hourly minimum wage established under Section 3. Section 5. Coverage and Employer Classifications. 1. Covered employers must pay employees at least the minimum wage established by this chapter for each hour worked within the City. 2. Employer classification for the current calendar year will be calculated based upon the average number of employees during all weeks in the previous calendar year in which the employer had at least one employee. For employers that did not have any employees during the previous calendar year, classification will be based upon the average number of employees during the most recent three months of the current year. In this determination, all employees will be counted, regardless of their location, and including employees who worked in full-time employment, part-time employment, joint employment, temporary employment, or through the services of a temporary services or staffing agency or similar entity. 3. Employer classification for the current calendar year will be calculated based upon the gross revenue for the previous year. For employers that did not have gross revenue during the previous calendar year, annual gross revenue will be calculated from the gross revenue during the most recent three months of the current year. 4. For the purposes of employer classification, separate entities will be considered a single employer if they form an integrated enterprise or they are under joint control by one of those entities or a separate entity. The factors to consider in making this assessment include, but are not limited to: a. Degree of interrelation between the operations of multiple entities; b. Degree to which the entities share common management; C. Centralized control of labor relations; and it. Degree of common ownership or financial control over the entities. Section 6. Part -Time Employees Shall Have Fair Access to Additional Hours. 1. Before hiring additional employees or subcontractors, including hiring through the use of temporary services or staffing agencies, covered employers must offer additional hours of work to existing employees who, in the employer's good faith and reasonable judgment, have the skills and experience to perform the work, and shall use a reasonable, transparent, and nondiscriminatory process to distribute the hours of work among those existing employees. 2. This section shall not be construed to require any employer to offer an employee work hours if the employer would be required to compensate the employee at time -and -a -half or other premium rate under any law or collective bargaining agreement, nor to prohibit any employer from offering such work hours. Section 7. Retaliation Prohibited. 1. No employer or any other person shall interfere with, restrain, or deny the exercise of, or the attempt to exercise, any right protected under this chapter. 2. No employer or any other person shall take any adverse action against any person because the person has exercised in good faith the rights under this chapter. Such rights include but are not limited to the right to make inquiries about the rights protected under this chapter; the right to inform others about their rights under this chapter; the right to inform the person's employer, union, or similar organization, and/or the person's legal counsel or any other person about an alleged violation of this chapter; the right to bring a civil action for an alleged violation of this chapter; the right to testify in a proceeding under or related to this chapter; the right to refuse to participate in an activity that would result in a violation of city, state, or federal law; and the right to oppose any policy, practice, or act that is unlawful under this chapter. 3. For the purposes of this section, an adverse action means denying ajob or promotion, demoting, terminating, failing to rehire after a seasonal interruption of work, threatening, penalizing, retaliating, engaging in unfair immigration -related practices, filing a false report with a government agency, changing an employee's status to nonemployee, decreasing or declining to provide additional work hours when they otherwise would have been offered, scheduling an employee for hours outside of their availability, or otherwise discriminating against any person for any reason prohibited by this chapter. "Adverse action" for an employee may involve any aspect of employment, including pay, work hours, responsibilities, or other material change in the terms and conditions of employment. 4. No employer or any other person shall communicate to a person exercising rights protected under this chapter, directly or indirectly, the willingness to inform a government employee that the person is not lawfully in the United States, or to report, or to make an implied or express assertion of a willingness to report, suspected citizenship or immigration status of the person or a family member of the person to a federal, state, or local agency because the person has exercised a right under this chapter. 5. There shall be a rebuttable presumption of unlawful retaliation if an employer or any other person takes an adverse action against a person within 90 days of the person's exercise of any right protected in this chapter. However, in the case of seasonal work that ended before the close of the 90-day period, the presumption also applies if the employer fails to rehire a former employee at the next opportunity for work in the same position. The employer may rebut the presumption with clear and convincing evidence that the adverse action was taken for a permissible purpose. 6. Standard of Proof. Proof of retaliation under this chapter shall be sufficient upon a showing that an employer or any other person has taken an adverse action against a person and the person's exercise of rights protected in this chapter was a motivating factor in the adverse action, unless the employer can prove that the action would have been taken in the absence of such protected activity. 7. The protections afforded under this section shall apply to any person who mistakenly but in good faith alleges violations of this chapter. Section 8. Enforcement. I. Any person or class of persons that suffers financial injury as a result of a violation of this chapter or is the subject of prohibited retaliation under this chapter, or any other individual or entity acting on their behalf, may bring a civil action in a court of competent jurisdiction against the employer or other person violating this chapter and, upon prevailing, shall be awarded reasonable attorney fees and costs and such legal or equitable relief as may be appropriate to remedy the violation including, without limitation, the payment of any unpaid wages plus interest due to the person and liquidated damages in an additional amount of up to twice the unpaid wages; compensatory damages; and a penalty payable to any aggrieved party of up to $5,000 if the aggrieved party was subject to prohibited retaliation. For the purposes of this section, an aggrieved party means an employee or other person who suffers tangible or intangible harm due to an employer or other person's violation of this chapter. Interest shall accrue from the date the unpaid wages were first due at the higher of twelve percent per annum or the maximum rate permitted under RCW 19.52.020. 2. For purposes of determining membership within a class of persons entitled to bring an action under this section, two or more employees are similarly situated if they: a. Are or were employed by the same employer or employers, whether concurrently or otherwise, at some point during the applicable statute of limitations period; b. Allege one or more violations that raise similar questions as to liability; and C. Seek similar forms of relief. d. Employees shall not be considered dissimilar solely because their claims seek damages that differ in amount, or their job titles or other means of classifying employees differ in ways that are unrelated to their claims. 3. Each covered employer shall retain records as required by RCW 49.46.070, as well as such information as the City may require to confirm compliance with this chapter. If an employer fails to retain such records, there shall be a presumption, rebuttable by clear and convincing evidence, that the employer violated this chapter for the periods and for each employee for whom records were not retained. 4. Employers shall permit authorized City representatives access to work sites and relevant records for the purpose of monitoring compliance with the chapter and investigating complaints of noncompliance, including production for inspection and copying of employment records. The City may designate representatives, including city contractors and representatives of unions or worker advocacy organizations, to access the worksite and relevant records. 5. Complaints that any provision of this chapter has been violated may also be presented to the City Attorney, who is hereby authorized to investigate and, if they deem appropriate, initiate legal or other action to remedy any violation of this chapter. 6. The City has the authority to issue administrative citations and to order injunctive relief including reinstatement, restitution, payment of back wages, or other forms of relief. 7. The City may, in the exercise of its authority and performance of its functions and services, agree by contract or otherwise to participate jointly or in cooperation with Washington State, King County, or any city, town, or other incorporated place, or subdivision thereof, or engage outside counsel, to enforce this chapter. 8. The remedies and penalties provided under this chapter are cumulative and are not intended to be exclusive of any other available remedies or penalties, including existing remedies for enforcement of Renton Municipal Code chapters. 9. The statute of limitations for any enforcement action shall be five (5) yews. Section 9. A new section is added to Renton Municipal Code (RMC) Section 5-5-4 as follows: 1. The Finance Director may deny, suspend, or revoke any license under this chapter for violation of this ordinance. 2. The Finance Director must deny, suspend, or revoke any license under this chapter for repeated intentional violations of this ordinance. 3. Any action by the Finance Director under this section shall be subject to the procedures and requirements of RMC subsection 5-5-3.E, as well m other due process rights that a court may require. Section 10. Definitions. For the purposes of this chapter, the following terms shall have the following meanings: "City" means the City of Renton. "Covered employer" means an employer that either (1) employs at least 15 employees regardless of where those employees are employed, or (2) has annual gross revenue over $2 million. "Effective date" is the effective date of this ordinance. "Employee" is defined as set forth in RCW 49.46.010. An employer bears the burden of proof that the individual is, as a matter of economic reality, in business for oneself rather than dependent upon the alleged employer. "Employer" is defined as set forth in RCW 49.46.010. "Employer classification" includes the determination of whether an employer is a covered employer and whether a covered employer is a large employer. "Franchise" means an agreement, express or implied, oral or written by which: 1. A person is granted the right to engage in the business of offering, selling, or distributing goods or services under a marketing plan prescribed or suggested in substantial part by the grantor or its affiliate; 2. The operation of the business is substantially associated with a trademark, service mark, trade time, advertising, or other commercial symbol; designating, owned by, or licensed by the grantor or its affiliate; and 3. The person pays, agrees to pay, or is required to pay, directly or indirectly, a franchise fee. The term, "franchise fee" is meant to be construed broadly to include any instance in which the grantor or its affiliate derives income or profit from a person who enters into a franchise agreement with the grantor. "Hour worked within the City" is to be interpreted according to its ordinary meaning, including all hours worked within the geographic boundaries of the City, excluding time spent in the City solely for the purpose of traveling through the City from a point of origin outside the City to a destination outside the City, with no employment -related or commercial stops in the City except for refueling or the employee's personal meals or errands. "Large Employer" means all employers that employ more than 500 employees, regardless of where those employees are employed, and all franchisees associated with a franchisor or a network of franchises with franchisees that employ more than 500 employees in aggregate. "Other covered employer" means a covered employer that does not qualify as a large employer. "Service charge" is defined as set forth in RCW 49.46.160(2)(c). "Tips" means a verifiable sum to be presented by a customer as a gift or gratuity in recognition of some service performed for the customer by the employee receiving the tip. "Wage" is defined as set forth in RCW 49.46.010. . Section 11. Other Legal Requirements. This ordinance shall not be construed to preempt, limit, or otherwise affect the applicability of any other law, regulation, requirement, policy, or standard that provides for greater wages or compensation; and nothing in this ordinance shall be interpreted or applied so as to create any power or duty in conflict with federal or state law. Section 12. Rulemaking. Within 180 days after the effective date, the City shall adopt rules and procedures to implement and ensure compliance with this chapter, which shall require employers to maintain adequate records and to annually certify compliance with this chapter. The City shall seek feedback from worker organizations and covered employers before finalizing the rules and procedures. Section 13. Constitutional Subject. For constitutional purposes, this measure's subject "concerns labor standards for certain employers." See File Foods, LLC v. City of SeaTac, 183 Wash. 2d 770, 783, 357 P.3d 1040, 1047 (2015) (upholding this statement of subject for an initiative that set a minimum wage and addressed employees' access to hours). Section 14. Codification. All sections of this ordinance except section 9 shall be codified in a new chapter of the Renton Municipal Code. Section 15. Election date. In the event that the election on this measure takes place later than November 7, 2023, the Finance Department must establish and publish the initial minimum wage within 30 days of the effective date. Section 16. Severability. The provisions of this ordinance are declared to be separate and severable. If any clause, sentence, paragraph, subdivision, section, subsection, or portion of this ordinance, or the application thereof to any employer, employee, or circumstance, is held to be invalid, it shall not affect the validity of the remainder of this ordinance, or the validity of its application to other persons or circumstances. Name Of Canvasser: Date Canvassed: Canvasser Email and Phone Number: Raising The Minimum Wage In Renton INITIATIVE PETITION FOR SUBMISSION TO THE RENTON CITY COUNCIL TO: The City Council of the City of Renton: ® ,a��., oar GCC/IBT 933-M We, the undersigned registered voters of the City of Renton, State of Washington, residing at the addresses set forth opposite our respective names, being equal to fifteen percent (15%) of the total number of names of persons listed as registered voters within the City on the day of the last preceding City general election, respectfully request that the following ordinance be enacted by the City Council or, if not so enacted, be submitted to a vote of the residents of the City. The title of the said ordinance is as follows: ORDINANCE CONCERNING LABOR STANDARDS FOR CERTAIN EMPLOYEES A full, true and correct copy of the ordinance is attached to this Petition. Each of us for himself or herself says: I have personally signed this petition; I am a registered voter of the City of Renton, State of Washington; and my residence is correctly stated. Signature Printed Name Street and Number City Phone Number Email 54MA& °U0&'r Printed Name 1234 Anywhere St. Renton 206-555-1234 maria@something.org 4. Ile, 4ze-� 5. 6. 7 91 a 10. a Pj `akvh 1.'l_ Renton , 4-4 y 04?� Renton Renton i J��"ram Renton e-O D Ali , ? [-K (-Vn Renton Lacy cl &y; Renton Renton Renton -7 / r Renton I n u &tl{i_ Ai'c5 Z-b � &?4� Renton Date 4/10/2023 J/� Uzi 5-Zb -23 Warning Every person who signs this petition with any other than his or her true name, or who knowingly signs more than one of these petitions, or signs a petition seek- ing an election when he or she is not a legal voter, or signs a petition when he or she is otherwise not qualified to sign, or who makes herein any false statement, shall be guilty of a misdemeanor. AN ORDINANCE concerning labor standards for certain employees. Section 1. Findings. 1. The people of the City of Renton hereby adopt this citizen initiative addressing labor standards for certain employees, for the purpose of ensuring that, to the extent reasonably practicable, people employed in Renton have good wages and access to sufficient hours of work. 2. The City of Renton is one of the largest job centers in Washington State, with thousands of shoppers and workers visiting daily to participate in the local economy. Renton is home to The Landing shopping center, the historic Downtown Urban Center, as well as retail and commercial office and warehouse districts around the Rainier/Grady Way Junction. The City is a net importer ofjobs, with nearly 60,000 employed workers. Renton has a wide array of both long established and new and evolving business sectors. Retail businesses, restaurants and bars, auto sales, hospitality, healthcare, and office workers are well represented. 3. The statewide minimum wage is not sufficient to afford rising rents and costs of living in Renton. According to the National Low Income Housing Coalition's Out of Reach 2022 report, a worker making Washington's minimum wage would have to work 72 horns each week (up from 70 hours each week in 2021) to afford a modest one -bedroom rental home at Fair Market Rent. 4. When working families earn insufficient income due to low wages and involuntary under -employment, they struggle to pay for basic necessities like health cue, child care, and groceries, and they are more likely to be evicted and become homeless. 5. Nearby King County cities of SeaTac, Seattle, and Tukwila enacted higher minimum wages in 2013, 2014, and 2022 respectively, but until now Renton has not followed suit. 6. Children growing up in poverty experience insecurity with housing, nutrition, and health care while enduring other hardships that prevent their ability to learn in school. Full time working parents must be able to reasonably provide for their family to ensure access to the opportunities and promise of public education. Section 2. Intent. It is the intent of the people to establish fair labor standards and protect the rights of workers by: (1) ensuring that the vast majority of employees in the City of Renton receive a minimum wage comparable to employees in the nearby cities of Tukwila, SeaTac, and Seattle; (2) requiring covered employers to offer additional hours of work to qualified part-time employees before hiring new employees to fill those hours; and (3) adopting enforcement requirements. Section 3. Large Employers Shall Pay Minimum Wages Comparable to Those in Nearby Cities. 1. Effective July 1, 2024, every large employer shall pay to each employee an hourly wage of not less than the 2023 new minimum wage rate in the City of Tukwila, established by City of Tukwila Initiative Measure No. 1, approved by voters in November 2022, adjusted for 2024 by the annual rate of inflation. 2. On January 1, 2025, and on each January 1 thereafter, the hourly minimum wage shall increase by the annual rate of inflation to maintain employee purchasing power. 3. By December 31, 2023, and by October 15 of each year thereafter, the Finance Department shall establish and publish the applicable hourly minimum wage for the following year using the annual rate of inflation. 4. For purposes of this chapter, the annual rate of inflation means 100 percent of the annual average growth rate of the bi-monthly Seattle -Tacoma -Bellevue Area Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers, termed CPI-W, for the 12-month period ending in August, provided that the percentage increase shall not be less than zero. 5. An employer must pay to its employees: a. All tips and gratuities; and b. All service charges as defined under RCW 49.46.160 except those that, pursuant to RCW 49.46.160, are itemized as not being payable to the employee or employees servicing the customer. Tips and service charges paid to an employee are in addition to, and may not count towards, the employee's hourly minimum wage. Section 4. Other Covered Employers Shall Have a Multiyear Phase -In Period. Other covered employers shall phase in the new minimum wage, as follows: I. Effective July 1, 2024, other covered employers shall pay employees not less than the hourly minimum wage established under Section 3 minus Two Dollars ($2) per how. 2. Effective July 1, 2025, other covered employers shall pay employees not less than the hourly minimum wage established under Section 3 minus One Dollar ($1) per hour. 3. Effective July 1, 2026, and thereafter, all covered employers shall pay employees not less than the hourly minimum wage established under Section 3, Section 5. Coverage and Employer Classifications. 1. Covered employers must pay employees at least the minimum wage established by this chapter for each hour worked within the City. 2. Employer classification for the current calendar year will be calculated based upon the average number of employees during all weeks in the previous calendar year in which the employer had at least one employee. For employers that did not have any employees during the previous calendar year, classification will be based upon the average number of employees during the most recent three months of the current year. In this determination, all employees will be counted, regardless of their location, and including employees who worked in full-time employment, part-time employment, joint employment, temporary employment, or through the services of a temporary services or staffing agency or similar entity, 3. Employer classification for the current calendar year will be calculated based upon the gross revenue for the previous year. For employers that did not have gross revenue during the previous calendar year, annual gross revenue will be calculated from the gross revenue during the most recent three months of the current year. 4. For the purposes of employer classification, separate entities will be considered a single employer if they form an integrated enterprise or they are under joint control by one of those entities or a separate entity. The factors to consider in making this assessment include, but are not limited to: a. Degree of interrelation between the operations of multiple entities; b. Degree to which the entities share common management; C. Centralized control of labor relations; and d. Degree of common ownership or financial control over the entities. Section 6. Part -Time Employees Shall Have Fair Access to Additional Hours. I. Before hiring additional employees or subcontractors, including hiring through the use of temporary services or staffing agencies, covered employers must offer additional hours of work to existing employees who, in the employer's good faith and reasonable judgment, have the skills and experience to perform the work, and shall use a reasonable, transparent, and nondiscriminatory process to distribute the hours of work among those existing employees. 2. This section shall not be construed to require any employer to offer an employee work hours if the employer would be required to compensate the employee at time -and -a -half or other premium rate under any law or collective bargaining agreement, nor to prohibit any employer from offering such work horns. Section 7. Retaliation Prohibited. 1. No employer or any other person shall interfere with, restrain, or deny the exercise of, or the attempt to exercise, any right protected under this chapter. 2. No employer or any other person shall take any adverse action against any person because the person has exercised in good faith the rights under this chapter. Such rights include but are not limited to the right to make inquiries about the rights protected under this chapter; the right to inform others about their rights under this chapter; the right to inform the person's employer, union, or similar organization, and/or the person's legal counsel or any other person about an alleged violation of this chapter; the right to bring a civil action for an alleged violation of this chapter; the right to testify in a proceeding under or related to this chapter; the right to refuse to participate in an activity that would result in a violation of city, state, or federal law; and the right to oppose any policy, practice, or act that is unlawful under this chapter. 3. For the purposes of this section, an adverse action means denying ajob or promotion, demoting, terminating, failing to rehire after a seasonal interruption of work, threatening, penalizing, retaliating, engaging in unfair immigration -related practices, filing a false report with a government agency, changing an employee's status to nonemployee, decreasing or declining to provide additional work hours when they otherwise would have been offered, scheduling an employee for hours outside of their availability, or otherwise discriminating against any person for any reason prohibited by this chapter. "Adverse action" for an employee may involve any aspect of employment, including pay, work hours, responsibilities, or other material change in the terms and conditions of employment. 4. No employer or any other person shall communicate to a person exercising rights protected under this chapter, directly or indirectly, the willingness to inform a government employee that the person is not lawfully in the United States, or to report, or to make an implied or express assertion of a willingness to report, suspected citizenship or immigration status of the person or a family member of the person to a federal, state, or local agency because the person has exercised a right under this chapter. 5. There shall be a rebuttable presumption of unlawful retaliation if an employer or any other person takes an adverse action against a person within 90 days of the person's exercise of any right protected in this chapter. However, in the case of seasonal work that ended before the close of the 90-day period, the presumption also applies if the employer fails to rehire a former employee at the next opportunity for work in the same position. The employer may rebut the presumption with clear and convincing evidence that the adverse action was taken for a permissible purpose. 6. Standard of Proof. Proof of retaliation under this chapter shall be sufficient upon a showing that an employer or any other person has taken an adverse action against a person and the person's exercise of rights protected in this chapter was a motivating factor in the adverse action, unless the employer can prove that the action would have been taken in the absence of such protected activity. 7. The protections afforded under this section shall apply to any person who mistakenly but in good faith alleges violations of this chapter. Section 8. Enforcement. 1. Any person or class of persons that suffers financial injury as a result of a violation of this chapter or is the subject of prohibited retaliation under this chapter, or any other individual or entity acting on their behalf, may bring a civil action in a court of competentjurisdiction against the employer or other person violating this chapter and, upon prevailing, shall be awarded reasonable attorney fees and costs and such legal or equitable relief as may be appropriate to remedy the violation including, without limitation, the payment of any unpaid wages plus interest due to the person and liquidated damages in an additional amount of up to twice the unpaid wages; compensatory damages; and a penalty payable to any aggrieved party of up to $5,000 if the aggrieved party was subject to prohibited retaliation. For the purposes of this section, an aggrieved party means an employee or other person who suffers tangible or intangible harm due to an employer or other person's violation of this chapter. Interest shall accrue from the date the unpaid wages were first due at the higher of twelve percent per annum or the maximum rate permitted under RCW 19.52.020. 2. For purposes of determining membership within a class of persons entitled to bring an action under this section, two or more employees are similarly situated if they: a. Are or were employed by the same employer or employers, whether concurrently or otherwise, at some point during the applicable statute of limitations period; b. Allege one or more violations that raise similar questions as to liability; and C. Seek similar forms of relief. d. Employees shall not be considered dissimilar solely because their claims seek damages that differ in amount, or their job titles or other means of classifying employees differ in ways that me unrelated to their claims. 3. Each covered employer shall retain records as required by RCW 49.46.070, as well as such information as the City may require to confirm compliance with this chapter. If an employer fails to retain such records, there shall be a presumption, rebuttable by clear and convincing evidence, that the employer violated this chapter for the periods and for each employee for whom records were not retained. 4. Employers shall permit authorized City representatives access to work sites and relevant records for the purpose of monitoring compliance with the chapter and investigating complaints of noncompliance, including production for inspection and copying of employment records. The City may designate representatives, including city contractors and representatives of unions or worker advocacy organizations, to access the workshe and relevant records. 5. Complaints that any provision of this chapter has been violated may also be presented to the City Attorney, who is hereby authorized to investigate and, if they deem appropriate, initiate legal or other action to remedy any violation of this chapter. 6. The City has the authority to issue administrative citations and to order injunctive relief including reinstatement, restitution, payment of back wages, or other forms of relief. 7. The City may, in the exercise of its authority and performance of its functions and services, agree by contract or otherwise to participate jointly or in cooperation with Washington State, King County, or any city, town, or other incorporated place, or subdivision thereof, or engage outside counsel, to enforce this chapter. 8. The remedies and penalties provided under this chapter are cumulative and are not intended to be exclusive of any other available remedies or penalties, including existing remedies for enforcement of Renton Municipal Code chapters. 9. The statute of limitations for any enforcement action shall be five (5) years. Section 9. A new section is added to Renton Municipal Code (RMC) Section 5-5-4 as follows: 1. The Finance Director may deny, suspend, or revoke any license under this chapter for violation of this ordinance. 2. The Finance Director must deny, suspend, or revoke any license under this chapter for repeated intentional violations of this ordinance. 3. Any action by the Finance Director under this section shall be subject to the procedures and requirements of RMC subsection 5-573.E, as well as other due process rights that a court may require. Section 10. Definitions. For the purposes of this chapter, the following terms shall have the following meanings: "City" means the City of Renton. "Covered employer" means an employer that either (1) employs at least 15 employees regardless of where those employees are employed, or (2) has annual gross revenue over $2 million. "Effective date" is the effective date of this ordinance. "Employee" is defined as set forth in RCW 49.46.010. An employer bears the burden of proof that the individual is, as a matter of economic reality, in business for oneself rather than dependent upon the alleged employer. "Employer" is defined as set forth in RCW 49.46.010. "Employer classification" includes the determination of whether an employer is a covered employer and whether a covered employer is a large employer. "Franchise" means an agreement, express or implied, oral or written by which: 1. A person is granted the right to engage in the business of offering, selling, or distributing goods or services under a marketing plan prescribed or suggested in substantial part by the grantor or its affiliate; 2. The operation of the business is substantially associated with a trademark, service mark, trade time, advertising, or other commercial symbol; designating, owned by, or licensed by the grantor or its affiliate; and 3. The person pays, agrees to pay, or is required to pay, directly or indirectly, a franchise fee. The term, "franchise fee" is meant to be construed broadly to include any instance in which the grantor or its affiliate derives income or profit from a person who enters into a franchise agreement with the grantor. "Hour worked within the City" is to be interpreted according to its ordinary meaning, including all hours worked within the geographic boundaries of the City, excluding time spent in the City solely for the purpose of traveling through the City from a point of origin outside the City to a destination outside the City, with no employment -related or commercial stops in the City except for refueling or the employee's personal meals or errands. "Large Employer" means all employers that employ more than 500 employees, regardless of where those employees are employed, and all franchisees associated with a franchisor or a network of franchises with franchisees that employ more than 500 employees in aggregate. "Other covered employer" means a covered employer that does not qualify as a large employer. "Service charge" is defined as set forth in RCW 49.46.160(2)(c). "Tips" means a verifiable sum to be presented by a customer as a gift or gratuity in recognition of some service performed for the customer by the employee receiving the tip. "Wage" is defined as set forth in RCW 49.46.010. Section 11. Other Legal Requirements. This ordinance shall not be construed to preempt, limit, or otherwise affect the applicability of any other law, regulation, requirement, policy, or standard that provides for greater wages or compensation; and nothing in this ordinance shall be interpreted or applied so as to create any power or duty in conflict with federal or state law. Section 12. Rulemaking. Within 180 days after the effective date, the City shall adopt rules and procedures to implement and ensure compliance with this chapter, which shall require employers to maintain adequate records and to annually certify compliance with this chapter. The City shall seek feedback from worker organizations and covered employers before finalizing the rules and procedures. Section 13. Constitutional Subject. For constitutional purposes, this measure's subject "concerns labor standards for certain employers." See File Foods, LLC v. City of SeaTac, 183 Wash. 2d 770, 783, 357 P.3d 1040, 1047 (2015) (upholding this statement of subject for an initiative that set a minimum wage and addressed employees' access to hours). Section 14. Codification. All sections of this ordinance except section 9 shall be codified in a new chapter of the Renton Municipal Code. Section 15. Election date. In the event that the election on this measure takes place later than November 7, 2023, the Finance Department must establish and publish the initial minimum wage within 30 days of the effective date. Section 16. Severability. The provisions of this ordinance are declared to be separate and severable. If any clause, sentence, paragraph, subdivision, section, subsection, or portion of this ordinance, or the application thereof to any employer, employee, or circumstance, is held to be invalid, it shall not affect the validity of the remainder of this ordinance, or the validity of its application to other persons or circumstances. Name Of Canvasser: Date Canvassed: rvoser Email and Phone Number: "l t GJ 3 3 l 1} Raising The Minimum Wage In Renton INITIATIVE PETITION FOR SUBMISSION TO THE RENTON CITY COUNCIL TO: The City Council of the City of Renton: We, the undersigned registered voters of the City of Renton, State of Washington, residing at the addresses set forth opposite our respective names, being equal to fifteen percent (15%) of the total number of names of persons listed as registered voters within the City on the day of the last preceding City general election, respectfully request that the following ordinance be enacted by the City Council or, if not so enacted, be submitted to a vote of the residents of the City. The title of the said ordinance is as follows: ORDINANCE CONCERNING LABOR STANDARDS FOR CERTAIN EMPLOYEES A full, true and correct copy of the ordinance is attached to this Petition. Each of us for himself or herself says: I have personally signed this petition; I am a registered voter of the City of Renton, State of Washington; and my residence is correctly stated. Signature Sam*vl '° Printed Name Printed Name Street and Number " 1234 Anywhere St. City Renton Phone Number Email 206-555-1234 maria@something.org Date 4/10/2023 1. f Pt, NF-� Wt Renton `j-31-a3 2. V v '"x Renton 1-3 1- a 3. �G(b l/� \/Y/� ��pUlg �050 A'VG SF 7i7 Renton 4. R�a55 L(iS S, Q Q(0 (— Renton` 3I � (111 l 1 a do `> Renton S - I J3 5. 6. dV)rtha LjEa /�112 E, 44Renton 51-31 -a3 �/ �t,t, T(`r'. 1ld�� S��D Renton C�������—Cif 5�31—z3 7. s. _J�ic (� - " L. !Lie, ZOIw [�DM�f�i Sa2.s�% Renton S_- 31 23 S©u�Cn( �GL�°�SoJ (C �G� Renton���� `{3S 7 9. `� --` — �C �l l`� J-7303 Z(]555 (,3� Z- (p -► �� 10. Renton Warning Every person who signs this petition with any other than his or her true name, or who knowingly signs more than one of these petitions, or signs a petition seek- ing an election when he or she is not a legal voter, or signs a petition when he or she is otherwise not qualified to sign, or who makes herein any false statement, shall be guilty of a misdemeanor. ® GCC/IBT'g- 933-m 1-Z' o.,.�.mn�� AN ORDINANCE concerning labor standards for certain employees. Section 1. Findings. 1. The people of the City of Renton hereby adopt this citizen initiative addressing labor standards for certain employees, for the purpose of ensuring that, to the extent reasonably practicable, people employed in Renton have good wages and access to sufficient hours of work. 2. The City of Renton is one of the largestjob centers in Washington State, with thousands of shoppers and workers visiting daily to participate in the local economy. Renton is home to The Landing shopping center, the historic Downtown Urban Center, as well as retail and commercial office and warehouse districts around the Rainier/Grady Way Junction. The City is a net importer ofjobs, with nearly 60,000 employed workers. Renton has a wide array of both long established and new and evolving business sectors. Retail businesses, restaurants and bars, auto sales, hospitality, healthcare, and office workers are well represented. 3. The statewide minimum wage is not sufficient to afford rising rents and costs of living in Renton. According to the National Low Income Housing Coalition's Out of Reach 2022 report, a worker making Washington's minimum wage would have to work 72 hours each week (up from 70 hours each week in 2021) to afford a modest one -bedroom rental home at Fair Market Rent. 4. When working families earn insufficient income due to low wages and involuntary under -employment, they struggle to pay for basic necessities like health care, child cue, and groceries, and they are more likely to be evicted and become homeless. 5. Nearby King County cities of SeaTac, Seattle, and Tukwila enacted higher minimum wages in 2013, 2014, and 2022 respectively, but until now Renton has not followed suit. 6. Children growing up in poverty experience insecurity with housing, nutrition, and health care while enduring other hardships that prevent their ability to learn in school. Full time working parents must be able to reasonably provide for their family to ensure access to the opportunities and promise of public education. Section 2. Intent. It is the intent of the people to establish fair labor standards and protect the rights of workers by: (1) ensuring that the vast majority of employees in the City of Renton receive a minimum wage comparable to employees in the nearby cities of Tukwila, SeaTac, and Seattle; (2) requiring covered employers to offer additional hours of work to qualified part-time employees before hiring new employees to fill those hours; and (3) adopting enforcement requirements. Section 3. Large Employers Shall Pay Minimum Wages Comparable to Those in Nearby Cities. 1. Effective July 1, 2024, every large employer shall pay to each employee an hourly wage of not less than the 2023 new minimum wage rate in the City of Tukwila, established by City of Tukwila Initiative Measure No. 1, approved by voters in November 2022, adjusted for 2024 by the annual rate of inflation. 2. On January 1, 2025, and on each January 1 thereafter, the hourly minimum wage shall increase by the annual rate of inflation to maintain employee purchasing power. 3. By December 31, 2023, and by October 15 of each year thereafter, the Finance Department shall establish and publish the applicable hourly minimum wage for the following year using the annual rate of inflation. 4. For purposes of this chapter, the annual rate of inflation means 100 percent of the annual average growth rate of the bi-monthly Seattle -Tacoma -Bellevue Area Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers, termed CPI-W, for the 12-month period ending in August, provided that the percentage increase shall not be less than zero. 5. An employer must pay to its employees: a. All tips and gratuities; and b. All service charges as defined under RCW 49.46.160 except those that, pursuant to RCW 49.46.160, are itemized as not being payable to the employee or employees servicing the customer. Tips and service charges paid to an employee are in addition to, and may not count towards, the employee's hourly minimum wage. Section 4. Other Covered Employers Shall Have a Multiyear Phase -In Period. Other covered employers shall phase in the new minimum wage, as follows: 1. Effective July 1, 2024, other covered employers shall pay employees not less than the hourly minimum wage established under Section 3 minus Two Dollars ($2) per hour. 2. Effective July 1, 2025, other covered employers shall pay employees not less than the hourly minimum wage established under Section 3 minus One Dollar ($1) per hour. 3. Effective July 1, 2026, and thereafter, all covered employers shall pay employees not less than the hourly minimum wage established under Section 3. Section 5. Coverage and Employer Classifications. I. Covered employers must pay employees at least the minimum wage established by this chapter for each hour worked within the City. 2. Employer classification for the current calendar year will be calculated based upon the average number of employees during all weeks in the previous calendar year in which the employer had at least one employee. For employers that did not have any employees during the previous calendar year, classification will be based upon the average number of employees during the most recent three months of the current year. In this determination, all employees will be counted, regardless of thew location, and including employees who worked in full-time employment, part-time employment, joint employment, temporary employment, or through the services of a temporary services or staffing agency or similar entity. 3. Employer classification for the current calendar year will be calculated based upon the gross revenue for the previous year. For employers that did not have gross revenue during the previous calendar year, annual gross revenue will be calculated from the gross revenue during the most recent three months of the current year. 4. For the purposes of employer classification, separate entities will be considered a single employer if they form an integrated enterprise or they are under joint control by one of those entities or a separate entity. The factors to consider in making this assessment include, but are not limited to: a. Degree of interrelation between the operations of multiple entities; b. Degree to which the entities share common management; C. Centralized control of labor relations; and d. Degree of common ownership or financial control over the entities. Section 6. Part -Time Employees Shall Have Fair Access to Additional Hours. 1. Before hiring additional employees or subcontractors, including hiring through the use of temporary services or staffing agencies, covered employers must offer additional hours of work to existing employees who, in the employer's good faith and reasonable judgment, have the skills and experience to perform the work, and shall use a reasonable, transparent, and nondiscriminatory process to distribute the hours of work among those existing employees. 2. This section shall not be construed to require any employer to offer an employee work hours if the employer would be required to compensate the employee at time -and -a -half or other premium rate under any law or collective bargaining agreement, nor to prohibit any employer from offering such work hours. Section 7. Retaliation Prohibited. 1. No employer or any other person shall interfere with, restrain, or deny the exercise of, or the attempt to exercise, any right protected under this chapter. 2. No employer or any other person shall take any adverse action against any person because the person has exercised in good faith the rights under this chapter. Such rights include but are not limited to the right to make inquiries about the rights protected under this chapter; the right to inform others about their rights under this chapter; the right to inform the person's employer, union, or similar organization, and/or the person's legal counsel or any other person about an alleged violation of this chapter; the right to bring a civil action for an alleged violation of this chapter; the right to testify in a proceeding under or related to this chapter; the right to refuse to participate in an activity that would result in a violation of city, state, or federal law; and the right to oppose any policy, practice, or act that is unlawful under this chapter. 3. For the purposes of this section, an adverse action means denying ajob or promotion, demoting, terminating, failing to rehire after a seasonal interruption of work, threatening, penalizing, retaliating, engaging in unfair immigration -related practices, filing a false report with a government agency, changing an employee's status to nonemployee, decreasing or declining to provide additional work hours when they otherwise would have been offered, scheduling an employee for hours outside of their availability, or otherwise discriminating against any person for any reason prohibited by this chapter. "Adverse action" for an employee may involve any aspect of employment, including pay, work hours, responsibilities, or other material change in the terms and conditions of employment. 4. No employer or any other person shall communicate to a person exercising rights protected under this chapter, directly or indirectly, the willingness to inform a government employee that the person is not lawfully in the United States, or to report, or to make an implied or express assertion of a willingness to report, suspected citizenship or immigration status of the person or a family member of the person to a federal, state, or local agency because the person has exercised a right under this chapter. 5. There shall be a rebuttable presumption of unlawful retaliation if an employer or any other person takes an adverse action against a person within 90 days of the person's exercise of any right protected in this chapter. However, in the case of seasonal work that ended before the close of the 90-day period, the presumption also applies if the employer fails to rehire a former employee at the next opportunity for work in the same position. The employer may rebut the presumption with clear and convincing evidence that the adverse action was taken for a permissible purpose. 6. Standard of Proof. Proof of retaliation under this chapter shall be sufficient upon a showing that an employer or any other person has taken an adverse action against a person and the person's exercise of rights protected in this chapter was a motivating factor in the adverse action, unless the employer can prove that the action would have been taken in the absence of such protected activity. 7. The protections afforded under this section shall apply to any person who mistakenly but in good faith alleges violations of this chapter. Section S. Enforcement. 1. Any person or class of persons that suffers financial injury as a result of a violation of this chapter or is the subject of prohibited retaliation under this chapter, or any other individual or entity acting on their behalf, may bring a civil action in a court of competent jurisdiction against the employer or other person violating this chapter and, upon prevailing, shall be awarded reasonable attorney fees and costs and such legal or equitable relief as may be appropriate to remedy the violation including, without limitation, the payment of any unpaid wages plus interest due to the person and liquidated damages in an additional amount of up to twice the unpaid wages; compensatory damages; and a penalty payable to any aggrieved party of up to $5,000 if the aggrieved party was subject to prohibited retaliation. For the purposes of this section, an aggrieved party means an employee or other person who suffers tangible or intangible harm due to an employer or other person's violation of this chapter. Interest shall accrue from the date the unpaid wages were first due at the higher of twelve percent per annum or the maximum rate permitted under RCW 19.52.020. 2. For purposes of determining membership within a class of persons entitled to bring an action under this section, two or more employees are similarly situated if they: a. Are or were employed by the same employer or employers, whether concurrently or otherwise, at some point during the applicable statute of limitations period; b. Allege one or more violations that raise similar questions as to liability; and C. Seek similar forms of relief. d. Employees shall not be considered dissimilar solely because their claims seek damages that differ in amount, or theirjob titles or other means of classifying employees differ in ways that are unrelated to their claims. 3. Each covered employer shall retain records as required by RCW 49.46.070, as well as such information as the City may require to confirm compliance with this chapter. If an employer fails to retain such records, there shall be a presumption, rebuttable by clear and convincing evidence, that the employer violated this chapter for the periods and for each employee for whom records were not retained. 4. Employers shall permit authorized City representatives access to work sites and relevant records for the purpose of monitoring compliance with the chapter and investigating complaints of noncompliance, including production for inspection and copying of employment records. The City may designate representatives, including city contractors and representatives of unions or worker advocacy organizations, to access the worksite and relevant records. 5. Complaints that any provision of this chapter has been violated may also be presented to the City Attorney, who is hereby authorized to investigate and, if they deem appropriate, initiate legal or other action to remedy any violation of this chapter. 6. The City has the authority to issue administrative citations and to order injunctive relief including reinstatement, restitution, payment of back wages, or other forms of relief. 7. The City may, in the exercise of its authority anQperformance of its functions and services, agree by contract or otherwise to participate jointly or in cooperation with Washington State, King County, or any city, town, or other incorporated place, or subdivision thereof, or engage outside counsel, to enforce this chapter. 8. The remedies and penalties provided under this chapter we cumulative and are not intended to be exclusive of any other available remedies or penalties, including existing remedies for enforcement of Renton Municipal Code chapters. 9. The statute of limitations for any enforcement action shall be five (5) years. Section 9. A new section is added to Renton Municipal Code (RMC) Section 5-5-4 as follows: 1. The Finance Director may deny, suspend, or revoke any license under this chapter for violation of this ordinance. 2. The Finance Director must deny, suspend, or revoke any license under this chapter for repeated intentional violations of this ordinance. 3. Any action by the Finance Director under this section shall be subject to the procedures and requirements of RMC subsection 5-5-3.E, as well as other due process rights that a court may require. Section 10. Definitions. For the purposes of this chapter, the following terms shall have the following meanings: "City" means the City of Renton. "Covered employer" means an employer that either (1) employs at least 15 employees regardless of where those employees are employed, or (2) has annual gross revenue over $2 million. "Effective date" is the effective date of this ordinance. "Employee" is defined as set forth in RCW 49.46.010. An employer bears the burden of proof that the individual is, as a matter of economic reality, in business for oneself rather than dependent upon the alleged employer. "Employer" is defined as set forth in RCW 49.46.010. "Employer classification" includes the determination of whether an employer is a covered employer and whether a covered employer is a large employer. "Franchise" means an agreement, express or implied, oral or written by which: 1. A person is granted the right to engage in the business of offering, selling, or distributing goods or services under a marketing plan prescribed or suggested in substantial part by the grantor or its affiliate; 2. The operation of the business is substantially associated with a trademark, service mark, trade time, advertising, or other commercial symbol; designating, owned by, or licensed by the grantor or its affiliate; and 3. The person pays, agrees to pay, or is required to pay, directly or indirectly, a franchise fee. The term, "franchise fee" is meant to be construed broadly to include any instance in which the grantor or its affiliate derives income or profit from a person who enters into a franchise agreement with the grantor. "Hour worked within the City" is to be interpreted according to its ordinary meaning, including all hours worked within the geographic boundaries of the City, excluding time spent in the City solely for the purpose of traveling through the City from a point of origin outside the City to a destination outside the City, with no employment -related or commercial stops in the City except for refueling or the employee's personal meals or errands. "Large Employer" means all employers that employ more than 500 employees, regardless of where those employees are employed, and all franchisees associated with a franchisor or a network of franchises with franchisees that employ more than 500 employees in aggregate. "Other covered employer" means a covered employer that does not qualify as a large employer. "Service charge" is defined as set forth in RCW 49.46.160(2)(c). "Tips" means a verifiable sum to be presented by a customer as a gift or gratuity in recognition of some service performed for the customer by the employee receiving the tip. "Wage" is defined as set forth in RCW 49.46.010. Section 11. Other Legal Requirements. This ordinance shall not be construed to preempt, limit, or otherwise affect the applicability of any other law, regulation, requirement, policy, or standard that provides for greater wages or compensation; and nothing in this ordinance shall be interpreted or applied so as to create any power or duty in conflict with federal or state law. Section 12. Rulemaking. Within 180 days after the effective date, the City shall adopt rules and procedures to implement and ensure compliance with this chapter, which shall require employers to maintain adequate records and to annually certify compliance with this chapter. The City shall seek feedback from worker organizations and covered employers before finalizing the rules and procedures. Section 13. Constitutional Subject. For constitutional purposes, this measure's subject "concerns labor standards for certain employers." See File Foods, LLC v. City of SeaTac, 183 Wash. 2d 770, 783, 357 P.3d 1040, 1047 (2015) (upholding this statement of subject for an initiative that set a minimum wage and addressed employees' access to hours). Section 14. Codification. All sections of this ordinance except section 9 shall be codified in a new chapter of the Renton Municipal Code. Section 15. Election date. In the event that the election on this measure takes place later than November 7, 2023, the Finance Department must establish and publish the initial minimum wage within 30 days of the effective date. Section 16. Severability. The provisions of this ordinance are declared to be separate and severable. I£ any clause, sentence, paragraph, subdivision, section, subsection, or portion of this ordinance, or the application thereof to any employer, employee, or circumstance, is held to be invalid, it shall not affect the validity of the remainder of this ordinance, or the validity of its application to other persons or circumstances. Name Of Canvass Date Canvassed: . Canvasser Email and Phone Number: k1. _... _.... _.. Raising The Minimum Wage In Renton INITIATIVE PETITION FOR SUBMISSION TO THE RENTON CITY COUNCIL TO: The City Council of the City of Renton: We, the undersigned registered voters of the City of Renton, State of Washington, residing at the addresses set forth opposite our respective names, being equal to fifteen percent (15%) of the total number of names of persons listed as registered voters within the City on the day of the last preceding City general election, respectfully request that the following ordinance be enacted by the City Council or, if not so enacted, be submitted to a vote of the residents of the City. The title of the said ordinance is as follows: ORDINANCE CONCERNING LABOR STANDARDS FOR CERTAIN EMPLOYEES A full, true and correct copy of the ordinance is attached to this Petition. Each of us for himself or herself says: I have personally signed this petition; I am a registered voter of the City of Renton, State of Washington; and my residence is correctly stated. Signature Printed Name Street and Number City Phone Number Email Date Sa000fe?iot'n Printed Name 1234 Anywhere St. Renton 206-555-1234 maria@something.org 4/10/2023 1 2. // ve/(/ L a 10. AllGro� Coj'rPy T Renton l7 I ✓ '� � P 5wY1.," � C� �o ' i Renton 37 � �� `E-�'S+" ��{ ��71 Renton =-34b-c��t63�qF�4��f�19'e5a I C `A��W 12 Renton Renton Zss 2552935 � (� \ P.�i�l� Renton ld��rly �5���I ') �- > n I I'^ lam") 6 Renton f/ �' , 2 vv nn(( CL 2 L, 3�40 iVl C yl(` >' 7fQYC /�� Renton q25 -(�O) ����� Q�r� I ui 0 G /71.12.5 I 1 I iA OhG�il� v ✓� I•c h1 /i c q� +� 90<uu� �- �phnSv� 31Q�cg `j'� 5y ni(�G7Ab Renton Sp7, ���-?Dt b (��o►,,,w, JTk8v""+` Renton 7� Warning Every person who signs this petition with any other than his or her true name, or who knowingly signs more than one of these petitions, or signs a petition seek- ing an election when he or she is not a legal voter, or signs a petition when he or she is otherwise not qualified to sign, or who makes herein any false statement, shall be guilty of a misdemeanor. 71� AN ORDINANCE concerning labor standards for certain employees. Section 1. Findings. 1. The people of the City of Renton hereby adopt this citizen initiative addressing labor standards for certain employees, for the purpose of ensuring that, to the extent reasonably practicable, people employed in Renton have good wages and access to sufficient hours of work. 2. The City of Renton is one of the largest job centers in Washington State, with thousands of shoppers and workers visiting daily to participate in the local economy. Renton is home to The Landing shopping center, the historic Downtown Urban Center, as well as retail and commercial office and warehouse districts around the Rainier/Grady Way Junction. The City is a net importer ofjobs, with nearly 60,000 employed workers. Renton has a wide may of both long established and new and evolving business sectors. Retail businesses, restaurants and bars, auto sales, hospitality, healthcare, and office workers are well represented. 3. The statewide minimum wage is not sufficient to afford rising rents and costs of living in Renton. According to the National Low Income Housing Coalition's Out of Reach 2022 report, a worker making Washington's minimum wage would have to work 72 hours each week (up from 70 hours each week in 2021) to afford a modest one-bedrnom rental home at Fair Market Rent. 4. When working families earn insufficient income due to low wages and involuntary under -employment, they struggle to pay for basic necessities like health care, child care, and groceries, and they are more likely to be evicted and become homeless. 5. Nearby King County cities of SeaTac, Seattle, and Tukwila enacted higher minimum wages in 2013, 2014, and 2022 respectively, but until now Renton has not followed suit. 6. Children growing up in poverty experience insecurity with housing, nutrition, and health care while enduring other hardships that prevent their ability to learn in school. Full time working parents must be able to reasonably provide for their family to ensure access to the opportunities and promise of public education. Section 2. Intent. It is the intent of the people to establish fair labor standards and protect the rights of workers by: (1) ensuring that the vast majority of employees in the City of Renton receive a minimum wage comparable to employees in the nearby cities of Tukwila, SeaTac, and Seattle; (2) requiring covered employers to offer additional hours of work to qualified part-time employees before hiring new employees to fill those hours; and (3) adopting enforcement requirements. Section 3. Large Employers Shall Pay Minimum Wages Comparable to Those in Nearby Cities. 1. Effective July 1, 2024, every large employer shall pay to each employee an hourly wage of not less than the 2023 new minimum wage rate in the City of Tukwila, established by City of Tukwila Initiative Measure No. 1, approved by voters in November 2022, adjusted for 2024 by the annual rate of inflation. 2. On January 1, 2025, and on each January 1 thereafter, the hourly minimum wage shall increase by the annual rate of inflation to maintain employee purchasing power. 3. By December 31, 2023, and by October 15 of each year thereafter, the Finance Department shall establish and publish the applicable hourly minimum wage for the following year using the annual rate of inflation. 4. For purposes of this chapter, the annual rate of inflation means 100 percent of the ammal average growth rate of the bi-monthly Seattle -Tacoma -Bellevue Area Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers, termed CPI-W, for the 12-month period ending in August, provided that the percentage increase shall not be less than zero. 5. An employer must pay to its employees: a. All tips and gratuities; and b. All service charges as defined under RCW 49.46.160 except those that, pursuant to RCW 49.46.160, are itemized as not being payable to the employee or employees servicing the customer. Tips and service charges paid to an employee are in addition to, and may not count towards, the employee's hourly minimum wage. Section 4. Other Covered Employers Shall Have a Multiyear Phase -In Period. Other covered employers shall phase in the new minimum wage, as follows: 1. Effective July 1, 2024, other covered employers shall pay employees not less them the hourly minimum wage established under Section 3 minus Two Dollars ($2) per hour. 2. Effective July 1, 2025, other covered employers shall pay employees not less than the hourly minimum wage established under Section 3 minus One Dollar ($1) per hour. 3. Effective July 1, 2026, and thereafter, all covered employers shall pay employees not less than the hourly minimum wage established under Section 3. Section 5. Coverage and Employer Classifications. 1. Covered employers must pay employees at least the minimum wage established by this chapter for each hour worked within the City. 2. Employer classification for the current calendar year will be calculated based upon the average number of employees during all weeks in the previous calendar year in which the employer had at least one employee. For employers that did not have any employees during the previous calendar year, classification will be based upon the average number of employees during the most recent three months of the current year. In this determination, all employees will be counted, regardless of their location, and including employees who worked in full-time employment, part-time employment, joint employment, temporary employment, or through the services of a temporary services or staffing agency or similar entity. 3. Employer classification for the current calendar year will be calculated based upon the gross revenue for the previous year. For employers that did not have gross revenue during the previous calendar year, annual gross revenue will be calculated from the gross revenue during the most recent three months of the current year. 4. For the purposes of employer classification, separate entities will be considered a single employer if they form an integrated enterprise or they are under joint control by one of those entities or a separate entity. The factors to consider in making this assessment include, but are not limited to: a. Degree of interrelation between the operations of multiple entities; b. Degree to which the entities share common management; C. Centralized control of labor relations; and d. Degree of common ownership or financial control over the entities. Section 6. Part -Time Employees Shall Have Fair Access to Additional Hours. 1. Before hiring additional employees or subcontractors, including hiring through the use of temporary services or staffing agencies, covered employers must offer additional hours of work to existing employees who, in the employer's good faith and reasonable judgment, have the skills and experience to perform the work, and shall use a reasonable, transparent, and nondiscriminatory process to distribute the hours of work among those existing employees. 2. This section shall not be construed to require any employer to offer an employee work hours if the employer would be required to compensate the employee at time -and -a -half or other premium rate under any law or collective bargaining agreement, nor to prohibit any employer from offering such work hours. Section 7. Retaliation Prohibited. 1. No employer or any other person shall interfere with, restrain, or deny the exercise of, or the attempt to exercise, any right protected under this chapter. 2. No employer or any other person shall take any adverse action against any person because the person has exercised in good faith the rights under this chapter. Such rights include but are not limited to the right to make inquiries about the rights protected under this chapter; the right to inform others about their rights under this chapter; the right to inform the person's employer, union, or similar organization, and/or the person's legal counsel or any other person about an alleged violation of this chapter; the right to bring a civil action for an alleged violation of this chapter; the right to testify in a proceeding under or related to this chapter; the right to refuse to participate in an activity that would result in a violation of city, state, or federal law; and the right to oppose any policy, practice, or act that is unlawful under this chapter. 3. For the purposes of this section, an adverse action means denying ajob or promotion, demoting, terminating, failing to rehire after a seasonal interruption of work, threatening, penalizing, retaliating, engaging in unfair immigration -related practices, filing a false report with a government agency, changing an employee's status to nonemployee, decreasing or declining to provide additional work hours when they otherwise would have been offered, scheduling an employee for hours outside of their availability, or otherwise discriminating against any person for any reason prohibited by this chapter. "Adverse action" for an employee may involve any aspect of employment, including pay, work hours, responsibilities, or other material change in the terms and conditions of employment. 4. No employer or any other person shall communicate to a person exercising rights protected under this chapter, directly or indirectly, the willingness to inform a government employee that the person is not lawfully in the United States, or to report, or to make an implied or express assertion of a willingness to report, suspected citizenship or immigration status of the person or a family member of the person to a federal, state, or local agency because the person has exercised a right under this chapter. 5. There shall be a rebuttable presumption of unlawful retaliation if an employer or any other person takes an adverse action against a person within 90 days of the person's exercise of any right protected in this chapter. However, in the case of seasonal work that ended before the close of the 90-day period, the presumption also applies if the employer fails to rehire a former employee at the next opportunity for work in the same position. The employer may rebut the presumption with clear and convincing evidence that theadverse action was taken for a permissible purpose. 6. Standard of Proof. Proof of retaliation under this chapter shall be sufficient upon a showing that an employer or any other person has taken an adverse action against a person and the person's exercise of rights protected in this chapter was a motivating factor in the adverse action, unless the employer can prove that the action would have been taken in the absence of such protected activity. 7. The protections afforded under this section shall apply to any person who mistakenly but in good faith alleges violations of this chapter. Section S. Enforcement. 1. Any person or class of persons that suffers financial injury as a result of a violation of this chapter or is the subject of prohibited retaliation under this chapter, or any other individual or entity acting on their behalf, may bring a civil action in a court of competent jurisdiction against the employer or other person violating this chapter and, upon prevailing, shall be awarded reasonable attorney Fees and costs and such legal or equitable relief as may be appropriate to remedy the violation including, without limitation, the payment of any unpaid wages plus interest due to the person and liquidated damages in an additional amount of up to twice the unpaid wages; compensatory damages; and a penalty payable to any aggrieved party of up to $5,000 if the aggrieved party was subject to prohibited retaliation. For the proposes of this section, an aggrieved party means an employee or other person who suffers tangible or intangible harm due to an employer or other person's violation of this chapter. Interest shall accrue from the date the unpaid wages were first due at the higher of twelve percent per annum or the maximum rate permitted under RCW 19.52.020. 2. For purposes of determining membership within a class of persons entitled to bring an action under this section, two or more employees are similarly situated if they: a. Are or were employed by the same employer or employers, whether concurrently or otherwise, at some point during the applicable statute of limitations period; b. Allege one or more violations that raise similar questions as to liability; and C. Seek similar forms of relief. d. Employees shall not be considered dissimilar solely because their claims seek damages that differ in amount, or theirjob titles or other means of classifying employees differ in ways that are unrelated to their claims. 3. Each covered employer shall retain records as required by RCW 49,46.070, as well as such information as the City may require to confirm compliance with this chapter, If an employer fails to retain such records, there shall be a presumption, rebuttable by clear and convincing evidence, that the employer violated this chapter for the periods and for each employee for whom records were not retained. 4. Employers shall permit authorized City representatives access to work sites and relevant records for the purpose of monitoring compliance with the chapter and investigating complaints of noncompliance, including production for inspection and copying of employment records. The City may designate representatives, including city contractors and representatives of unions or worker advocacy organizations, to access the worksite and relevant records. 5. Complaints that any provision of this chapter has been violated may also be presented to the City Attorney, who is hereby authorized to investigate and, if they deem appropriate, initiate legal or other action to remedy any violation of this chapter. 6. The City has the authority to issue administrative citations and to order injunctive relief including reinstatement, restitution, payment of back wages, or other forms of relief. 7. The City may, in the exercise of its authority and performance of its functions and services, agree by contract or otherwise to participate jointly or in cooperation with Washington State, King County, or any city, town, or other incorporated place, or subdivision thereof, or engage outside counsel, to enforce this chapter. 8. The remedies and penalties provided under this chapter are cumulative and are not intended to be exclusive of any other available remedies or penalties, including existing remedies for enforcement of Renton Municipal Code chapters. 9. The statute of limitations for any enforcement action shall be five (5) years. Section 9. Anew section is added to Renton Municipal Code (RMC) Section 5-5-4 as follows: 1. The Finance Director may deny, suspend, or revoke any license under this chapter for violation of this ordinance. 2. The Finance Director must deny, suspend, or revoke any license under this chapter for repeated intentional violations of this ordinance. 3. Any action by the Finance Director under this section shall be subject to the procedures and requirements of RMC subsection 5-5-3.E, as well as other due process rights that a court may require. Section 10. Definitions. For the purposes of this chapter, the following terms shall have the following meanings: "City" means the City of Renton. "Covered employer" means an employer that either (1) employs at least 15 employees regardless of where those employees are employed, or (2) has annual gross revenue over $2 million. "Effective date" is the effective date of this ordinance. "Employee" is defined as set forth in RCW 49.46.010. An employer bears the burden of proof that the individual is, as a matter of economic reality, in business for oneself rather than dependent upon the alleged employer. "Employer" is defined as set forth in RCW 49.46.010. "Employer classification" includes the determination of whether an employer is a covered employer and whether a covered employer is a large employer. "Franchise" means an agreement, express or implied, oral or written by which: 1. A person is granted the right to engage in the business of offering, selling, or distributing goods or services under a marketing plan prescribed or suggested in substantial part by the grantor or its affiliate; 2. The operation of the business is substantially associated with a trademark, service mark, trade time, advertising, or other commercial symbol; designating, owned by, or licensed by the grantor or its affiliate; and 3. The person pays, agrees to pay, or is required to pay, directly or indirectly, a franchise fee. The term, "franchise fee" is meant to be construed broadly to include any instance in which the grantor or its affiliate derives income or profit from a person who enters into a franchise agreement with the grantor. "Hour worked within the City" is to be interpreted according to its ordinary meaning, including all hours worked within the geographic boundaries of the City, excluding time spent in the City solely for the purpose of traveling through the City from a point of origin outside the City to a destination outside the City, with no employment -related or commercial stops in the City except for refueling or the employee's personal meals or errands. "Large Employer" means all employers that employ more than 500 employees, regardless of where those employees are employed, and all franchisees associated with a franchisor or a network of franchises with franchisees that employ more than 500 employees in aggregate. "Other covered employer" means a covered employer that does not qualify as a large employer. "Service charge" is defined as set forth in RCW 49.46.160(2)(c). "Tips" means a verifiable sum to be presented by a customer as a gift or gratuity in recognition of some service performed for the customer by the employee receiving the tip. "Wage" is defined as set forth in RCW 49.46.010. Section 11. Other Legal Requirements. This ordinance shall not be construed to preempt, limit, or otherwise affect the applicability of any other law, regulation, requirement, policy, or standard that provides for greater wages or compensation; and nothing in this ordinance shall be interpreted or applied so as to create any power or duty in conflict with federal or state law. Section 12. Rulemaking. Within 180 days after the effective date, the City shall adopt rules and procedures to implement and ensure compliance with this chapter, which shall require employers to maintain adequate records and to annually certify compliance with this chapter. The City shall seek feedback from worker organizations and covered employers before finalizing the rules and procedures. Section 13. Constitutional Subject. For constitutional purposes, this measure's subject "concerns labor standards for certain employers." See Filo Foods, LLC v. City of SeaTac, 183 Wash. 2d 770, 783, 357 P.3d 1040, 1047 (2015) (upholding this statement of subject for an initiative that set a minimum wage and addressed employees' access to hours). Section 14. Codification. All sections of this ordinance except section 9 shall be codified in a new chapter of the Renton Municipal Code. Section 15. Election date. In the event that the election on this measure takes place later than November 7, 2023, the Finance Department must establish and publish the initial minimum wage within 30 days of the effective date. Section 16. Severability. The provisions of this ordinance are declared to be separate and severable. If any clause, sentence, paragraph, subdivision, section, subsection, or portion of this ordinance, or the application thereof to any employer, employee, or circumstance, is held to be invalid, it shall not affect the validity of the remainder of this ordinance, or the validity of its application to other persons or circumstances. Name Of Canvasser: Date Canvassed: Canvasser Email and Phone Number: Raising The Minimum Wage In Renton 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. a. 9. 10. INITIATIVE PETITION FOR SUBMISSION TO THE RENTON CITY COUNCIL TO: The City Council of the City of Renton: We, the undersigned registered voters of the City of Renton, State of Washington, residing at the addresses set forth opposite our respective names, being equal to fifteen percent (15%) of the total number of names of persons listed as registered voters within the City on the day of the last preceding City general election, respectfully request that the following ordinance be enacted by the City Council or, if not so enacted, be submitted to a vote of the residents of the City. The title of the said ordinance is as follows: ORDINANCE CONCERNING LABOR STANDARDS FOR CERTAIN EMPLOYEES A full, true and correct copy of the ordinance is attached to this Petition. Each of us for himself or herself says: I have personally signed this petition; I am a registered voter of the City of Renton, State of Washington; and my residence is correctly stated. Signature Printed Name Street and Number City Phone Number Email S4o,t fa loos Printed Name 1234 Anywhere St. Renton 206-555-1234 maria@something.org Renton Date 4/10/2023 ';7 (v I' St �0 l Renton ILA -C r(J?0 o C 5lo 11-23 - / u y �vix!/1 ?�Tc �JE �!�� �� _rl.�0-7 Renton 7 g6B'ggg-2 Renton �")b 76q ? a ,i9 rouhlk4"Aaloa: I Co tvi K'G. 0'0y J\6JwC7 3�1C�k Nc -tT� '3 �� l�3 Renton Renton � S C� �•nuu • (-asn i IKAhk ���� W(� W", St Renton J 2-1 _L5 N4M PCn V—E '6 L �/\ C Renton (?lxo 3�5 <_3 Renton Qql r� ���t(hr✓e�lL 3(; r{�� _7( Renton Warning Every person who signs this petition with any other than his or her true name, or who knowingly signs more than one of these petitions, or signs a petition seek- ing an election when he or she is not a legal voter, or signs a petition when he or she is otherwise not qualified to sign, or who makes herein any false statement, shall be guilty of a misdemeanor. AN ORDINANCE concerning labor standards for certain employees. Section 1. Findings. 1. The people of the City of Renton hereby adopt this citizen initiative addressing labor standards for certain employees, for the purpose of ensuring that, to the extent reasonably practicable, people employed in Renton have good wages and access to sufficient hours of work. 2. The City of Renton is one of the largest job centers in Washington State, with thousands of shoppers and workers visiting daily to participate in the local economy. Renton is home to The Loading shopping center, the historic Downtown Urban Center, as well as retail and commercial office and warehouse districts around the Rainier/Grady Way Junction. The City is a net importer ofjobs, with nearly 60,000 employed workers. Renton has a wide array of both long established and new and evolving business sectors. Retail businesses, testaments and bars, auto sales, hospitality, healthcare, and office workers are well represented. 3. The statewide minimum wage is not sufficient to afford rising rents and costs of living in Renton. According to the National Low Income Housing Coalition's Out of Reach 2022 report, a worker making Washington's minimum wage would have to work 72 hours each week (up From 70 hours each week in 2021) to afford a modest one -bedroom rental home at Fair Market Rent. 4. When working families earn insufficient income due to low wages and involuntary under -employment, they straggle to pay for basic necessities like health care, child care, and groceries, mid they are more likely to be evicted and become homeless. 5. Nearby King County cities of SeaTac, Seattle, and Tukwila enacted higher minimum wages in 2013, 2014, and 2022 respectively, but mntil now Renton has not followed suit. 6. Children growing up in poverty experience insecurity with housing, nutrition, and health care while enduring other hardships that prevent their ability to learn in school. Full time working parents must be able to reasonably provide for their family to ensure access to the opportunities and promise of public education. Section 2. Intent. It is the intent of the people to establish fair labor standards and protect the rights of workers by: (1) ensuring that the vast majority of employees in the City of Renton receive a minimum wage comparable to employees in the nearby cities of Tukwila, SeaTac, and Seattle; (2) requiring covered employers to offer additional hours of work to qualified part-time employees before hiring new employees to fill those hours; and (3) adopting enforcement requirements. Section 3. Large Employers Shall Pay Minimum Wages Comparable to Those in Nearby Cities. 1. Effective July 1, 2024, every large employer shall pay to each employee an hourly wage of not less than the 2023 new minimum wage rate in the City of Tukwila, established by City of Tukwila Initiative Measure No. 1, approved by voters in November 2022, adjusted for 2024 by the annual rate of inflation. 2. On January 1, 2025, and on each January 1 thereafter, the hourly minimum wage shall increase by the annual rate of inflation to maintain employee purchasing power. 3. By December 31, 2023, and by October 15 of each year thereafter, the Finance Department shall establish and publish the applicable hourly minimum wage for the following year using the annual rate of inflation. 4. For purposes of this chapter, the annual rate of inflation means 100 percent of the amoral average growth rate of the bi-monthly Seattle -Tacoma -Bellevue Area Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers, termed CPI-W, for the 12-month period ending in August, provided that the percentage increase shall not be less than zero. 5. An employer must pay to its employees: a. All tips and gratuities; and b. All service charges as defined under RCW 49.46.160 except those that, pursuant to RCW 49.46.160, are itemized as not being payable to the employee or employees servicing the customer. Tips and service charges paid to an employee me in addition to, and may not count towards, the employee's hourly minimum wage. Section 4. Other Covered Employers Shall Have a Multiyear Phase -In Period. Other covered employers shall phase in the new minimum wage, as follows: 1. Effective July 1, 2024, other covered employers shall pay employees not less than the hourly minimum wage established under Section 3 minus Two Dollars IV) per hour. 2. Effective July 1, 2025, other covered employers shall pay employees not less than the hourly minimum wage established under Section 3 minus One Dollm ($1) per hour. 3. Effective July 1, 2026, and thereafter, all covered employers shall pay employees not less than the hourly minimum wage established under Section 3. Section 5. Coverage and Employer Classifications. 1. Covered employers must pay employees at least the minimum wage established by this chapter for each hour worked within the City. 2. Employer classification for the current calendar year will be calculated based upon the average number of employees during all weeks in the previous calendar year in which the employer had at least one employee. For employers that did not have any employees during the previous calendar year, classification will be based upon the average number of employees during the most recent three months of the current year. In this determination, all employees will be counted, regardless of their location, and including employees who worked in full-time employment, part-time employment, joint employment, temporary employment, or through the services of a temporary services or staffing agency or similar entity. 3. Employer classification for the current calendar year will be calculated based upon the gross revenue for the previous year. For employers that did not have gross revenue during the previous calendar year, annual gross revenue will be calculated from the gross revenue during the most recent three months of the current yew. 4. For the purposes of employer classification, separate entities will be considered a single employer if they form an integrated enterprise or they are underjoint control by one of those entities or a separate entity. The factors to consider in making this assessment include, but are not limited to: a. Degree of interrelation between the operations of multiple entities; b. Degree to which the entities share common management; C. Centralized control of labor relations; and d. Degree of common ownership or financial control over the entities. Section 6. Part -Time Employees Shall Have Fair Access to Additional Hours. 1. Before hiring additional employees or subcontractors, including hiring through the use of temporary services or staffing agencies, covered employers must offer additional hours of work to existing employees who, in the employer's good faith and reasonable judgment, have the skills and experience to perform the work, and shall use a reasonable, transparent, and nondiscriminatory process to distribute the hours of work among those existing employees. 2. This section shall not be consumed to require any employer to offer an employee work hours if the employer would be required to compensate the employee at time -and -a -half or other premium rate under any law or collective bargaining agreement, nor to prohibit any employer from offering such work hours. Section 7. Retaliation Prohibited. 1, No employer or any other person shall interfere with, restrain, or deny the exercise of, or the attempt to exercise, any right protected under this chapter. 2. No employer or any other person shall take any adverse action against any person because the person has exercised in good faith the rights under this chapter. Such rights include but are not limited to the right to make inquiries about the rights protected under this chapter; the right to inform others about their rights under this chapter; the right to inform the person's employer, union, or similar organization, and/or the person's legal counsel or any other person about an alleged violation of this chapter; the right to bring a civil action for an alleged violation of this chapter; the right to testify in a proceeding under or related to this chapter; the right to refuse to participate in an activity that would result in a violation of city, state, or federal law; and the right to oppose any policy, practice, or act that is unlawful under this chapter. 3. For the purposes of this section, an adverse action means denying ajob or promotion, demoting, terminating, failing to rehire after a seasonal interruption of work, threatening, penalizing, retaliating, engaging in unfair immigration -related practices, filing a false report with a government agency, changing an employee's status to nonemployee, decreasing or declining to provide additional work hours when they otherwise would havebeen offered, scheduling an employee for hours outside of their availability, or otherwise discriminating against any person for any reason prohibited by this chapter. "Adverse action" for an employee may involve any aspect of employment, including pay, work hours, responsibilities, or other material change in the terms and conditions of employment. 4. No employer or any other person shall communicate to a person exercising rights protected under this chapter, directly or indirectly, the willingness to inform a government employee that the person is not lawfully in the United States, or to report, or to make an implied or express assertion of a willingness to report, suspected citizenship or immigration status of the person or a family member of the person to a federal, state, or local agency because the person has exercised a right under this chapter. 5. There shall be a rebuttable presumption of unlawful retaliation if an employer or any other person takes an adverse action against a person within 90 days of the person's exercise of any right protected in this chapter. However, in the case of seasonal work that ended before the close of the 90-day period, the presumption also applies if the employer fails to rehire a former employee at the next opportunity for work in the same position. The employer may rebut the presumption with clear and convincing evidence that the adverse action was taken for a permissible purpose. 6. Standard of Proof. Proof of retaliation under this chapter shall be sufficient upon a showing that an employer or any other person has taken an adverse action against a person and the person's exercise of rights protected in this chapter was a motivating factor in the adverse action, unless the employer can prove that the action would have been taken in the absence of such protected activity. 7. The protections afforded under this section shall apply to any person who mistakenly but in good faith alleges violations of this chapter. Section 8. Enforcement. 1. Any person or class of persons that suffers financial injury as a result of a violation of this chapter or is the subject of prohibited retaliation under this chapter, or any other individual or entity acting on their behalf, may bring a civil action in a court of competent jurisdiction against the employer or other person violating this chapter and, upon prevailing, shall be awarded reasonable attorney fees and costs and such legal or equitable relief as may be appropriate to remedy the violation including, without limitation, the payment of any unpaid wages plus interest due to the person and liquidated damages in an additional amount of up to twice the unpaid wages; compensatory damages; and a penalty payable to any aggrieved party of up to $5,000 if the aggrieved party was subject to prohibited retaliation. For the purposes of this section, an aggrieved party means an employee or other person who suffers tangible or intangible harm due to an employer or other person's violation of this chapter. Interest shall accrue from the date the unpaid wages were first due at the higher of twelve percent per antrum or the maximum rate permitted under RCW 19.52.020. 2. For purposes of determining membership within a class of persons entitled to bring an action under this section, two or more employees we similarly situated if they: a. Are or were employed by the same employer or employers, whether concurrently or otherwise, at some point during the applicable statute of limitations period; b. Allege one or more violations that raise similar questions as to liability; and C. Seek similar forms of relief. d. Employees shall not be considered dissimilar solely because their claims seek damages that differ in amount, or theirjob titles or other means of classifying employees differ in ways that are unrelated to their claims. 3. Each covered employer shall retain records as required by RCW 49.46.070, as well as such information as the City may require to confirm compliance with this chapter. If an employer fails to retain such records, there shall be a presumption, rebuttable by clear and convincing evidence, that the employer violated this chapter for the periods and for each employee for whom records were not retained. 4. Employers shall permit authorized City representatives access to work sites and relevant records for the purpose of monitoring compliance with the chapter and investigating complaints of noncompliance, including production for inspection and copying of employment records. The City may designate representatives, including city contractors and representatives of unions or worker advocacy organizations, to access the worksite and relevant records. 5. Complaints that any provision of this chapter has been violated may also be presented to the City Attorney, who is hereby authorized to investigate and, if they deem appropriate, initiate legal or other action to remedy any violation of this chapter. 6. The City has the authority to issue administrative citations and to order injunctive relief including reinstatement, restitution, payment of back wages, or other forms of relief. 7. The City may, in the exercise of its authority and performance of its functions and services, agree by contract or otherwise to participate jointly or in cooperation with Washington State, King County, or any city, town, or other incorporated place, or subdivision thereof, or engage outside counsel, to enforce this chapter. 8. The remedies and penalties provided under this chapter are cumulative and are not intended to be exclusive of any other available remedies or penalties, including existing remedies for enforcement of Renton Municipal Code chapters. 9. The statute of limitations for any enforcement action shall be five (5) years. Section 9. A new section is added to Renton Municipal Code (RMC) Section 5-5-4 as follows: 1. The Finance Director may deny, suspend, or revoke any license under this chapter for violation of this ordinance. 2. The Finance Director must deny, suspend, or revoke any license under this chapter for repeated intentional violations of this ordinance. 3. Any action by the Finance Director under this section shall be subject to the procedures and requirements of RMC subsection 5-5-3.E, as well as other due process rights that a court may require. Section 10. Definitions. For the purposes of this chapter, the following terms shall have the following meanings: "City" means the City of Renton. "Covered employer" means an employer that either (1) employs at least 15 employees regardless of where those employees are employed, or (2) has annual gross revenue over $2 million. "Effective date" is the effective date of this ordinance. "Employee" is defined as set forth in RCW 49.46.010. An employer bears the burden of proof that the individual is, as a matter of economic reality, in business for oneself rather than dependent upon the alleged employer. "Employer" is defined as set forth in RCW 49.46.010. "Employer classification" includes the determination of whether an employer is a covered employer and whether a covered employer is a large employer. "Franchise" means an agreement, express or implied, oral or written by which: 1. A person is granted the right to engage in the business of offering, selling, or distributing goods or services under a marketing plan prescribed or suggested in substantial part by the grantor or its affiliate; 2. The operation of the business is substantially associated with a trademark, service mark, trade time, advertising, or other commercial symbol; designating, owned by, or licensed by the grantor or its affiliate; and 3. The person pays, agrees to pay, or is required to pay, directly or indirectly, a franchise fee. The term, "franchise fee" is meant to be construed broadly to include any instance in which the grantor or its affiliate derives income or profit from a person who enters into a franchise agreement with the grantor. "How worked within the City" is to be interpreted according to its ordinary meaning, including all hours worked within the geographic boundaries of the City, excluding time spent in the City solely for the purpose of traveling through the City from a point of origin outside the City to a destination outside the City, with no employment -related or commercial stops in the City except for refueling or the employee's personal meals or errands. "Large Employer" means all employers that employ more than 500 employees, regardless of where those employees are employed, and all franchisees associated with a franchisor or a network of franchises with franchisees that employ more than 500 employees in aggregate. "Other covered employer" means a covered employer that does not qualify as a large employer. "Service charge" is defined as set forth in RCW 49.46.160(2)(c). "Tips" means a verifiable sum to be presented by a customer as a gift or gratuity in recognition of some service performed for the customer by the employee receiving the tip. "Wage" is defined as set forth in RCW 49.46.010. Section 11. Other Legal Requirements. This ordinance shall not be construed to preempt, limit, or otherwise affect the applicability of any other law, regulation, requirement, policy, or standard that provides for greater wages or compensation; and nothing in this ordinance shall be interpreted or applied so as to create any power or duty in conflict with federal or state law. Section 12. Rulemaking. Within 180 days after the effective date, the City shall adopt rules and procedures to implement and ensure compliance with this chapter, which shall require employers to maintain adequate records and to annually certify compliance with this chapter. The City shall seek feedback from worker organizations and covered employers before finalizing the rules and procedures. Section 13. Constitutional Subject. For constitutional purposes, this measure's subject "concerns labor standards for certain employers." See Filo Foods, LLC v. City of SeaTac, 183 Wash. 2d 770, 783, 357 P.3d 1040, 1047 (2015) (upholding this statement of subject for an initiative that set a minimum wage and addressed employees' access to hours). Section 14. Codification. All sections of this ordinance. except section 9 shall be codified in a new chapter of the Renton Municipal Code. Section 15. Election date. In the event that the election on this measure takes place later than November 7, 2023, the Finance Department must establish and publish the initial minimum wage within 30 days of the effective date. Section 16. Severability. The provisions of this ordinance are declared to be separate and severable. If any clause, sentence, paragraph, subdivision, section, subsection, or portion of this ordinance, or the application thereof to any employer, employee, or circumstance, is held to be invalid, it shall not affect the validity of the remainder of this ordinance, or the validity of its application to other persons or circumstances. Name Of Canvasser: Date Canvassed: Pinvasser Email and Phone Number: Raising The Minimum Wage In Renton INITIATIVE PETITION FOR SUBMISSION TO THE RENTON CITY COUNCIL TO: The City Council of the City of Renton: We, the undersigned registered voters of the City of Renton, State of Washington, residing at the addresses set forth opposite our respective names, being equal to fifteen percent (15%) of the total number of names of persons listed as registered voters within the City on the day of the last preceding City general election, respectfully request that the following ordinance be enacted by the City Council or, if not so enacted, be submitted to a vote of the residents of the City. The title of the said ordinance is as follows: ORDINANCE CONCERNING LABOR STANDARDS FOR CERTAIN EMPLOYEES A full, true and correct copy of the ordinance is attached to this Petition. Each of us for himself or herself says: I have personally signed this petition; I am a registered voter of the City of Renton, State of Washington; and my residence is correctly stated. Signature S``PO Printed Name Printed Name Street and Number 1234 Anywhere St. City Renton Phone Number Email 206-555-1234 maria@something.org Date 4/10/2023 1. Vovl 5.99 /Monroe Ave. N. E. Renton 071a�3d7 S35% ?oa 2. �jVIOV1 (VG}vty 2h Cl/1(7�1 � �G1EN 7C � IVl0mt'0e /Q NL Renton Zd� � f � �� 3 � / ev/i 5lL� Vr /�3. Renton e6-5/fI'9 -7-S-_ 4. So'(') n d P)l-j ee. f 5 Ll0 TY)C C) E /Vj� Renton s. S l�oc�c SJ� AAD,- -oc, Ago A)9 Renton 90q of Z 5 2p 3 6. fe_r 5,,k,r 577 rite-,.,, Aue- 0,67 Renton qoz 7sv 67�j s121lZ3 7. 1 G 662 Renton 22, ��$ 8. �i 'vY_ C�6 f r� 70 %L"eCLLX �`t ,( ( �IE Renton �zr —(�l� o b /�d�s'' 9 9. Y/� 2 � N �ti �ff�/ "%*W�(z � N Renton t� g� /01 10. S�k694A b, Ro3�NSdN ,6�d� g�05"6 Renton Warning Every person who signs this petition with any other than his or her true name, or who knowingly signs more than one of these petitions, or signs a petition seek- ing an election when he or she is not a legal voter, or signs a petition when he or she is otherwise not qualified to sign, or who makes herein any false statement, shall be guilty of a misdemeanor. ®-- GCC/IBT 933-M AN ORDINANCE concerning labor standards for certain employees. Section 1. Findings. 1. The people of the City of Renton hereby adopt this citizen initiative addressing labor standards for certain employees, for the purpose of ensuring that, to the extent reasonably practicable, people employed in Renton have good wages and access to sufficient hours of work. 2. The City of Renton is one of the Iargestjob centers in Washington State, with thousands of shoppers and workers visiting daily to participate in the local economy. Renton is home to The Landing shopping center, the historic Downtown Urban Center, as well as retail and commercial office and warehouse districts around the Rainier/Grady Way Junction. The City is a net importer ofjobs, with nearly 60,000 employed workers. Renton has a wide array of both long established and new and evolving business sectors. Retail businesses, restaurants and bars, auto sales, hospitality, healthcare, and office workers are well represented. 3. The statewide minimum wage is not sufficient to afford rising rents and costs of living in Renton. According to the National Low Income Housing Coalition's Out of Reach 2022 report, a worker making Washington's minimum wage would have to work 72 hours each week (up from 70 hours each week in 2021) to afford a modest one -bedroom rental home at Fair Market Rent. 4. When working families earn insufficient income due to low wages and involuntary under -employment, they struggle to pay for basic necessities like health care, child care, and groceries, and they are more likely to be evicted and become homeless. 5. Newby King County cities of SeaTac, Seattle, and Tukwila enacted higher minimum wages in 2013, 2014, and 2022 respectively, but until now Renton has not followed suit. 6. Children growing up in poverty experience insecurity with housing, nutrition, and health cue while enduring other hardships that prevent their ability to learn in school. Full time working parents must be able to reasonably provide for their family to ensure access to the opportunities and promise of public education. Section 2. Intent. It is the intent of the people to establish fair labor standards and protect the rights of workers by: (1) ensuring that the vast majority of employees in the City of Renton receive a minimum wage comparable to employees in the nearby cities of Tukwila, SeaTac, and Seattle; (2) requiring covered employers to offer additional hours of work to qualified part-time employees before hiring new employees to fill those hours; and (3) adopting enforcement requirements. Section 3. Large Employers Shall Pay Minimum Wages Comparable to Those in Nearby Cities. 1. Effective July 1, 2024, every large employer shall pay to each employee an hourly wage of not less than the 2023 new minimum wage rate in the City of Tukwila, established by City of Tukwila Initiative Measure No. 1, approved by voters in November 2022, adjusted for 2024 by the annual rate of inflation. 2. On January 1, 2025, and on each January 1 thereafter, the hourly minimum wage shall increase by the annual rate of inflation to maintain employee purchasing power. 3. By December 31, 2023, and by October 15 of each year thereafter, the Finance Department shall establish and publish the applicable hourly minimum wage for the following year using the annual rate of inflation. 4. For purposes of this chapter, the annual rate of inflation means 100 percent of the annual average growth rate of the bi-monthly Seattle -Tacoma -Bellevue Area Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Eamers and Clerical Workers, termed CPI-W, for the 12-month period ending in August, provided that the percentage increase shall not be less than zero. 5. An employer must pay to its employees: a. All tips and gratuities; and b. All service charges as defined under RCW 49.46.160 except those that, pursuant to RCW 49.46.160, are itemized as not being payable to the employee or employees servicing the customer. Tips and service charges paid to an employee are in addition to, and may not count towards, the employee's hourly minimum wage. Section 4. Other Covered Employers Shall Have a Multiyear Phase -In Period. Other covered employers shall phase in the new minimum wage, as follows: 1. Effective July 1, 2024, other covered employers shall pay employees not less than the hourly minimum wage established under Section 3 minus Two Dollars ($2) per hour. 2. Effective July 1, 2025, other covered employers shall pay employees not less than the hourly minimum wage established under Section 3 minus One Dollar ($1) per hour. 3. Effective July 1, 2026, and thereafter, all covered employers shall pay employees not less than the hourly minimum wage established under Section 3. Section 5. Coverage and Employer Classifications. 1. Covered employers must pay employees at least the minimum wage established by this chapter for each hour worked within the City. 2. Employer classification for the current calendar year will be calculated based upon the average number of employees during all weeks in the previous calendar year in which the employer had at least one employee. For employers that did not have any employees during the previous calendar year, classification will be based upon the average number of employees during the most recent three months of the current year. In this determination, all employees will be counted, regardless of their location, and including employees who worked in full-time employment, part-time employment, joint employment, temporary employment, or through the services of a temporary services or staffing agency or similar entity. 3. Employer classification for the current calendar year will be calculated based upon the gross revenue for the previous year. For employers that did not have gross revenue during the previous calendar year, annual gross revenue will be calculated from the gross revenue during the most recent three months of the current year. 4. For the purposes of employer classification, separate entities will be considered a single employer if they form an integrated enterprise or they are underjoint control by one of those entities or a separate entity. The factors to consider in making this assessment include, but are not limited to: a. Degree of interrelation between the operations of multiple entities; b. Degree to which theentities share common management, C. Centralized control of labor relations; and d. Degree of common ownership or financial control over the entities. Section 6. Part -Time Employees Shall Have Fair Access to Additional Hours. 1. Before hiring additional employees or subcontractors, including hiring through the use of temporary services or staffing agencies, covered employers must offer additional hours of work to existing employees who, in the employer's good faith and reasonable judgment, have the skills and experience to perform the work, and shall use a reasonable, transparent, and nondiscriminatory process to distribute the hours of work among those existing employees. 2. This section shall not be construed to require any employer to offer an employee work hours if the employer would be required to compensate the employee at time -and -a -half or other premium rate under any law or collective bargaining agreement, nor to prohibit any employer from offering such work hours. Section 7. Retaliation Prohibited. 1. No employer or any other person shall interfere with, restrain, or deny the exercise of, or the attempt to exercise, any right protected under this chapter. 2. No employer or any other person shall take any adverse action against any person because the person has exercised in good faith the rights under this chapter. Such rights include but are not limited to the right to make inquiries about the rights protected under this chapter; the right to inform others about their rights under this chapter; the right to inform the person's employer, union, or similar organization, and/or the person's legal counsel or any other person about an alleged violation of this chapter; the right to bring a civil action for an alleged violation of this chapter; the right to testify in a proceeding under or related to this chapter; the right to refuse to participate in an activity that would result in a violation of city, state, or federal law; and the right to oppose any policy, practice, or act that is unlawful under this chapter. 3. For the purposes of this section, an adverse action means denying ajob or promotion, demoting, terminating, failing to rehire after a seasonal interruption of work, threatening, penalizing, retaliating, engaging in unfair immigration -related practices, filing a false report with a government agency, changing an employee's status to nonemployee, decreasing or declining to provide additional work hours when they otherwise would have been offered, scheduling an employee for hours outside of their availability, or otherwise discriminating against any person for any reason prohibited by this chapter. "Adverse action" for an employee may involve any aspect of employment, including pay, work hours, responsibilities, or other material change in the terms and conditions of employment. 4. No employer or any other person shall communicate to a person exercising rights protected under this chapter, directly or indirectly, the willingness to inform a government employee that the person is not lawfully in the United States, or to report, or to make an implied or express assertion of a willingness to report, suspected citizenship or immigration status of the person or a family member of the person to a federal, state, or local agency because the person has exercised a right under this chapter. 5. There shall be a rebuttable presumption of unlawful retaliation if an employer or any other person takes an adverse action against a person within 90 days of the person's exercise of any right protected in this chapter. However, in the case of seasonal work that ended before the close of the 90-day period, the presumption also applies if the employer fails to rehire a former employee at the next opportunity for work in the same position. The employer may rebut the presumption with clear and convincing evidence that the adverse action was taken for a permissible purpose. 6. Standard of Proof. Proof of retaliation under this chapter shall be sufficient upon a showing that an employer or any other person has taken an adverse action against a person and the person's exercise of rights protected in this chapter was a motivating factor in the adverse action, unless the employer can prove that the action would have been taken in the absence of such protected activity. 7. The protections afforded under this section shall apply to any person who mistakenly but in good faith alleges violations of this chapter. Section 8. Enforcement. 1. Any person or class of persons that suffers financial injury m a result of a violation of this chapter or is the subject of prohibited retaliation under this chapter, or any other individual or entity acting on their behalf, may bring a civil action in a court of competent jurisdiction against the employer or other person violating this chapter and, upon prevailing, shall be awarded reasonable attorney fees and costs and such legal or equitable relief as may be appropriate to remedy the violation including, without limitation, the payment of any unpaid wages plus interest due to the person and liquidated damages in an additional amount of up to twice the unpaid wages; compensatory damages; and a penalty payable to any aggrieved party of up to $5,000 if the aggrieved party was subject to prohibited retaliation. For the purposes of this section, an aggrieved party means an employee or other person who suffers tangible or intangible harm due to an employer or other person's violation of this chapter. Interest shall accme from the date the unpaid wages were first due at the higher of twelve percent per annum or the maximum rate permitted under RCW 19.52.020. 2. For purposes of determining membership within a class of persons entitled to bring an action under this section, two or more employees are similarly situated if they: a. Are or were employed by the same employer or employers, whether concurrently or otherwise, at some point during the applicable statute of limitations period; b. Allege one or more violations that raise similar questions as to liability; and C. Seek similar forms of relief. d. Employees shall not be considered dissimilar solely because their claims seek damages that differ in amount, or thew job titles or other means of classifying employees differ in ways that are unrelated to their claims. 3. Each covered employer shall retain records as required by RCW 49.46.070, as well as such information as the City may require to confirm compliance with this chapter. If an employer fails to retain such records, there shall be a. presumption, rebuttable by clear and convincing evidence, that the employer violated this chapter for the periods and for each employee for whom records were not retained. 4. Employers shall permit authorized City representatives access to work sites and relevant records for the purpose of monitoring compliance with the chapter and investigating complaints of noncompliance, including production for inspection and copying of employment records. The City may designate representatives, including city contractors and representatives of unions or worker advocacy organizations, to access the worksite and relevant records. 5. Complaints that any provision of this chapter has been violated may also be presented to the City Attorney, who is hereby authorized to investigate and, if they deem appropriate, initiate legal or other action to remedy any violation of this chapter. 6. The City has the authority to issue administrative citations and to order injunctive relief including reinstatement, restitution, payment of back wages, or other forms of relief. 7. The City may, in the exercise of its authority and performance of its functions and services, agree by contract or otherwise to participate jointly or in cooperation with Washington State, King County, or any city, town, or other incorporated place, or subdivision thereof, or engage outside counsel, to enforce this chapter. 8. The remedies and penalties provided under this chapter are cumulative and are not intended to be exclusive of any other available remedies or penalties, including existing remedies for enforcement of Renton Municipal Code chapters. 9. The statute of limitations for any enforcement action shall be five (5) years. Section 9. A new section is added to Renton Municipal Code (RMC) Section 5-5-4 as follows: 1. The Finance Director may deny, suspend, or revoke any license under this chapter for violation of this ordinance. 2. The Finance Director must deny, suspend, or revoke any license under this chapter for repeated intentional violations of this ordinance. 3. Any action by the Finance Director under this section shall be subject to the procedures and requirements of RMC subsection 5-5-3.E, m well as other due process rights that a court may require. Section 10. Definitions. For the purposes of this chapter, the following terms shall have the following meanings: "City" means the City of Renton. _ "Covered employer" means an employer that either (1) employs at least 15 employees regardless of where those employees are employed, or (2) has annual gross revenue over $2 million. "Effective date" is the effective date of this ordinance. "Employee" is defined as set forth in RCW 49.46.010. An employer bears the burden of proof that the individual is, as a matter of economic reality, in business for oneself rather than dependent upon the alleged employer. "Employer" is defined as set forth in RCW 49,46.010. "Employer classification" includes the determination of whether an employer is a covered employer and whether a covered employer is a large employer. "Franchise" means an agreement, express or implied, oral or written by which: I. A person is granted the right to engage in the business of offering, selling, or distributing goods or services under a marketing plan prescribed or suggested in substantial part by the grantor or its affiliate; 2. The operation of the business is substantially associated with a trademark, service mark, trade time, advertising, or other commercial symbol; designating, owned by, or licensed by the grantor or its affiliate; and 3. The person pays, agrees to pay, or is required to pay, directly or indirectly, a franchise fee. The term, "franchise fee" is meant to be construed broadly to include any instance in which the grantor or its affiliate derives income or profit from a person who enters into a franchise agreement with the grantor. "Hour worked within the City" is to be interpreted according to its ordinary meaning, including all hours worked within the geographic boundaries of the City, excluding time spent in the City solely for the purpose of traveling through the City from a point of origin outside the City to a destination outside the City, with no employment -related or commercial stops in the City except for refueling or the employee's personal meals or errands. "Large Employer" means all employers that employ more than 500 employees, regardless of where those employees are employed, and all franchisees associated with a franchisor or a network of franchises with franchisees that employ more than 500 employees in aggregate. "Other covered employer" means a covered employer that does not qualify as a large employer. "Service charge" is defined as set forth in RCW 49.46.160(2)(c). "Tips" means a verifiable sum to be presented by a customer as a gift or gratuity in recognition of some service performed for the customer by the employee receiving the tip. "Wage" is defined as set forth in RCW 49.46.010. Section 11. Other Legal Requirements. This ordinance shall not be construed to preempt, limit, or otherwise affect the applicability of any other law, regulation, requirement, policy, or standard that provides for greater wages or compensation; and nothing in this ordinance shall be interpreted or applied so as to create any power or duty in conflict with federal or state law. Section 12. Rulemaking. Within 180 days after the effective date, the City shall adopt rules and procedures to implement and ensure compliance with this chapter, which shall require employers to maintain adequate records and to annually certify compliance with this chapter. The City shall seek feedback from worker organizations and covered employers before finalizing the rules and procedures. Section 13. Constitutional Subject. For constitutional purposes, this measure's subject "concerns labor standards for certain employers." See File Foods, LLC v. City of SeaTac, 183 Wash. 2d 770, 783, 357 RM 1040, 1047 (2015) (upholding this statement of subject for an initiative that set a minimum wage and addressed employees' access to hours). Section 14. Codification. All sections of this ordinance except section 9 shall be codified in a new chapter of the Renton Municipal Code. Section 15. Election date. In the event that the election on this measure takes place later than November 7, 2023, the Finance Department must establish and publish the initial minimum wage within 30 days of the effective date. Section 16. Severability. The provisions of this ordinance are declared to be separate and severable. If any clause, sentence, paragraph, subdivision, section, subsection, or portion of this ordinance, or the application thereof to any employer, employee, or circumstance, is held to be invalid, it shall not affect the validity of the remainder of this ordinance, or the validity of its application to other persons or circumstances. Name Of Canvasser: Date Canvassed: Canvasser Email and Phone Number: Raising The Minimum Wage In Renton INITIATIVE PETITION FOR SUBMISSION TO THE RENTON CITY COUNCIL TO: The City Council of the City of Renton: We, the undersigned registered voters of the City of Renton, State of Washington, residing at the addresses set forth opposite our respective names, being equal to fifteen percent (15%) of the total number of names of persons listed as registered voters within the City on the day of the last preceding City general election, respectfully request that the following ordinance be enacted by the City Council or, if not so enacted, be submitted to a vote of the residents of the City. The title of the said ordinance is as follows: ORDINANCE CONCERNING LABOR STANDARDS FOR CERTAIN EMPLOYEES A full, true and correct copy of the ordinance is attached to this Petition. Each of us for himself or herself says: I have personally signed this petition; I am a registered voter of the City of Renton, State of Washington; and my residence is correctly stated. Signature Printed Name Street and Number City Phone Number Email Date sv0re'r Printed Name 1234 Anywhere St. Renton 206-555-1234 maria@something.org 4/10/2023 FIRM Renton 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. e� '�vm dim s 47��6 Renton S / Renton I 5U(r1e+4 Vc N Renton -507 -r)y6/ - Renton Z53-H 32 -0� 2 Renton �f l�Gv 0" /�! /�` /e fL/(� L�yr�*�i .WJ� /J Renton Renton �-'�_� M _21 �2 3 p� /0'z' , d /� vl/ / �/ �2✓ La J 1/ Ll S T' N4 1 R a 174 $'I Renton h1�L l�� f Renton Warning Every person who signs this petition with any other than his or her true name, or who knowingly signs more than one of these petitions, or signs a petition seek- ing an election when he or she is not a legal voter, or signs a petition when he or she is otherwise not qualified to sign, or who makes herein any false statement, shall be guilty of a misdemeanor. AN ORDINANCE concerning labor standards for certain employees. Section 1. Findings. 1. The people of the City of Renton hereby adopt this citizen initiative addressing labor standards for certain employees, for the purpose of ensuring that, to the extent reasonably practicable, people employed in Renton have good wages and access to sufficient hours of work. 2. The City of Renton is one of the largestjob centers in Washington State, with thousands of shoppers and workers visiting daily to participate in the local economy. Renton is home to The Landing shopping center, the historic Downtown Urban Center, as well as retail and commercial office and warehouse districts around the Rainier/Grady Way Junction. The City is a net importer o£jobs, with newly 60,000 employed workers. Renton has a wide array of both long established and new and evolving business sectors. Retail businesses, restaurants and bus, auto sales, hospitality, healthcare, and office workers we well represented. 3. The statewide minimum wage is not sufficient to afford rising rents and costs of living in Renton. According to the National Low Income Housing Coalition's Out of Reach 2022 report, a worker making Washington's minimum wage would have to work 72 hours each week (up from 70 hours each week in 2021) to afford a modest one -bedroom rental home at Fair Market Rent. 4. When working families earn insufficient income due to low wages and involuntary under -employment, they struggle to pay for basic necessities like health care, child care, and groceries, and they are more likely to be evicted and become homeless. 5. Nearby King County cities of SeaTac, Seattle, and Tukwila enacted higher minimum wages in 2013, 2014, and 2022 respectively, but until now Renton has not followed suit. 6. Children growing up in poverty experience insecurity with housing, nutrition, and health care while enduring other hardships that prevent their ability to learn in school. Full time working parents must be able to reasonably provide for their family to ensure access to the opportunities and promise of public education. Section 2. Intent. It is the intent of the people to establish fair labor standards and protect the rights of workers by: (1) ensuring that the vast majority of employees in the City of Renton receive a minimum wage comparable to employees in the nearby cities of Tukwila, SeaTac, and Seattle; (2) requiring covered employers to offer additional hours of work to qualified part-time employees before hiring new employees to fill those hours; and (3) adopting enforcement requirements. Section 3. Large Employers Shall Pay Minimum Wages Comparable to Those in Nearby Cities. 1. Effective July 1, 2024, every large employer shall pay to each employee an hourly wage of not less than the 2023 new minimum wage rate in the City of Tukwila, established by City of Tukwila Initiative Measure No. 1, approved by voters in November 2022, adjusted for 2024 by the annual rate of inflation. 2. On January 1, 2025, and on each January I thereafter, the hourly minimum wage shall increase by the annual rate of inflation to maintain employee purchasing power. 3. By December 31, 2023, and by October 15 of each year thereafter, the Finance Department shall establish and publish the applicable hourly minimum wage for the following year using the annual rate of inflation, 4. For purposes of this chapter, the annual rate of inflation means 100 percent of the annual average growth rate of the bi-monthly Seattle -Tacoma -Bellevue Area Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers, termed CPI-W, for the 12-month period ending in August, provided that the percentage increase shall not be less than zero. 5. An employer must pay to its employees: a. All tips and gratuities; and b. All service charges as defined under RCW 49.46.160 except those that, pursuant to RCW 49.46.160, are itemized as not being payable to the employee or employees servicing the customer. Tips and service charges paid to an employee we in addition to, and may not count towards, the employee's hourly minimum wage. Section 4. Other Covered Employers Shall Have a Multiyear Phase -In Period. Other covered employers shall phase in the new minimum wage, as follows: 1. Effective July 1, 2024, other covered employers shall pay employees not less than the hourly minimum wage established under Section 3 minus Two Dollars ($2) per hour. 2. Effective July 1, 2025, other covered employers shall pay employees not less than the hourly minimum wage established under Section 3 minus One Dollar ($1) per hour. 3. Effective July 1, 2026, and thereafter, all covered employers shall pay employees not less than the hourly minimum wage established under Section 3. Section 5. Coverage and Employer Classifications. 1. Covered employers must pay employees at least the minimum wage established by this chapter for each hour worked within the City. 2. Employer classification for the current calendar yew will be calculated based upon the average number of employees during all weeks in the previous calendar year in which the employer had at least one employee. For employers that did not have any employees during the previous calendar year, classification will be based upon the average number of employees during the most recent three months of the current year. In this determination, all employees will be counted, regardless of their location, and including employees who worked in full-time employment, part-time employment, joint employment, temporary employment, or through the services of a temporary services or staffing agency or similar entity. 3. Employer classification for the current calendar year will be calculated based upon the gross revenue for the previous year. For employers that did not have gross revenue during the previous calendar year, annual gross revenue will be calculated from the gross revenue during the most recent three months of the current year. 4. For the purposes of employer classification, separate entities will be considered a single employer if they form an integrated enterprise or they are under joint control by one of those entities or a separate entity. The factors to consider in making this assessment include, but are not limited to: a. Degree of interrelation between the operations of multiple entities; b. Degree to which the entities share common management; C. Centralized control of labor relations; and d. Degree of common ownership or financial control over the entities. Section 6. Part -Time Employees Shall Have Fair Access to Additional Hours. 1. Before hiring additional employees or subcontractors, including hiring through the use of temporary services or staffing agencies, covered employers must offer additional hours of work to existing employees who, in the employer's good faith and reasonable judgment, have the skills and experience to perform the work, and shall use a reasonable, transparent, and nondiscriminatory process to distribute the hours of work among those existing employees. 2. This section shall not be construed to require any employer to offer an employee work hours if the employer would be required to compensate the employee at time -and -a -half or other premium rate under any law or collective bargaining agreement, nor to prohibit any employer from offering such work hours. Section 7. Retaliation Prohibited. 1. No employer or any other person shall interfere with, restrain, or deny the exercise of, or the attempt to exercise, any right protected under this chapter. 2. No employer or any other person shall take any adverse action against any person because the person has exercised in good faith the rights under this chapter. Such rights include but are not limited to the right to make inquiries about the rights protected under this chapter; the right to inform others about their rights under this chapter; the right to inform the person's employer, union, or similar organization, and/or the person's legal counsel or any other person about an alleged violation of this chapter; the right to bring a civil action for an alleged violation of this chapter; the right to testify in a proceeding under or related to this chapter; the right to refuse to participate in an activity that would result in a violation of city, state, or federal law; and the right to oppose any policy, practice, or act that is unlawful under this chapter. 3. For the purposes of this section, an adverse action means denying a job or promotion, demoting, terminating, failing to rehire after a seasonal interruption of work, threatening, penalizing, retaliating, engaging in unfair immigration -related practices, filing a false report with a government agency, changing an employee's status to nonemployee, decreasing or declining to provide additional work hours when they otherwise would have been offered, scheduling an employee for hours outside of their availability, or otherwise discriminating against any person for any reason prohibited by this chapter. "Adverse action" for an employee may involve any aspect of employment, including pay, work hours, responsibilities, or other material change in the terms and conditions of employment. 4. No employer or any other person shall communicate to a person exercising rights protected under this chapter, directly or indirectly, the willingness to inform a government employee that the person is not lawfully in the United States, or to report, or to make an implied or express assertion of a willingness to report, suspected citizenship or immigration status of the person or a family member of the person to a federal, state, or local agency because the person has exercised a right under this chapter. 5. There shall be a rebuttable presumption of unlawful retaliation if an employer or any other person takes an adverse action against a person within 90 days of the person's exercise of any right protected in this chapter. However, in the case of seasonal work that ended before the close of the 90-day period, the presumption also applies if the employer fails to rehire former employee at the next opportunity for work in the same position. The employer may rebut the presumption with clear and convincing evidence that the adverse action was taken for a permissible purpose. 6. Standard of Proof. Proof of retaliation under this chapter shall be sufficient upon a showing that an employer or any other person has taken an adverse action against a person and the person's exercise of rights protected in this chapter was a motivating factor in the adverse action, unless the employer can prove that the action would have been taken in the absence of such protected activity. 7. The protections afforded under this section shall apply to any person who mistakenly but in good faith alleges violations of this chapter. Section S. Enforcement. 1. Any person or class of persons that suffers financial injury as a result of a violation of this chapter or is the subject of prohibited retaliation under this chapter, or any other individual or entity acting on their behalf, may bring a civil action in a court of competentjurisdiction against the employer or other person violating this chapter and, upon prevailing, shall be awarded reasonable attorney fees and costs and such legal or equitable relief as may be appropriate to remedy the violation including, without limitation, the payment of any unpaid wages plus interest due to the person and liquidated damages in an additional amount of up to twice the unpaid wages; compensatory damages; and a penalty payable to any aggrieved party of up to $5,000 if the aggrieved party was subject to prohibited retaliation. For the purposes of this section, an aggrieved party means an employee or other person who suffers tangible or intangible harm due to an employer or other person's violation of this chapter. Interest shall accrue from the date the unpaid wages were first due at the higher of twelve percent per annum or the maximum rate permitted under RCW 19.52.020. 2. For purposes of determining membership within a class of persons entitled to bring an action under this section, two or more employees are similarly situated if they: a. Are or were employed by the same employer or employers, whether concurrently or otherwise, at some point during the applicable statute of limitations period; b. Allege one or more violations that raise similar questions as to liability; and C. Seek similar forms of relief. d. Employees shall not be considered dissimilar solely because their claims seek damages that differ in amount, or theirjob titles or other means of classifying employees differ in ways that are unrelated to their claims. 3. Each covered employer shall retain records as required by RCW 49.46.070, as well as such information as the City may require to confirm compliance with this chapter. If an employer fails to retain such records, there shall be a presumption, rebuttable by clear and convincing evidence, that the employer violated this chapter for the periods and for each employee for whom records were not retained. 4. Employers shall permit authorized City representatives access to work sites and relevant records for the purpose of monitoring compliance with the chapter and investigating complaints of noncompliance, including production for inspection and copying of employment records. The City may designate representatives, including city contractors and representatives of unions or worker advocacy organizations, to access the workshe and relevant records. 5. Complaints that any provision of this chapter has been violated may also be presented to the City Attorney, who is hereby authorized to investigate and, if they deem appropriate, initiate legal or other action to remedy any violation of this chapter. 6. The City has the authority to issue administrative citations and to order injunctive relief including reinstatement, restitution, payment of back wages, or other forms of relief. 7. The City may, in the exercise of its authority and performance of its functions and services, agree by contract or otherwise to participate jointly or in cooperation with Washington State, King County, or any city, town, or other incorporated place, or subdivision thereof, or engage outside counsel, to enforce this chapter. 8. The remedies and penalties provided under this chapter are cumulative and are not intended to be exclusive of any other available remedies or penalties, including existing remedies for enforcement of Renton Municipal Code chapters. 9. The statute of limitations for any enforcement action shall be five (5) years. Section 9. A new section is added to Renton Municipal Code (RMC) Section 5-5-4 as follows: 1. The Finance Director may deny, suspend, or revoke any license under this chapter for violation of this ordinance. 2. The Finance Director must deny, suspend, or revoke any license under this chapter for repeated intentional violations of this ordinance. 3. Any action by the Finance Director under this section shall be subject to the procedures and requirements o£RMC subsection 5-5-3.E, as well as other due process rights that a court may require. Section 10. Definitions. For the purposes of this chapter, the following terms shall have the following meanings: "City" means the City of Renton. "Covered employer" means an employer that either (1) employs at least 15 employees regardless of where those employees are employed, or (2) has annual gross revenue over $2 million. "Effective date" is the effective date of this ordinance. "Employee" is defined as set forth in RCW 49.46.010. An employer bears the burden of proof that the individual is, as a matter of economic reality, in business for oneself rather than dependent upon the alleged employer. "Employer" is defined as set forth in RCW 49.46.010. "Employer classification" includes the determination of whether an employer is a covered employer and whether a covered employer is a large employer. "Franchise" means an agreement, express or implied, oral or written by which: 1. A person is granted the right to engage in the business of offering, selling, or distributinggoods or services under a marketing plan prescribed or suggested in substantial part by the grantor or its affiliate; 2. The operation of the business is substantially associated with a trademark, service mark, trade name, advertising, or other commercial symbol; designating, owned by, or licensed by the grantor or its affiliate; and 3. The person pays, agrees to pay, or is required to pay, directly or indirectly, a franchise Fee. The term, "franchise fee" is meant to be construed broadly to include any instance in which the grantor or its affiliate derives income or profit from a person who enters into a franchise agreement with the grantor. "Hour worked within the City" is to be interpreted according to its ordinary meaning, including all hours worked within the geographic boundaries of the City, excluding time spent in the City solely for the purpose of traveling through the City from a point of origin outside the City to a destination outside the City, with no employment -related or commercial stops in the City except for refueling or the employee's personal meals or errands. "Large Employer" means all employers that employ more than 500 employees, regardless of where those employees are employed, and all franchisees associated with a franchisor or a network of franchises with franchisees that employ more than 500 employees in aggregate. "Other covered employer" means a covered employer that does not qualify as a large employer. "Service charge" is defined as set forth in RCW 49.46.160(2)(c). "Tips" means a verifiable sum to be presented by a customer as a gift or gratuity in recognition of some service performed for the customer by the employee receiving the tip. "Wage" is defined as set forth in RCW 49.46.010. Section 11. Other Legal Requirements. This ordinance shall not be construed to preempt, limit, or otherwise affect the applicability of any other law, regulation, requirement, policy, or standard that provides for greater wages or compensation; and nothing in this ordinance shall be interpreted or applied so as to create any power or duty in conflict with federal or state law. Section 12. Rulemaking. Within 180 days after the effective date, the City shall adopt rules and procedures to implement and ensure compliance with this chapter, which shall require employers to maintain adequate records and to annually certify compliance with this chapter. The City shall seek feedback from worker organizations and covered employers before finalizing the rules and procedures. Section 13. Constitutional Subject. For constitutional purposes, this measure's subject "concerns labor standards for certain employers." See Filo Foods, LLC v. City of SeaTac, 183 Wash. 2d 770, 783, 357 P.3d 1040, 1047 (2015) (upholding this statement of subject for an initiative that set a minimum wage and addressed employees' access to hours). Section 14. Codification. All sections of this ordinance except section 9 shall be codified in a new chapter of the Renton Municipal Code. Section 15. Election date. In the event that the election on this measure takes place later than November 7, 2023, the Finance Department must establish and publish the initial minimum wage within 30 days of the effective date. Section 16. Severability. The provisions of this ordinance are declared to be separate and severable. If any clause, sentence, paragraph, subdivision, section, subsection, or portion of this ordinance, or the application thereof to any employer, employee, or circumstance, is held to be invalid, it shall not affect the validity of the remainder of this ordinance, or the validity of its application to other persons or circumstances. Name Of Canvasser: Date Canvassed: Canvasser Email and Phone Number: Raising The Minimum Wage In Renton INITIATIVE PETITION FOR SUBMISSION TO THE RENTON CITY COUNCIL TO: The City Council of the City of Renton: We, the undersigned registered voters of the City of Renton, State of Washington, residing at the addresses set forth opposite our respective names, being equal to fifteen percent (15%) of the total number of names of persons listed as registered voters within the City on the day of the last preceding City general election, respectfully request that the following ordinance be enacted by the City Council or, if not so enacted, be submitted to a vote of the residents of the City. The title of the said ordinance is as follows: ORDINANCE CONCERNING LABOR STANDARDS FOR CERTAIN EMPLOYEES A full, true and correct copy of the ordinance is attached to this Petition. Each of us for himself or herself says: I have personally signed this petition; I am a registered voter of the City of Renton, State of Washington; and my residence is correctly stated. Signature Printed Name Street and Number City Phone Number Email Date 5`710&z Printed Name 1234 Anywhere St. Renton 206-555-1234 maria@something.org 4/10/2023 1. f 1 Renton I / 1,IA-_ 2. L_� 1A.-n CLjr Renton c 5 * S/a I /aa23 w S65 Vvoove Ar jeNt Ark '1�5_::7- �^3-(e Ot 3 k5tj� � Renton q47,3 a VAT KrelV Sob 500 /` "' Renton A��,G2 Renton 6 6. ! �C la S00 my &0 7. �— � �' � 5oU t�.n � P , AA b 3 K? 9. Mk 10 Mond -� I'lle pp� �N"�es; lore Sop 14v( `P0& Ave ES Renton Renton Renton —/ Renton Renton 5-� V-a3 5-a / = 3 5-u Warning Every person who signs this petition with any other than his or her true name, or who knowingly signs more than one of these petitions, or signs a petition seek- ing an election when he or she is not a legal voter, or signs a petition when he or she is otherwise not qualified to sign, or who makes herein any false statement, shall be guilty of a misdemeanor. S-M4 slV/z3 AN ORDINANCE concerning labor standards for certain employees. Section 1. Findings. 1. The people of the City of Renton hereby adopt this citizen initiative addressing labor standards for certain employees, for the purpose of ensuring that, to the extent reasonably practicable, people employed in Renton have good wages and access to sufficient hours of work. 2. The City of Renton is one of the largest job centers in Washington State, with thousands of shoppers and workers visiting daily to participate in the local economy. Renton is home to The Landing shopping center, the historic Downtown Urban Center, as well as retail and commercial office and warehouse districts around the Rainier/Grady Way Junction. The City is a net importer ofjobs, with nearly 60,000 employed workers. Renton has a wide array of both long established and new and evolving business sectors. Retail businesses, restaurants and bars, auto sales, hospitality, healthcare, and office workers are well represented. 3. The statewide minimum wage is not sufficient to afford rising rents and costs of living in Renton. According to the National Low Income Housing Coalition's Out of Reach 2022 report, a worker making Washington's minimum wage would have to work 72 hours each week (up from 70 hours each week in 2021) to afford a modest one -bedroom rental home at Fair Market Rent. 4. When working families earn insufficient income due to low wages and involuntary under -employment, they struggle to pay for basic necessities like health care, child care, and groceries, and they are more likely to be evicted and become homeless. 5. Nearby King County cities of SeaTac, Seattle, and Tukwila enacted higher minimum wages in 2013, 2014, and 2022 respectively, but until now Renton has not followed suit. 6. Children growing up in poverty experience insecurity with housing, nutrition, and health care while enduring other hardships that prevent their ability to learn in school. Full time working parents must be able to reasonably provide for their family to ensure access to the opportunities and promise of public education. Section 2. Intent. It is the intent of the people to establish fair labor standards and protect the rights of workers by: (1) ensuring that the vast majority of employees in the City of Renton receive a minimum wage comparable to employees in the nearby cities of Tukwila, SeaTac, and Seattle; (2) requiring covered employers to offer additional hours of work to qualified part-time employees before hiring new employees to fill those hours; and (3) adopting enforcement requirements. Section 3. Large Employers Shall Pay Minimum Wages Comparable to Those in Nearby Cities. 1. Effective July 1, 2024, every large employer shall pay to each employee an hourly wage of not less than the 2023 new minimum wage rate in the City of Tukwila, established by City of Tukwila Initiative Measure No. 1, approved by voters in November 2022, adjusted for 2024 by the annual rate of inflation. 2. On January 1, 2025, and on each January 1 thereafter, the hourly minimum wage shall increase by the annual rate of inflation to maintain employee purchasing power. 3. By December 31, 2023, and by October 15 of each year thereafter, the Finance Department shall establish and publish the applicable hourly minimum wage for the following year using the annual rate of inflation. 4. For purposes of this chapter, the annual rate of inflation means 100 percent of the annual average growth rate of the bi-monthly Seattle -Tacoma -Bellevue Area Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers, termed CPI-W, for the 12-month period ending in August, provided that the percentage increase shall not be less than zero. 5. An employer must pay to its employees: a. All tips and gratuities; and b. All service charges as defined under RCW 49.46.160 except those that, pursuant to RCW 49.46.160, are itemized as not being payable to the employee or employees servicing the customer. Tips and service charges paid to an employee are in addition to, and may not count towards, the employee's hourly minimum wage. Section 4. Other Covered Employers Shall Have a Multiyear Phase -In Period. Other covered employers shall phase in the new minimum wage, as follows: 1. Effective July 1, 2024, other covered employers shall pay employees not less than the hourly minimum wage established under Section 3 minus Two Dollars ($2) per hour. 2. Effective July 1, 2025, other covered employers shall pay employees not less than the hourly minimum wage established under Section 3 minus One Dollar ($1) per hour. 3. Effective July 1, 2026, and thereafter, all covered employers shall pay employees not less than the hourly minimum wage established under Section 3. Section 5. Coverage and Employer Classifications. 1. Covered employers must pay employees at least the minimum wage established by this chapter for each hour worked within the City. 2. Employer classification for the current calendar year will be calculated based upon the average number of employees during all weeks in the previous calendar year in which the employer had at least one employee. For employers that did not have any employees during the previous calendar year, classification will be based upon the average number of employees during the most recent three months of the current year. In this determination, all employees will be counted, regardless of their location, and including employees who worked in full-time employment, part-time employment, joint employment, temporary employment, or through the services of temporary services or staffing agency or similar entity. 3. Employer classification for the current calendar year will be calculated based upon the gross revenue for the previous year. For employers that did not have gross revenue during the previous calendar year, annual gross revenue will be calculated from the gross revenue during the most recent three months of the current year. 4. For the purposes of employer classification, separate entities will be considered a single employer if they form an integrated enterprise or they are under joint control by one of those entities or a separate entity. The factors to consider in making this assessment include, but are not limited to: a. Degree of interrelation between the operations of multiple entities; b. Degree to which the entities share common management; C. Centralized control of labor relations; and it. Degree of common ownership or financial control over the entities. Section 6. Part -Time Employees Shall Have Fair Access to Additional Hours. 1. Before hiring additional employees or subcontractors, including hiring through the use of temporary services or staffing agencies, covered employers must offer additional hours of work to existing employees who, in the employer's good faith and reasonable judgment, have the skills and experience to perform the work, and shall use a reasonable, transparent, and nondiscriminatory process to distribute the hours of work among those existing employees. 2. This section shall not be construed to require any employer to offer an employee work hours if the employer would be required to compensate the employee at time -and -a -half or other premium rate under any law or collective bargaining agreement, nor to prohibit any employer from offering such work hours. Section 7. Retaliation Prohibited. 1. No employer or any other person shall interfere with, restrain, or deny the exercise of, or the attempt to exercise, any right protected under this chapter. 2. No employer or any other person shall take any adverse action against any person because the person has exercised in good faith the rights under this chapter. Such rights include but are not limited to the right to make inquiries about the rights protected under this chapter; the right to inform others about their rights under this chapter; the right to inform the person's employer, union, or similar organization, and/or the person's legal counsel or any other person about an alleged violation of this chapter; the right to bring a civil action for an alleged violation of this chapter; the right to testify in a proceeding under or related to this chapter; the right to refuse to participate in an activity that would result in a violation of city, state, or federal law; and the right to oppose any policy, practice, or act that is unlawful under this chapter. 3. For the purposes of this section, an adverse action means denying ajob or promotion, demoting, terminating, failing to rehire after a seasonal interruption of work, threatening, penalizing, retaliating, engaging in unfair immigration -related practices, filing a false report with a government agency, changing an employee's status to nonemployee, decreasing or declining to provide additional work hours when they otherwise would have been offered, scheduling an employee for hours outside of their availability, or otherwise discriminating against any person for any reason prohibited by this chapter. "Adverse action" for an employee may involve any aspect of employment, including pay, work hours, responsibilities, or other material change in the terms and conditions of employment. 4. No employer or any other person shall communicate to a person exercising rights protected under this chapter, directly or indirectly, the willingness to inform a government employee that the person is not lawfully in the United States, or to report, or to make an implied or express assertion of a willingness to report, suspected citizenship or immigration status of the person or a family member of the person to a federal, state, or local agency because the person has exercised a right under this chapter. 5. There shall be a rebuttable presumption of unlawful retaliation if an employer or any other person takes an adverse action against a person within 90 days of the person's exercise of any right protected in this chapter. However, in the case of seasonal work that ended before the close of the 90-day period, the presumption also applies if the employer fails to rehire a former employee at the next opportunity for work in the same position. The employer may rebut the presumption with clear and convincing evidence that the adverse action was taken for a permissible purpose. 6. Standard of Proof. Proof of retaliation under this chapter shall be sufficient upon a showing that an employer or any other person has taken an adverse action against a person and the person's exercise of rights protected in this chapter was a motivating factor in the adverse action, unless the employer can prove that the action would have been taken in the absence of such protected activity. 7. The protections afforded under this section shall apply to any person who mistakenly but in good faith alleges violations of this chapter. Section 8. Enforcement. 1. Any person or class of persons that suffers financial injury as a result of a violation of this chapter or is the subject of prohibited retaliation under this chapter, or any other individual or entity acting on their behalf, may bring a civil action in a court of competent jurisdiction against the employer or other person violating this chapter and, upon prevailing, shall be awarded reasonable attorney fees and costs and such legal or equitable relief as may be appropriate to remedy the violation including, without limitation, the payment of any unpaid wages plus interest due to the person and liquidated damages in an additional amount of up to twice the unpaid wages; compensatory damages; and a penalty payable to any aggrieved party of up to $5,000 if the aggrieved party was subject to prohibited retaliation. For the purposes of this section, an aggrieved party means an employee or other person who suffers tangible or intangible harm due to an employer or other person's violation of this chapter. Interest shall accrue from the date the unpaid wages were first due at the higher of twelve percent per annum or the maximum rate permitted under RCW 19.52.020. 2. For purposes of determining membership within a class of persons entitled to bring an action under this section, two or more employees are similarly situated if they: a. Are or were employed by the same employer or employers, whether concurrently or otherwise, at some point during the applicable statute of limitations period; b. Allege one or more violations that raise similar questions as to liability; and C. Seek similar forms of relief. d. Employees shall not be considered dissimilar solely because their claims seek damages that differ in amount, or their job titles or other means of classifying employees differ in ways that are unrelated to their claims. 3. Each covered employer shall retain records as required by RCW 49.46.070, as well as such information as the City may require to confirm compliance with this chapter. I£ an employer fails to retain such records, there shall be a presumption, rebuttable by clear and convincing evidence, that the employer violated this chapter for the periods and for each employee for whom records were not retained. 4. Employers shall permit authorized City representatives access to work sites and relevant records for the purpose of monitoring compliance with the chapter and investigating complaints of noncompliance, including production for inspection and copying of employment records. The City may designate representatives, including city contractors and representatives of unions or worker advocacy organizations, to access the worksite and relevant records. 5. Complaints that any provision of this chapter has been violated may also be presented to the City Attorney, who is hereby authorized to investigate and, if they deem appropriate, initiate legal or other action to remedy any violation of this chapter. 6. The City has the authority to issue administrative citations and to order injunctive relief including reinstatement, restitution, payment of back wages, or other forms of relief. 7. The City may, in the exercise of its authority and performance of its functions and services, agree by contract or otherwise to participate jointly or in cooperation with Washington State, King County, or any city, town, or other incorporated place, or subdivision thereof, or engage outside counsel, to enforce this chapter. 8. The remedies and penalties provided under this chapter are cumulative and are not intended to be exclusive of any other available remedies or penalties, including existing remedies for enforcement of Renton Municipal Code chapters. 9. The statute of limitations for any enforcement action shall be five (5) years. Section 9. Anew section is added to Renton Municipal Code (RMC) Section 5-5-4 as follows: 1. The Finance Director may deny, suspend, or revoke any license under this chapter for violation of this ordinance. 2. The Finance Director must deny, suspend, or revoke any license under this chapter for repeated intentional violations of this ordinance. 3. Any action by the Finance Director under this section shall be subject to the procedures and requirements of RMC subsection 5-5-3.E, as well as other due process rights that a court may require. Section 10. Definitions. For the purposes of this chapter, the following terms shall have the following meanings: "City" means the City of Renton. "Covered employer" means an employer that either (1) employs at least 15 employees regardless of where those employees are employed, or (2) has annual gross revenue over $2 million. "Effective date" is the effective date of this ordinance. "Employee" is defined as set forth in RCW 49.46.010. An employer bears the burden of proof that the individual is, as a matter of economic reality, in business for oneself rather than dependent upon the alleged employer. "Employer" is defined as set forth in RCW 49.46.010. "Employer classification" includes the determination of whether an employer is a covered employer and whether a covered employer is a large employer. "Franchise" means an agreement, express or implied, oral or written by which: 1. A person is granted the right to engage in the business of offering, selling, or distributing goods or services under a marketing plan prescribed or suggested in substantial part by the grantor or its affiliate; 2. The operation of the business is substantially associated with a trademark, service mark, trade time, advertising, or other commercial symbol; designating, owned by, or licensed by the grantor or its affiliate; and 3. The person pays, agrees to pay, or is required to pay, directly or indirectly, a franchise fee. The term, "franchise fee" is meant to be construed broadly to include any instance in which the grantor or its affiliate derives income or profit from a person who enters into a franchise agreement with the grantor. "Hour worked within the City" is to be interpreted according to its ordinary meaning, including all hours worked within the geographic boundaries of the City, excluding time spent in the City solely for the purpose of traveling through the City from a point of origin outside the City to a destination outside the City, with no employment -related or commercial stops in the City except for refueling or the employee's personal meals or errands. "Large Employer" means all employers that employ more than 500 employees, regardless of where those employees are employed, and all franchisees associated with a franchisor or a network of franchises with franchisees that employ more than 500 employees in aggregate. "Other covered employer" means a covered employer that does not qualify as a large employer. "Service charge" is defined as set forth in RCW 49.46.160(2)(c). "Tips" means a verifiable sum to be presented by a customer as a gift or gratuity in recognition of some service performed for the customer by the employee receiving the tip. "Wage" is defined as set forth in RCW 49.46.010. Section 11. Other Legal Requirements. This ordinance shall not be construed to preempt, limit, or otherwise affect the applicability of any other law, regulation, requirement, policy, or standard that provides for greater wages or compensation; and nothing in this ordinance shall be interpreted or applied so as to create any power or duty in conflict with federal or state law. Section 12. Rulemaking. Within 180 days after the effective date, the City shall adopt rules and procedures to implement and ensure compliance with this chapter, which shall require employers to maintain adequate records and to annually certify compliance with this chapter. The City shall seek feedback from worker organizations and covered employers before finalizing the rules and procedures. Section 13. Constitutional Subject. For constitutional purposes, this measure's subject "concerns labor standards for certain employers." See Filo Foods, LLC v. City of SeaTac, 183 Wash. 2d 770, 783, 357 P.3d 1040, 1047 (2015) (upholding this statement of subject for an initiative that set a minimum wage and addressed employees' access to hours). Section 14. Codification. All sections of this ordinance except section 9 shall be codified in a new chapter of the Renton Municipal Code. Section 15. Election date. In the event that the election on this measure takes place later than November 7, 2023, the Finance Department must establish and publish the initial minimum wage within 30 days of the effective date. Section 16. Severability. The provisions of this ordinance are declared to be separate and severable. If any clause, sentence, paragraph, subdivision, section, subsection, or portion of this ordinance, or the application thereof to any employer, employee, or circumstance, is held to be invalid, it shall not affect the validity of the remainder of this ordinance, or the validity of its application to other persons or circumstances. Name Of Canvasser: Date Canvassed: Canvasser Email and Phone Number: Raising The Minimum Wage In Renton INITIATIVE PETITION FOR SUBMISSION TO THE RENTON CITY COUNCIL TO: The City Council of the City of Renton: We, the undersigned registered voters of the City of Renton, State of Washington, residing at the addresses set forth opposite our respective names, being equal to fifteen percent (15%) of the total number of names of persons listed as registered voters within the City on the day of the last preceding City general election, respectfully request that the following ordinance be enacted by the City Council or, if not so enacted, be submitted to a vote of the residents of the City. The title of the said ordinance is as follows: ORDINANCE CONCERNING LABOR STANDARDS FOR CERTAIN EMPLOYEES A full, true and correct copy of the ordinance is attached to this Petition. Each of us for himself or herself says: I have personally signed this petition; I am a registered voter of the City of Renton, State of Washington; and my residence is correctly stated. Signature Printed Name Street and Number City Phone Number Email Date Sa�Ceti°tom Printed Name 1234 Anywhere St. Renton 206-555-1234 maria@something.org 4/10/2023 1• St�A/ iU7 /.16 3a /oL Renton l Z z3 z. 0.V `(`\ Tf e �C� \ 3 3 19 % (;IMQ,S� Renton ill C A0l( Q0 Vv,N s r al s� 3. a, �" Renton �Z.1Z3 yyyy�� 4. C r7�/�Cg5-5 Tr(pe(f 11336 ��-1 h��� Se Renton �ilZl 5.✓ ���r- "' 1�� �Liv� 1 l l7 l J I I �� Renton I(c' �O'` , Si — Renton7. t��G� I"� j%(7 N c�'1 Renton s. �r" 'vl / 1re-0 ice% � v�� I ► kst Renton 9. �� "` � `50( � Renton 5/2_//23 10. , �� .i^ S_ Renton 7-&>L2-4Z Warning Every person who signs this petition with any other than his or her true name, or who knowingly signs more than one of these petitions, or signs a petition seek- ing an election when he or she is not a legal voter, or signs a petition when he or she is otherwise not qualified to sign, or who makes herein any false statement, shall be guilty of a misdemeanor. ®e�c�cc�i�sa 933 M AN ORDINANCE concerning labor standards for certain employees. Section 1. Findings. I. The people of the City of Renton hereby adopt this citizen initiative addressing labor standards for certain employees, for the purpose of ensuring that, to the extent reasonably practicable, people employed in Renton have good wages and access to sufficient hours of work. 2. The City of Renton is one of the largestjob centers in Washington State, with thousands of shoppers and workers visiting daily to participate in the local economy. Renton is home to The Landing shopping center, the historic Downtown Urban Center, as well as retail and commercial office and warehouse districts around the Rainier/Grady Way Junction. The City is a net importer ofjobs, with nearly 60,000 employed workers. Renton has a wide array of both long established and new and evolving business sectors. Retail businesses, restaurants and bars, auto sales, hospitality, healthcare, and office workers are well represented. 3. The statewide minimum wage is not sufficient to afford rising rents and costs of living in Renton. According to the National Low Income Housing Coalition's Out of Reach 2022 report, a worker making Washington's minimum wage would have to work 72 hours each week (up from 70 hours each week in 2021) to afford a modest one -bedroom rental home at Fair Market Rent, 4. When working families earn insufficient income due to low wages and involuntary under -employment, they struggle to pay for basic necessities like health care, child care, and groceries, and they are more likely to be evicted and become homeless. 5. Nearby King County cities of SeaTac, Seattle, and Tukwila enacted higher minimum wages in 2013, 2014, and 2022 respectively, but until now Renton has not followed suit. 6. Children growing up in poverty experience insecurity with housing, nutrition, and health care while enduring other hardships that prevent their ability to learn in school. Full time working parents must be able to reasonably provide for their family to ensure access to the opportunities and promise of public education. Section 2. Intent. It is the intent of the people to establish fair labor standards and protect the rights of workers by: (1) ensuring that the vast majority of employees in the City of Renton receive a minimum wage comparable to employees in the nearby cities of Tukwila, SeaTac, and Seattle; (2) requiring covered employers to offer additional hours of work to qualified part-time employees before hiring new employees to fill those hours; and (3) adopting enforcement requirements. Section 3. Large Employers Shall Pay Minimum Wages Comparable to Those in Nearby Cities. 1. Effective July 1, 2024, every large employer shall pay to each employee an hourly wage of not less than the 2023 new minimum wage rate in the City of Tukwila, established by City of Tukwila Initiative Measure No. 1, approved by voters in November 2022, adjusted for 2024 by the annual rate of inflation. 2. On January 1, 2025, and on each January 1 thereafter, the hourly minimum wage shall increase by the annual rate of inflation to maintain employee purchasing power. 3. By December 31, 2023, and by October 15 of each year thereafter, the Finance Department shall establish and publish the applicable hourly minimum wage for the following year using the annual rate of inflation. 4. For purposes of this chapter, the annual rate of inflation means 100 percent of the annual average growth rate of the bi-monthly Seattle -Tacoma -Bellevue Area Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers, termed CPI-W, for the 12-month period ending in August, provided that the percentage increase shall not be less than zero. 5. An employer must pay to its employees: a.- All tips and gratuities; and b. All service charges as defined under RCW 49.46.160 except those that, pursuant to RCW 49.46.160, are itemized as not being payable to the employee or employees servicing the customer. Tips and service charges paid to an employee are in addition to, and may not count towards, the employee's hourly minimum wage. Section 4. Other Covered Employers Shall Have a Multiyear Phase -In Period. Other covered employers shall phase in the new minimum wage, as follows: 1. Effective July 1, 2024, other covered employers shall pay employees not less than the hourly minimum wage established under Section 3 minus Two Dollars ($2) per hour. 2. Effective July 1, 2025, other covered employers shall pay employees not less than the hourly minimum wage established under Section 3 minus One Dollar ($1) per hour. 3. Effective July 1, 2026, and thereafter, all covered employers shall pay employees not less than the hourly minimum wage established under Section 3. Section 5. Coverage and Employer Classifications. 1. Covered employers must pay employees at least the minimum wage established by this chapter for each hour worked within the City. 2. Employer classification for the current calendar year will be calculated based upon the average number of employees during all weeks in the previous calendar year in which the employer had at least one employee. For employers that did not have any employees during the previous calendar year, classification will be based upon the average number of employees during the most recent three months of the current year. In this determination, all employees will be counted, regardless of their location, and including employees who worked in full-time employment, part-time employment, joint employment, temporary employment, or through the services of a temporary services or staffing agency or similar entity. 3. Employer classification for the current calendar year will be calculated based upon the gross revenue for the previous year. For employers that did not have gross revenue during the previous calendar year, annual gross revenue will be calculated from the gross revenue during the most recent three months of the current year. 4. For the purposes of employer classification, separate entities will be considered a single employer if they form an integrated enterprise or they me underjoint control by one of those entities or a separate entity. The factors to consider in making this assessment include, but are not limited to: a. Degree of interrelation between the operations of multiple entities; b. Degree to which the entities share common management; C. Centralized control of labor relations; and d. Degree of common ownership or financial control over the entities. Section 6. Part -Time Employees Shall Have Fair Access to Additional Hours. 1. Before hiring additional employees or subcontractors, including hiring through the use of temporary services or staffing agencies, covered employers must offer additional hours of work to existing employees who, in the employer's good faith and reasonablejudgment, have the skills and experience to perform the work, and shall use a reasonable, transparent, and nondiscriminatory process to distribute the hours of work among those existing employees. 2. This section shall not be construed to require any employer to offer an employee work hours if the employer would be required to compensate the employee at time -and -a -half or other premium rate under any law or collective bargaining agreement, nor to prohibit any employer from offering such work hours. Section 7. Retaliation Prohibited. I. No employer or any other person shall interfere with, restrain, or deny the exercise of, or the attempt to exercise, any right protected under this chapter. 2. No employer or any other person shall take any adverse action against any person because the person has exercised in good faith the rights under this chapter. Such rights include but are not limited to the right to make inquiries about the rights protected under this chapter; the right to inform others about their rights under this chapter; the right to inform the person's employer, union, or similar organization, and/or the person's legal counsel or any other person about an alleged violation of this chapter; the right to bring a civil action for an alleged violation of this chapter; the right to testify in a proceeding under or related to this chapter; the right to refuse to participate in an activity that would result in a violation of city, state, or federal law; and the right to oppose any policy, practice, or act that is unlawful under this chapter. 3. For the purposes of this section, an adverse action means denying ajob or promotion, demoting, terminating, failing to rehire after a seasonal interruption of work, threatening, penalizing, retaliating, engaging in unfair immigration -related practices, filing a false report with a government agency, changing an employee's status to nonemployee, decreasing or declining to provide additional work hours when they otherwise would have been offered, scheduling an employee for hours outside of their availability, or otherwise discriminating against any person for any reason prohibited by this chapter. "Adverse action" for an employee may involve any aspect of employment, including pay, work hours, responsibilities, or other material change in the terms and conditions of employment. 4. No employer or any other person shall communicate to a person exercising rights protected under this chapter, directly or indirectly, the willingness to inform a government employee that the person is not lawfully in the United States, or to report, or to make an implied or express assertion of a willingness to report, suspected citizenship or immigration status of the person or a family member of the person to a federal, state, or local agency because the person has exercised a right under this chapter. 5. There shall be a rebuttable presumption of unlawful retaliation if an employer or any other person takes an adverse action against a person within 90 days of the person's exercise of any right protected in this chapter. However, in the case of seasonal work that ended before the close of the 90-day period, the presumption also applies if the employer fails to rehire a former employee at the next opportunity for work in the same position. The employer may rebut the presumption with clear and convincing evidence that the adverse action was taken for a permissible purpose. 6. Standard of Proof. Proof of retaliation under this chapter shall be sufficient upon a showing that an employer or any other person has taken an adverse action against a person and the person's exercise of rights protected in this chapter was a motivating factor in the adverse action, unless the employer can prove that the action would have been taken in the absence of such protected activity, 7. The protections afforded under this section shall apply to any person who mistakenly but in good faith alleges violations of this chapter. Section 8. Enforcement. 1. Any person or class of persons that suffers financial injury as a result of a violation of this chapter or is the subject ofprohibited retaliation under this chapter, or any other individual or entity acting on their behalf, may bring a civil action in a court of competentjurisdiction against the employer or other person violating this chapter and, upon prevailing, shall be awarded reasonable attorney fees and costs and such legal or equitable relief as may be appropriate to remedy the violation including, without limitation, the payment of any unpaid wages plus interest due to the person and liquidated damages in an additional amount of up to twice the unpaid wages; compensatory damages; and a penalty payable to any aggrieved party of up to $5,000 if the aggrieved party was subject to prohibited retaliation. For the purposes of this section, an aggrieved party means an employee or other person who suffers tangible or intangible harm due to an employer or other person's violation of this chapter. Interest shall accrue from the date the unpaid wages were first due at the higher of twelve percent per am = or the maximum rate permitted under RCW 19.52.020. 2. For purposes of determining membership within a class of persons entitled to bring an action under this section, two or more employees are similarly situated if they: a. Are or were employed by the same employer or employers, whether concurrently or otherwise, at some point during the applicable statute of limitations period; b. Allege one or more violations that raise similar questions as to liability; and C. Seek similar forms of relief. d. Employees shall not be considered dissimilar solely because their claims seek damages that differ in amount, or theirjob titles or other means of classifying employees differ in ways that are unrelated to their claims. 3. Each covered employer shall retain records as required by RCW 49.46.070, as well as such information as the City may require to confirm compliance with this chapter. If an employer fails to retain such records, there shall be a presumption, rebuttable by clear and convincing evidence, that the employer violated this chapter for the periods and for each employee for whom records were not retained. 4. Employers shall permit authorized City representatives access to work sites and relevant records for the purpose of monitoring compliance with the chapter and investigating complaints of noncompliance, including production for inspection and copying of employment records. The City may designate representatives, including city contractors and representatives of unions or worker advocacy organizations, to access the worksite and relevant records. 5. Complaints that any provision of this chapter has been violated may also be presented to the City Attorney, who is hereby authorized to investigate and, if they deem appropriate, initiate legal or other action to remedy any violation of this chapter. 6. The City has the authority to issue administrative citations and to order injunctive relief including reinstatement, restitution, payment of back wages, or other forms of relief. 7. The City may, in the exercise of its authority and performance of its functions and services, agree by contract or otherwise to participate jointly or in cooperation with Washington State, King County, or any city, town, or other incorporated place, or subdivision thereof, or engage outside counsel, to enforce this chapter. 8. The remedies and penalties provided under this chapter are cumulative and are not intended to be exclusive of any other available remedies or penalties, including existing remedies for enforcement of Renton Municipal Code chapters. 9. The statute of limitations for any enforcement action shall be five (5) years. Section 9. A new section is added to Renton Municipal Code (RMC) Section 5-5-4 as follows: 1. The Finance Director may deny, suspend, or revoke any license under this chapter for violation of this ordinance. 2. The Finance Director must deny, suspend, or revoke any license under this chapter for repeated intentional violations of this ordinance. 3. Any action by the Finance Director under this section shall be subject to the procedures and requirements o£RMC subsection 5-5-3.E, as well as other due process rights that a court may require. Section 10. Definitions. For the purposes of this chapter, the following terms shall have the following meanings: "City" means the City of Renton. "Covered employer" means an employer that either (1) employs at least 15 employees regardless of where those employees are employed, or (2) has annual gross revenue over $2 million. "Effective date" is the effective date of this ordinance. "Employee" is defined as set forth in RCW 49.46.010. An employer bears the burden of proof that the individual is, as a matter of economic reality, in business for oneself rather than dependent upon the alleged employer. "Employer" is defined as set forth in RCW 49.46.010. "Employer classification" includes the determination of whether an employer is a covered employer and whether a covered employer is a large employer. "Franchise" means an agreement, express or implied, oral or written by which: 1. A person is granted the right to engage in the business of offering, selling, or distributing goods or services under a marketing plan prescribed or suggested in substantial part by the grantor or its affiliate; 2. The operation of the business is substantially associated with a trademark, service mark, trade time, advertising, or other commercial symbol; designating, owned by, or licensed by the grantor or its affiliate; and 3. The person pays, agrees to pay, or is required to pay, directly or indirectly, a franchise fee. The term, "franchise fee" is meant to be construed broadly to include any instance in which the grantor or its affiliate derives income or profit from a person who enters into a franchise agreement with the grantor. "Hour worked within the City" is to be interpreted according to its ordinary meaning, including all hours worked within the geographic boundaries of the City, excluding time spent in the City solely for the purpose of traveling through the City from a point of origin outside the City to a destination outside the City, with no employment -related or commercial stops in the City except for refueling or the employee's personal meals or errands. "Large Employer" means all employers that employ more than 500 employees, regardless of where those employees are employed, and all franchisees associated with a franchisor or a network of franchises with franchisees that employ more than 500 employees in aggregate. "Other covered employer" means a covered employer that does not qualify as a large employer. "Service charge" is defined as set forth in RCW 49.46.160(2)(c). "Tips" means a verifiable sum to be presented by a customer as a gift or gratuity in recognition of some service performed for the customer by the employee receiving the tip. "Wage" is defined as set forth in RCW 49.46.010. Section 11. Other Legal Requirements. This ordinance shall not be construed to preempt, limit, or otherwise affect the applicability of any other law, regulation, requirement, policy, or standard that provides for greater wages or compensation; and nothing in this ordinance shall be interpreted or applied so as to create any power or duty in conflict with federal or state law. Section 12. Rulemaking. Within 180 days after the effective date, the City shall adopt rules and procedures to implement and ensure compliance with this chapter, which shall require employers to maintain adequate records and to annually certify compliance with this chapter. The City shall seek feedback from worker organizations and covered employers before finalizing the rules and procedures. Section 13. Constitutional Subject. For constitutional purposes, this measure's subject "concerns labor standards for certain employers." See File Foods, LLC v. City of SeaTac, 183 Wash. 2d 770, 783, 357 P.3d 1040, 1047 (2015) (upholding this statement of subject for an initiative that set a minimum wage and addressed employees' access to hours). Section 14. Codification. All sections of this ordinance except section 9 shall be codified in a new chapter of the Renton Municipal Code. Section 15. Election date. In the event that the election on this measure takes place later than November 7, 2023, the Finance Department must establish and publish the initial minimum wage within 30 days of'the effective date. Section 16. Severability. The provisions of this ordinance are declared to be separate and severable. If any clause, sentence, paragraph, subdivision, section, subsection, or portion of this ordinance, or the application thereof to any employer, employee, or circumstance, is held to be invalid, it shall not affect the validity of the remainder of this ordinance, or the validity of its application to other persons or circumstances. Name Of Canvasser: Date Canvassed: '.Canvasser Email and Phone Number: kt _. I 2 3 40 Raising The Minimum Wage In Renton INITIATIVE PETITION FOR SUBMISSION TO THE RENTON CITY COUNCIL TO: The City Council of the City of Renton: We, the undersigned registered voters of the City of Renton, State of Washington, residing at the addresses set forth opposite our respective names, being equal to fifteen percent (15%) of the total number of names of persons listed as registered voters within the City on the day of the last preceding City general election, respectfully request that the following ordinance be enacted by the City Council or, if not so enacted, be submitted to a vote of the residents of the City. The title of the said ordinance is as follows: ORDINANCE CONCERNING LABOR STANDARDS FOR CERTAIN EMPLOYEES A full, true and correct copy of the ordinance is attached to this Petition. Each of us for himself or herself says: I have personally signed this petition; I am a registered voter of the City of Renton, State of Washington; and my residence is correctly stated. Signature Printed Name Street and Number City Phone Number Email Date S` '?IQm Printed Name 1234 Anywhere St. Renton 206-555-1234 maria@something.org 4/10/2023 'Df`kEI< � P A - a &6 V� AVe (� �.�' � I � ,v ,n c9 S c•�n �'U �d 2_''t Z� � � J r�i 4. 5. N. 7 E:1 a /t 5111\ (-� c 1 o�h P t' Renton a5'a7l-�(q2�i Pz(7 Renton SSUI (Oq{ Renton gc� - �A - 1��l1 Renton Renton i /z73 Renton PZD�-7y2-�$3o arr� , a(9�cj,tc l.crt 5I ZI(Z3 Renton Ii, V v�l /QV07 / aQ-2 Renton l� C3j ��t�/` �b T �� S Renton SA (A3 tu 'vew� ��FiS SC $�JRenton V r�-� (-2 In✓dw. S./ol.�i S 2_112 3 Warning Every person who signs this petition with any other than his or her true name, or who knowingly signs more than one of these petitions, or signs a petition seek- ing an election when he or she is not a legal voter, or signs a petition when he or she is otherwise not qualified to sign, or who makes herein any false statement, shall be guilty of a misdemeanor. AN ORDINANCE concerning labor standards for certain employees. Section 1. Findings. 1. The people of the City of Renton hereby adopt this citizen initiative addressing labor standards for certain employees, for the purpose of ensuring that, to the extent reasonably practicable, people employed in Renton have good wages and access to sufficient hours of work. 2. The City of Renton is one of the largest job centers in Washington State, with thousands of shoppers and workers visiting daily to participate in the local economy. Renton is home to The Landing shopping center, the historic Downtown Urban Center, as well as retail and commercial office and warehouse districts around the Rainier/Grady Way Junction. The City is a net importer ofjobs, with nearly 60,000 employed workers. Renton has a wide array of both long established and new and evolving business sectors. Retail businesses, restaurants and bars, auto sales, hospitality, healthcare, and office workers are well represented. 3. The statewide minimum wage is not sufficient to afford rising rents and costs of living in Renton. According to the National Low Income Housing Coalition's Out of Reach 2022 report, a worker making Washington's minimum wage would have to work 72 hours each week (up from 70 hours each week in 2021) to afford a modest one -bedroom rental home at Fair Market Rent. 4. When working families earn insufficient income due to low wages and involuntary under -employment, they struggle to pay for basic necessities like health care, child care, and groceries, and they are more likely to be evicted and become homeless. 5. Nearby King County cities of SeaTac, Seattle, and Tukwila enacted higher minimum wages in 2013, 2014, and 2022 respectively, but until now Renton has not followed suit. 6. Children growing up in poverty experience insecurity with housing, nutrition, and health care while enduring other hardships that prevent their ability to learn in school. Full time working parents must be able to reasonably provide for their family to ensure access to the opportunities and promise of public education. Section 2. Intent. It is the intent of the people to establish fair labor standards and protect the rights of workers by: (1) ensuring that the vast majority of employees in the City of Renton receive a minimum wage comparable to employees in the nearby cities of Tukwila, SeaTac, and Seattle; (2) requiring covered employers to offer additional hours of work to qualified part-time employees before hiring new employees to fill those hours; and (3) adopting enforcement requirements. Section 3. Large Employers Shall Pay Minimum Wages Comparable to Those in Nearby Cities. 1. Effective July 1, 2024, every large employer shall pay to each employee an hourly wage of not less than the 2023 new minimum wage rate in the City of Tukwila, established by City of Tukwila Initiative Measure No. 1, approved by voters in November 2022, adjusted for 2024 by the annual rate of inflation. 2. On January 1, 2025, and on each January 1 thereafter, the hourly minimum wage shall increase by the annual rate of inflation to maintain employee purchasing power. 3. By December 31, 2023, and by October 15 of each year thereafter, the Finance Department shall establish and publish the applicable hourly minimum wage for the following year using the annual rate of inflation. 4. For purposes of this chapter, the annual rate of inflation means 100 percent of the annual average growth rate of the bi-monthly Seattle -Tacoma -Bellevue Area Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers, termed CPI-W, for the 12-month period ending in August, provided that the percentage increase shall not be less than zero. 5. An employer must pay to its employees: a. All tips and gratuities; and b. All service charges as defined under RCW 49.46.160 except those that, pursuant to RCW 49.46.160, are itemized as not being payable to the employee or employees servicing the customer. Tips and service charges paid to an employee are in addition to, and may not count towards, the employee's hourly minimum wage. Section 4. Other Covered Employers Shall Have a Multiyear Phase -In Period. Other covered employers shall phase in the new minimum wage, as follows: 1. Effective July 1, 2024, other covered employers shall pay employees not less than the hourly minimum wage established under Section 3 minus Two Dollars ($2) per hour. 2. Effective July 1, 2025, other covered employers shall pay employees not less than the hourly minimum wage established under Section 3 minus One Dollar ($1) per hour. 3. Effective July 1, 2026, and thereafter, all covered employers shall pay employees not less than the hourly minimum wage established under Section 3. Section 5. Coverage and Employer Classifications. 1. Covered employers must pay employees at least the minimum wage established by this chapter for each hour worked within the City. 2. Employer classification for the current calendar year will be calculated based upon the average number of employees during all weeks in the previous calendar year in which the employer had at least one employee. For employers that did not have any employees during the previous calendar year, classification will be based upon the average number of employees during the most recent three months of the current year. In this determination, all employees will be counted, regardless of their location, and including employees who worked in full-time employment, part-time employment, joint employment, temporary employment, or through the services of a temporary services or staffing agency or similar entity. 3. Employer classification for the current calendar year will be calculated based upon the gross revenue for the previous year. For employers that did not have gross revenue during the previous calendar year, annual gross revenue will be calculated from the gross revenue during the most recent three months of the current year. 4. For the purposes of employer classification, separate entities will be considered a single employer if they form an integrated enterprise or they are underjoint control by one of those entities or a separate entity. The factors to consider in making this assessment include, but are not limited to: a. Degree of interrelation between the operations of multiple entities; b. Degree to which the entities share common management; C. Centralized control of labor relations; and d. Degree of common ownership or financial control over the entities. Section 6. Part -Time Employees Shall Have Fair Access to Additional Hours. 1. Before hiring additional employees or subcontractors, including hiring through the use of temporary services or staffing agencies, covered employers must offer additional hours of work to existing employees who, in the employer's good faith and reasonable judgment, have the skills and experience to perform the work, and shall use a reasonable, transparent, and nondiscriminatory process to distribute the hours of work among those existing employees. 2. This section shall not be construed to require any employer to offer an employee work hours if the employer would be required to compensate the employee at time -and -a -half or other premium rate under any law or collective bargaining agreement, nor to prohibit any employer from offering such work hours. Section 7. Retaliation Prohibited. 1. No employer or any other person shall interfere with, restrain, or deny the exercise of, or the attempt to exercise, any right protected under this chapter. 2. No employer or any other person shall take any adverse action against any person because the person has exercised in good faith the rights under this chapter. Such rights include but are not limited to the right to make inquiries about the rights protected under this chapter; the right to inform others about their rights under this chapter; the right to inform the person's employer, union, or similar organization, and/or the person's legal counsel or any other person about an alleged violation of this chapter; the right to bring a civil action for an alleged violation of this chapter; the right to testify in a proceeding under or related to this chapter; the right to refuse to participate in an activity that would result in a violation of city, state, or federal law; and the right to oppose any policy, practice, or act that is unlawful under this chapter. 3. For the purposes of this section, an adverse action means denying a job or promotion, demoting, terminating, failing to rehire after a seasonal interruption of work, threatening, penalizing, retaliating, engaging in unfair immigration -related practices, filing a false report with a government agency, changing an employee's status to nonemployee, decreasing or declining to provide additional work hours when they otherwise would have been offered, scheduling an employee for homs outside of their availability, or otherwise discriminating against any person for any reason prohibited by this chapter. "Adverse action" for an employee may involve any aspect of employment, including pay, work hours, responsibilities, or other material change in the terms and conditions of employment. 4. No employer or any other person shall communicate to a person exercising rights protected under this chapter, directly or indirectly, the willingness to inform a government employee that the person is not lawfully in the United States, or to report, or to make an implied or express assertion of a willingness to report, suspected citizenship or immigration status of the person or a family member of the person to a federal, state, or local agency because the person has exercised a right under this chapter. 5. There shall be a rebuttable presumption of unlawful retaliation if an employer or any other person takes an adverse action against a person within 90 days of the person's exercise of any right protected in this chapter. However, in the case of seasonal work that ended before the close of the 90-day period, the presumption also applies if the employer fails to rehire a former employee at the next opportunity for work in the same position. The employer may rebut the presumption with clear and convincing evidence that the adverse action was taken for a permissible purpose. 6. Standard of Proof. Proof of retaliation under this chapter shall be sufficient upon a showing that an employer or any other person has taken an adverse action against a person and the person's exercise of rights protected in this chapter was a motivating factor in the adverse action, unless the employer can prove that the action would have been taken in the absence of such protected activity. 7. The protections afforded under this section shall apply to any person who mistakenly but in good faith alleges violations of this chapter. Section 8. Enforcement. 1. Any person or class of persons that suffers financial injury as a result of a violation of this chapter or is the subject of prohibited retaliation under this chapter, or any other individual or entity acting on their behalf, may bring a civil action in a court of competentjurisdiction against the employer or other person violating this chapter and, upon prevailing, shall be awarded reasonable attorney fees and costs and such legal or equitable relief as may be appropriate to remedy the violation including, without limitation, the payment of any unpaid wages plus interest due to the person and liquidated damages in an additional amount of up to twice the unpaid wages; compensatory damages; and a penalty payable to any aggrieved party of up to $5,000 if the aggrieved party was subject to prohibited retaliation. For the purposes of this section, an aggrieved party means an employee or other person who suffers tangible or intangible harm due to an employer or other person's violation of this chapter. Interest shall accrue from the date the unpaid wages were first due at the higher of twelve percent per annum or the maximum rate permitted under RCW 19.52.020. 2. For purposes of determining membership within a class of persons entitled to bring an action under this section, two or more. employees are similarly situated if they: a. Are or were employed by the same employer or employers, whether concurrently or otherwise, at some point during the applicable statute of limitations period; b. Allege one or more violations that raise similar questions as to liability; and C. Seek similar forms of relief. d. Employees shall not be considered dissimilar solely because their claims seek damages that differ in amount, or theirjob titles or other means of classifying employees differ in ways that are unrelated to their claims. 3. Each covered employer shall retain records as required by RCW 49.46.070, as well as such information as the City may require to confirm compliance with this chapter. If an employer fails to retain such records, there shall be a presumption, rebuttable by clear and convincing evidence, that the employer violated this chapter for the periods and for each employee for whom records were not retained. 4. Employers shall permit authorized City representatives access to work sites and relevant records for the purpose of monitoring compliance with the chapter and investigating complaints of noncompliance, including production for inspection and copying of employment records. The City may designate representatives, including city contractors and representatives of unions or worker advocacy organizations, to access the worksite and relevant records. 5. Complaints that any provision of this chapter has been violated may also be presented to the City Attorney, who is hereby authorized to investigate and, if they deem appropriate, initiate legal or other action to remedy any violation of this chapter. 6. The City has the authority to issue administrative citations and to order injunctive relief including reinstatement, restitution, payment of back wages, or other forms of relief. 7. The City may, in the exercise of its authority and performance of its functions and services, agree by contract or otherwise to participate jointly or in cooperation with Washington State, King County, or any city, town, or other incorporated place, or subdivision thereof, or engage outside counsel, to enforce this chapter. 8. The remedies and penalties provided under this chapter are cumulative and are not intended to be exclusive of any other available remedies or penalties, including existing remedies for enforcement of Renton Municipal Code chapters. 9. The statute of limitations for any enforcement action shall be five (5) years. Section 9. A new section is added to Renton Municipal Code (RMC) Section 5-5-4 as follows: 1. The Finance Director may deny, suspend, or revoke any license under this chapter for violation of this ordinance. 2. The Finance Director must deny, suspend, or revoke any license under this chapter for repeated intentional violations of this ordinance. 3. Any action by the Finance Director under this section shall be subject to the procedures and requirements of RMC subsection 5-5-3.E, as well as other due process rights that a court may require. Section 10. Definitions. For the purposes of this chapter, the following terms shall have the following meanings: "City" means the City of Renton. "Covered employer" means an employer that either (1) employs at least 15 employees regardless of where those employees are employed, or (2) has annual gross revenue over $2 million. "Effective date" is the effective date of this ordinance. "Employee" is defined as set forth in RCW 49.46.010. An employer bears the burden of proof that the individual is, as a matter of economic reality, in business for oneself rather than dependent upon the alleged employer. "Employer" is defined as set forth in RCW 49.46.010. "Employer classification" includes the determination of whether an employer is a covered employer and whether a covered employer is a large employer. "Franchise" means an agreement, express or implied, oral or written by which: 1. A person is granted the right to engage in the business of offering, selling, or distributing goods or services under a marketing plan prescribed or suggested in substantial part by the grantor or its affiliate; 2. The operation of the business is substantially associated with a trademark, service mark, trade name, advertising, or other commercial symbol; designating, owned by, or licensed by the grantor or its affiliate; and 3. The person pays, agrees to pay, or is required to pay, directly or indirectly, a franchise fee. The term, "franchise fee" is meant to be construed broadly to include any instance in which the grantor or its affiliate derives income or profit from a person who enters into a franchise agreement with the grantor. "Hour worked within the City" is to be interpreted according to its ordinary meaning, including all hours worked within the geographic boundaries of the City, excluding time spent in the City solely for the purpose of traveling through the City from a point of origin outside the City to a destination outside the City, with no employment -related or commercial stops in the City except for refueling or the employee's personal meals or errands. "Large Employer" means all employers that employ more than 500 employees, regardless of where those employees are employed, and all franchisees associated with a franchisor or a network of franchises with franchisees that employ more than 500 employees in aggregate. "Other covered employer" means a covered employer that does not qualify as a large employer. "Service charge" is defined as set forth in RCW 49.46.160(2)(c). "Tips" means a verifiable sum to be presented by a customer as a gift or gratuity in recognition of some service performed for the customer by the employee receiving the tip. "Wage" is defined as set forth in RCW 49.46.010. Section 11. Other Legal Requirements. This ordinance shall not be construed to preempt, limit, or otherwise affect the applicability of any other law, regulation, requirement, policy, or standard that provides for greater wages or compensation; and nothing in this ordinance shall be interpreted or applied so as to create any power or duty in conflict with federal or state law. Section 12. Rulemaking. Within 180 days after the effective date, the City shall adopt rules and procedures to implement and ensure compliance with this chapter, which shall require employers to maintain adequate records and to annually certify compliance with this chapter. The City shall seek feedback from worker organizations and covered employers before finalizing the rules and procedures. Section 13. Constitutional Subject. For constitutional purposes, this measure's subject "concerns labor standards for certain employers." See Filo Foods, LLC v. City of SeaTac, 183 Wash. 2d 770, 783, 357 P.3d 1040, 1047 (2015) (upholding this statement of subject for an initiative that set a minimum wage and addressed employees' access to hours). Section 14. Codification. All sections of this ordinance except section 9 shall be codified in a new chapter of the Renton Municipal Code. Section 15. Election date. In the event that the election on this measure takes place later than November 7, 2023, the Finance Department must establish and publish the initial minimum wage within 30 days of the effective date. Section 16. Severability. The provisions of this ordinance are declared to be separate and severable. If any clause, sentence, paragraph, subdivision, section, subsection, or portion of this ordinance, or the application thereof to any employer, employee, or circumstance, is held to be invalid, it shall not affect the validity of the remainder of this ordinance, or the validity of its application to other persons or circumstances. Name Of Canvasser: Date Canvassed: Canvasser Email and Phone Number: Raising The Minimum Wage In Renton 2 INITIATIVE PETITION FOR SUBMISSION TO THE RENTON CITY COUNCIL TO: The City Council of the City of Renton: We, the undersigned registered voters of the City of Renton, State of Washington, residing at the addresses set forth opposite our respective names, being equal to fifteen percent (15%) of the total number of names of persons listed as registered voters within the City on the day of the last preceding City general election, respectfully request that the following ordinance be enacted by the City Council or, if not so enacted, be submitted to a vote of the residents of the City. The title of the said ordinance is as follows: ORDINANCE CONCERNING LABOR STANDARDS FOR CERTAIN EMPLOYEES A full, true and correct copy of the ordinance is attached to this Petition. Each of us for himself or herself says: I have personally signed this petition; I am a registered voter of the City of Renton, State of Washington; and my residence is correctly stated. Signature Printed Name Street and Number City Phone Number Email s-0arm Printed Name 1234 Anywhere St. Renton 206-555-1234 maria@something.org ^ A n ~-,A I�-4z- `A�--- Renton �2- 2SS ( lJ-1 Date 4/10/2023 t /za2,3 �/��1i•-5�1)Y(�l/ �. 1f��S T�5/C�yY/l?/�/i%� Renton v 3. ' (26 �z7�(� 7 4. 5. N )Esvr ,� A 'l-- es ClyAve '3 !ZV�—qtl Renton Z�-'5 -'V/ -6�K Renton `� 2 Al Sf- Renton 7(—. /2 //2- E S /Z/43 / 3�1� Cl � 4�h 3�- Renton %�O � ' �� � � L((� 7. z +� Renton _ 3qL45 8. - -�(!�Ka r- 61,2,t, 4I'l A,4 6 Renton 2�� 3 l 6 Z U0— 9. �'(I`��II�/GV%Y4 E' Cr�S'�c��� ���(� '��2 PE G(fh sty{ Renton -zvG`IS1� 10. /z� /= !Ti G� 2-Z/J11 ��I, Renton Warning Every person who signs this petition with any other than his or her true name, or who knowingly signs more than one of these petitions, or signs a petition seek- ing an election when he or she is not a legal voter, or signs a petition when he or she is otherwise not qualified to sign, or who makes herein any false statement, shall be guilty of a misdemeanor. AN ORDINANCE concerning labor standards for certain employees. Section 1. Findings. 1. The people of the City of Renton hereby adopt this citizen initiative addressing labor standards for certain employees, for the purpose of ensuring that, to the extent reasonably practicable, people employed in Renton have good wages and access to sufficient hours of work. 2. The City of Renton is one of the largest job centers in Washington State, with thousands of shoppers and workers visiting daily to participate in the local economy. Renton is home to The Landing shopping center, the historic Downtown Urban Center, as well as retail and commercial office and warehouse districts around the Rainier/Grady Way Junction. The City is a net importer ofjobs, with nearly 60,000 employed workers. Renton has a wide array of both long established and new and evolving business sectors. Retail businesses, restaurants and bars, auto sales, hospitality, healthcare, and office workers are well represented. 3. The statewide minimum wage is not sufficient to afford rising rents and costs of living in Renton. According to the National Low Income Housing Coalition's Out of Reach 2022 report, a worker making Washington's minimum wage would have to work 72 hours each week (up from 70 hours each week in 2021) to afford a modest one -bedroom rental home at Fair Market Rent. 4. When working families earn insufficient income due to low wages and involuntary under -employment, they struggle to pay for basic necessities like health care, child care, and groceries, and they are more likely to be evicted and become homeless. 5. Nearby King County cities of SeaTac, Seattle, and Tukwila enacted higher minimum wages in 2013, 2014, and 2022 respectively, but until now Renton has not followed suit. 6. Children growing up in poverty experience insecurity with housing, nutrition, and health care while enduring other hardships that prevent their ability to learn in school. Full time working parents must be able to reasonably provide for their family to ensure access to the opportunities and promise of public education. Section 2. Intent. It is the intent of the people to establish fair labor standards and protect the rights of workers by: (1) ensuring that the vast majority of employees in the City of Renton receive a minimum wage comparable to employees in the nearby cities of Tukwila, SeaTac, and Seattle; (2) requiring covered employers to offer additional hours of work to qualified part-time employees before hiring new employees to fill those hours; and (3) adopting enforcement requirements. Section 3. Large Employers Shall Pay Minimum Wages Comparable to Those in Nearby Cities. 1. Effective July 1, 2024, every large employer shall pay to each employee an hourly wage of not less than the 2023 new minimum wage rate in the City of Tukwila, established by City of Tukwila Initiative Measure No. 1, approved by voters in November 2022, adjusted for 2024 by the annual rate of inflation. 2. On January 1, 2025, and on each January 1 thereafter, the hourly minimum wage shall increase by the annual rate of inflation to maintain employee purchasing power. 3. By December 31, 2023, and by October 15 of each year thereafter, the Finance Department shall establish and publish the applicable hourly minimum wage for the following year using the annual rate of inflation. 4. For purposes of this chapter, the annual rate of inflation means 100 percent of the annual average growth rate of the bi-monthly Seattle -Tacoma -Bellevue Area Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage In mers and Clerical Workers, termed CPI-W, for the 12-month period ending in August, provided that the percentage increase shall not be less than zero. 5. An employer must pay to its employees: a. All tips and gratuities; and b. All service charges as defined under RCW 49.46.160 except those that, pursuant to RCW 49,46.160, are itemized as not being payable to the employee or employees servicing the customer. Tips and service charges paid to an employee are in addition to, and may not count towards, the employee's hourly minimum wage. Section 4. Other Covered Employers Shall Have a Multiyear Phase -In Period. Other covered employers shall phase in the new minimum wage, as follows: 1. Effective July 1, 2024, other covered employers shall pay employees not less than the hourly minimum wage established under Section 3 minus Two Dollars ($2) per hour. 2. Effective July 1, 2025, other covered employers shall pay employees not less than the hourly minimum wage established under Section 3 minus One Dollar ($I) per hour. 3. Effective July 1, 2026, and thereafter, all covered employers shall pay employees not less than the hourly minimum wage established under Section 3. Section 5. Coverage and Employer Classifications. 1. Covered employers must pay employees at least the minimum wage established by this chapter for each hour worked within the City. 2. Employer classification for the current calendar year will be calculated based upon the average number of employees during all weeks in the previous calendar year in which the employer had at least one employee. For employers that did not have any employees during the previous calendar year, classification will be based upon the average number of employees during the most recent three months of the current year. In this determination, all employees will be counted, regardless of their location, and including employees who worked in full-time employment, part-time employment, joint employment, temporary employment, or through the services of a temporary services or staffing agency or similar entity. 3. Employer classification for the current calendar year will be calculated based upon the gross revenue for the previous year. For employers that did not have gross revenue during the previous calendar year, annual gross revenue will be calculated from the gross revenue during the most recent three months of the current year. 4. For the purposes of employer classification, separate entities will be considered a single employer if they form an integrated enterprise or they are underjoint control by one of those entities or a separate entity. The factors to consider in making this assessment include, but are not limited to: a. Degree of interrelation between the operations of multiple entities; b. Degree to which the entities share common management; C. Centralized control of labor relations; and d. Degree of common ownership or financial control over the entities. Section 6. Part -Time Employees Shall Have Fair Access to Additional Hours. I. Before hiring additional employees or subcontractors, including hiring through the use of temporary services or staffing agencies, covered employers must offer additional hours of work to existing employees who, in the employer's good faith and reasonable judgment, have the skills and experience to perform the work, and shall use a reasonable, transparent, and nondiscriminatory process to distribute the hours of work among those existing employees. 2. This section shall not be construed to require any employer to offer an employee work hours if the employer would be required to compensate the employee at time -and -a -half or other premium rate under any law or collective bargaining agreement, nor to prohibit any employer from offering such work hours. Section 7. Retaliation Prohibited. 1. No employer or any other person shall interfere with, restrain, or deny the exercise of, or the attempt to exercise, any right protected under this chapter. 2. No employer or any other person shall take any adverse action against any person because the person has exercised in good faith the rights under this chapter. Such rights include but are not limited to the right to make inquiries about the rights protected under this chapter; the right to inform others about their rights under this chapter; the right to inform the person's employer, union, or similar organization, and/or the person's legal counsel or any other person about an alleged violation of this chapter; the right to bring a civil action for an alleged violation of this chapter; the right to testify in a proceeding under or related to this chapter; the right to refuse to participate in an activity that would result in a violation of city, state, or federal law; and the right to oppose any policy, practice, or act that is unlawful under this chapter. 3. For the purposes of this section, an adverse action means denying ajob or promotion, demoting, terminating, failing to rehire after a seasonal interruption of work, threatening, penalizing, retaliating, engaging in unfair immigration -related practices, filing a false report with a government agency, changing an employee's status to nonemployee, decreasing or declining to provide additional work hours when they otherwise would have been offered, scheduling an employee for hours outside of their availability, or otherwise discriminating against any person for any reason prohibited by this chapter. "Adverse action" for an employee may involve any aspect of employment, including pay, work hours, responsibilities, or other material change in the terms and conditions of employment. 4. No employer or any other person shall communicate to a person exercising rights protected under this chapter, directly or indirectly, the willingness to inform a government employee that the person is not lawfully in the United States, or to report, or to make an implied or express assertion of a willingness to report, suspected citizenship or immigration status of the person or a family member of the person to a federal, state, or local agency because the person has exercised a right under this chapter. 5. There shall be a rebuttable presumption of unlawful retaliation if an employer or any other person takes an adverse action against a person within 90 days of the person's exercise of any right protected in this chapter. However, in the case of seasonal work that ended before the close of the 90-day period, the presumption also applies if the employer fails to rehire a former employee at the next opportunity for work in the same position. The employer may rebut the presumption with clear and convincing evidence that the adverse action was taken for a permissible purpose. 6. Standard of Proof. Proof of retaliation under this chapter shall be sufficient upon a showing that an employer or any other person has taken an adverse action against a person and the person's exercise of rights protected in this chapter was a motivating factor in the adverse action, unless the employer can prove that the action would have been taken in the absence of such protected activity. 7. The protections afforded under this section shall apply to any person who mistakenly but in good faith alleges violations of this chapter. Section 8. Enforcement. 1. Any person or class of persons that suffers financial injury as a result of a violation of this chapter or is the subject of prohibited retaliation under this chapter, or any other individual or entity acting on their behalf, may bring a civil action in a court of competentjurisdiction against the employer or other person violating this chapter and, upon prevailing, shall be awarded reasonable attorney fees and costs and such legal or equitable relief as may be appropriate to remedy the violation including, without limitation, the payment of my unpaid wages plus interest due to the person and liquidated damages in an additional amount of up to twice the unpaid wages; compensatory damages; and a penalty payable to any aggrieved party of up to $5,000 if the aggrieved party was subject to prohibited retaliation. For the purposes of this section, an aggrieved party means an employee or other person who suffers tangible or intangible harm due to an employer or other person's violation of this chapter. Interest shall accrue from the date the unpaid wages were first due at the higher of twelve percent per annum or the maximum rate permitted under RCW 19.52.020. 2. For purposes of determining membership within a class of persons entitled to bring an action under this section, two or more employees are similarly situated if they: a. Are or were employed by the same employer or employers, whether concurrently or otherwise, at some point during the applicable statute of limitations period; b. Allege one or more violations that raise similar questions as to liability; and C. Seek similar forms of relief. d. Employees shall not be considered dissimilar solely because their claims seek damages that differ in amount, or theirjob titles or other means of classifying employees differ in ways that are unrelated to their claims. 3. Each covered employer shall retain records as required by RCW 49.46.070, as well as such information as the City may require to confirm compliance with this chapter. If an employer fails to retain such records, there shall be a presumption, rebuttable by clear and convincing evidence, that the employer violated this chapter for the periods and for each employee for whom records were not retained. 4. Employers shall permit authorized City representatives access to work sites and relevant records for the purpose of monitoring compliance with the chapter and investigating complaints of noncompliance, including production for inspection and copying of employment records. The City may designate representatives, including city contractors and representatives of unions or worker advocacy organizations, to access the worksite and relevant records. 5. Complaints that any provision of this chapter has been violated may also be presented to the City Attorney, who is hereby authorized to investigate and, if they deem appropriate, initiate legal or other action to remedy any violation of this chapter. 6. The City has the authority to issue administrative citations and to order injunctive relief including reinstatement, restitution, payment of back wages, or other forms of relief. 7. The City may, in the exercise of its authority and performance of its functions and services, agree by contract or otherwise to participatejointly or in cooperation with Washington State, King County, or any city, town, or other incorporated place, or subdivision thereof, or engage outside counsel, to enforce this chapter. 8. The remedies and penalties provided under this chapter are cumulative and are not intended to be exclusive of any other available remedies or penalties, including existing remedies for enforcement of Renton Municipal Code chapters. 9. The statute of limitations for any enforcement action shall be five (5) years. Section 9. A new section is added to Renton Municipal Code (RMC) Section 5-5-4 as follows: 1. The Finance Director may deny, suspend, or revoke any license under this chapter for violation of this ordinance. 2. The Finance Director must deny, suspend, or revoke any license under this chapter for repeated intentional violations of this ordinance. 3. Any action by the Finance Director under this section shall be subject to the procedures and requirements of RMC subsection 5-5-3.E, as well as other due process rights that a court may require. Section 10. Definitions. For the purposes of this chapter, the following terms shall have the following meanings: "City" means the City of Renton. "Covered employer" means an employer that either (1) employs at least 15 employees regardless of where those employees are employed, or (2) has annual gross revenue over $2 million. "Effective date" is the effective date of this ordinance. "Employee" is defined as set forth in RCW 49.46.010. An employer bears the burden of proof that the individual is, as a matter of economic reality, in business for oneself rather than dependent upon the alleged employer. "Employer" is defined as set forth in RCW 49.46.010. "Employer classification" includes the determination of whether an employer is a covered employer and whether a covered employer is a large employer. "Franchise" means an agreement, express or implied, oral or written by which: 1. A person is granted the right to engage in the business of offering, selling, or distributing goods or services under a marketing plan prescribed or suggested in substantial part by the grantor or its affiliate; 2. The operation of the business is substantially associated with a trademark, service mark, trade time, advertising, or other commercial symbol; designating, owned by, or licensed by the grantor or its affiliate; and 3. The person pays, agrees to pay, or is required to pay, directly or indirectly, a franchise fee. The term, "franchise fee" is meant to be construed broadly to include any instance in which the grantor or its affiliate derives income or profit from a person who enters into a franchise agreement with the grantor. "How worked within the City" is to be interpreted according to its ordinary meaning, including all hours worked within the geographic boundaries of the City, excluding time spent in the City solely for the purpose of traveling through the City from a point of origin outside the City to a destination outside the City, with no employment -related or commercial stops in the City except for refueling or the employee's personal meals or errands. "Large Employer" means all employers that employ more than 500 employees, regardless of where those employees are employed, and all franchisees associated with a franchisor or a network of franchises with franchisees that employ more than 500 employees in aggregate. "Other covered employer" means a covered employer that does not qualify as a large employer. "Service charge" is defined as set forth in RCW 49.46.160(2)(c). "Tips" means a verifiable sum to be presented by a customer as a gift or gratuity in recognition of some service performed for the customer by the employee receiving the tip. "Wage" is defined as set forth in RCW 49.46.010. Section 11. Other Legal Requirements. This ordinance shall not be construed to preempt, limit, or otherwise affect the applicability of any other law, regulation, requirement, policy, or standard that provides for greater wages or compensation; and nothing in this ordinance shall be interpreted or applied so as to create any power or duty in conflict with federal or state law. Section 12. Rulemaking. Within 180 days after the effective date, the City shall adopt rules and procedures to implement and ensure compliance with this chapter, which shall require employers to maintain adequate records and to annually certify compliance with this chapter. The City shall seek feedback from worker organizations and covered employers before finalizing the rules and procedures. Section 13. Constitutional Subject. For constitutional purposes, this measure's subject "concerns labor standards for certain employers." See Filo Foods, LLC v. City of SeaTac, 183 Wash. 2d 770, 783, 357 RM 1040, 1047 (2015) (upholding this statement of subject for an initiative that set a minimum wage and addressed employees' access to hours). Section 14. Codification. All sections of this ordinance except section 9 shall be codified in a new chapter of the Renton Municipal Code. Section 15. Election date. In the event that the election on this measure takes place later than November 7, 2023, the Finance Department must establish and publish the initial minimum wage within 30 days of the effective date. Section 16. Severability. The provisions of this ordinance are declared to be separate and severable. If any clause, sentence, paragraph, subdivision, section, subsection, or portion of this ordinance, or the application thereof to any employer, employee, or circumstance, is held to be invalid, it shall not affect the validity of the remainder of this ordinance, or the validity of its application to other persons or circumstances. Name Of Canvasser. A dalb 7,01A�t: Date Canvassed:-, Canvasser Email and Phone Number: GI('`(�Y�(�((0,9 l VYui f .P/(M I'h i.11U� It)( --� � u _ G,a-r7 Raising The Minimum Wage In Renton 6. INITIATIVE PETITION FOR SUBMISSION TO THE RENTON CITY COUNCIL TO: The City Council of the City of Renton: We, the undersigned registered voters of the City of Renton, State of Washington, residing at the addresses set forth opposite our respective names, being equal to fifteen percent (15%) of the total number of names of persons listed as registered voters within the City on the day of the last preceding City general election, respectfully request that the following ordinance be enacted by the City Council or, if not so enacted, be submitted to a vote of the residents of the City. The title of the said ordinance is as follows: ORDINANCE CONCERNING LABOR STANDARDS FOR CERTAIN EMPLOYEES A full, true and correct copy of the ordinance is attached to this Petition. Each of us for himself or herself says: I have personally signed this petition; I am a registered voter of the City of Renton, State of Washington; and my residence is correctly stated. Signature Printed Name Street and Number City Phone Number Email Date SLl`� Printed Name 1234 Anywhere St. Renton 206-555-1234 maria@something.org 4/10/2023 A to Vt 'VA- R&5f- Renton ��j2S� C%tf3 bQ�F 1 f�lol IVII 1176 Renton C2doJ 35-5'-65sz ,(1'lPU/C&V'- 5 3 ✓! t (00 PI V )F— Renton ' • u.. �, . r i •�� W_4V0J_ Renton (-)D 1- goz)o NE 3 Yd L�J Renton �/dt' 1; kJ/ � �7 -7 �/ / _- -e 1lrC / �!' lvti �t �CIG I � �� Renton / �� / ��� .w�/ � ✓� s 8. 9. �V'Pn 10.w�` ��A Qu Renton Renton Renton �l9u f1 4aos ro� 3�' ri Renton sP/ 5 z/jZ 3 s /ai (z,3 Warning Every person who signs this petition with any other than his or her true name, or who knowingly signs more than one of these petitions, or signs a petition seek- ing an election when he or she is not a legal voter, or signs a petition when he or she is otherwise not qualified to sign, or who makes herein any false statement, shall be guilty of a misdemeanor. O�`GCCABT� 833-M .IBMCICKI4P11PI�� AN ORDINANCE concerning labor standards for certain employees. Section 1. Findings. 1. The people of the City of Renton hereby adopt this citizen initiative addressing labor standards for certain employees, for the purpose of ensuring that, to the extent reasonably practicable, people employed in Renton have good wages and access to sufficient hours of work. 2. The City of Renton is one of the largestjob centers in Washington State, with thousands of shoppers and workers visiting daily to participate in the local economy. Renton is home to The Landing shopping center, the historic Downtown Urban Center, as well as retail and commercial office and warehouse districts around the Rainier/Grady Way Junction. The City is a net importer ofjobs, with nearly 60,000 employed workers. Renton has a wide may of both long established and new and evolving business sectors. Retail businesses, restaurants and bus, auto sales, hospitality, healthcare, and office workers we well represented. 3. The statewide minimum wage is not sufficient to afford rising rents and costs of living in Renton. According to the National Low Income Housing Coalition's Out of Reach 2022 report, a worker making Washington's minimum wage would have to work 72 hours each week (up from 70 hours each week in 2021) to afford a modest one -bedroom rental home at Fair Market Rent. 4. When working families earn insufficient income due to low wages and involuntary under -employment, they struggle to pay for basic necessities like health care, child care, and groceries, and they are more likely to be evicted and become homeless. 5. Nearby King County cities of SeaTac, Seattle, and Tukwila enacted higher minimum wages in 2013, 2014, and 2022 respectively, but until now Renton has not followed suit. 6. Children growing up in poverty experience insecurity with housing, nutrition, and health care while enduring other hardships that prevent their ability to learn in school. Full time working parents must be able to reasonably provide for their family to ensure access to the opportunities and promise of public education. Section 2. Intent. It is the intent of the people to establish fair labor standards and protect the rights of workers by: (1) ensuring that the vast majority of employees in the City of Renton receive a minimum wage comparable to employees in the nearby cities of Tukwila, SeaTac, and Seattle; (2) requiring covered employers to offer additional hours of work to qualified part-time employees before hiring new employees to fill those hours; and (3) adopting enforcement requirements. Section 3. Large Employers Shall Pay Minimum Wages Comparable to Those in Nearby Cities. I. Effective July 1, 2024, every large employer shall pay to each employee an hourly wage of not less than the 2023 new minimum wage rate in the City of Tukwila, established by City of Tukwila Initiative Measure No. 1, approved by voters in November 2022, adjusted for 2024 by the annual rate of inflation. 2. On January 1, 2025, and on each January 1 thereafter, the hourly minimum wage shall increase by the annual rate of inflation to maintain employee purchasing power. 3. By December 31, 2023, and by October 15 of each year thereafter, the Finance Department shall establish and publish the applicable hourly minimum wage for the following year using the annual rate of inflation. 4. For purposes of this chapter, the annual rate of inflation means 100 percent of the annual average growth rate of the bi-monthly Seattle -Tacoma -Bellevue Area Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers, termed CPI-W, for the 12-month period ending in August, provided that the percentage increase shall not be less than zero. 5. An employer must pay to its employees: a. All tips and gratuities; and b. All service charges as defined under RCW 49.46.160 except those that, pursuant to RCW 49.46,160, are itemized as not being payable to the employee or employees servicing the customer. Tips and service charges paid to an employee are in addition to, and may not count towards, the employee's hourly minimum wage. Section 4. Other Covered Employers Shall Have a Multiyear Phase -In Period. Other covered employers shall phase in the new minimum wage, as follows: 1. Effective July 1, 2024, other covered employers shall pay employees not less than the hourly minimum wage established under Section 3 minus Two Dollars ($2) per hour. 2. Effective July 1, 2025, other covered employers shall pay employees not less than the hourly minimum wage established under Section 3 minus One Dollar ($1) per hour. 3. Effective July 1, 2026, and thereafter, all covered employers shall pay employees not less than the hourly minimum wage established under Section 3. Section 5. Coverage and Employer Classifications. 1. Covered employers must pay employees at least the minimum wage established by this chapter for each hour worked within the City. 2. Employer classification for the current calendar year will be calculated based upon the average number of employees during all weeks in the previous calendar year in which the employer had at least one employee. For employers that did not have any employees during the previous calendar year, classification will be based upon the average number of employees during the most recent three months of the current year. In this determination, all employees will be counted, regardless of their location, and including employees who worked in full-time employment, part-time employment, joint employment, temporary employment, or through the services of a temporary services or staffing agency or similar entity. 3. Employer classification for the current calendar year will be calculated based upon the gross revenue for the previous year. For employers that did not have gross revenue during the previous calendar yea, annual gross revenue will be calculated from the gross revenue during the most recent three months of the current year. 4. For the purposes of employer classification, separate entities will be considered a single employer if they form an integrated enterprise or they are underjoint control by one of those entities or a separate entity. The factors to consider in making this assessment include, but are not limited to: a. Degree of interrelation between the operations of multiple entities; b. Degree to which the entities share common management; C. Centralized control of labor relations; and d. Degree of common ownership or financial control over the entities. Section 6. Part -Time Employees Shall Have Fair Access to Additional Hours. 1. Before hiring additional employees or subcontractors, including hiring through the use of temporary services or staffing agencies, covered employers must offer additional hours of work to existing employees who, in the employer's good faith and reasonable judgment, have the skills and experience to perform the work, and shall use a reasonable, transparent, and nondiscriminatory process to distribute the hours of work among those existing employees. 2. This section shall not be construed to require any employer to offer an employee work hours if the employer would be required to compensate the employee at time -and -a -half or other premium rate under any law or collective bargaining agreement, nor to prohibit any employer from offering such work hours. Section 7. Retaliation Prohibited. 1. No employer or any other person shall interfere with, restrain, or deny the exercise of, or the attempt to exercise, any right protected under this chapter, 2. No employer or any other person shall take any adverse action against any person because the person has exercised in good faith the rights under this chapter. Such rights include but are not limited to the right to make inquiries about the rights protected under this chapter; the right to inform others about their rights under this chapter; the right to inform the person's employer, union, or similar organization, and/or the person's legal counsel or any other person about an alleged violation of this chapter; the right to bring a civil action for an alleged violation of this chapter; the right to testify in a proceeding under or related to this chapter•, the right to refuse to participate in an activity that would result in a violation of city, state, or federal law; and the right to oppose any policy, practice, or act that is unlawful under this chapter. 3. For the purposes of this section, an adverse action means denying ajob or promotion, demoting, terminating, failing to rehire after a seasonal interruption of work, threatening, penalizing, retaliating, engaging in unfair immigration -related practices, filing a false report with a government agency, changing an employee's status to nonemployee, decreasing or declining to provide additional work hours when they otherwise would have been offered, scheduling an employee for hours outside of their availability, or otherwise discriminating against any person for any reason prohibited by this chapter. "Adverse action" for an employee may involve any aspect of employment, including pay, work hours, responsibilities, or other material change in the terms and conditions of employment. 4. No employer or any other person shall communicate to a person exercising rights protected under this chapter, directly or indirectly, the willingness to inform a government employee that the person is not lawfully in the United States, or to report, or to make an implied or express assertion of a willingness to report, suspected citizenship or immigration status of the person or a family member of the person to a federal, state, or local agency because the person has exercised a right under this chapter. 5. There shall be a rebuttable presumption of unlawful retaliation if an employer or any other person takes an adverse action against a person within 90 days of the person's exercise of any right protected in this chapter. However, in the case of seasonal work that ended before the close of the 90-day period, the presumption also applies if the employer fails to rehire a former employee at the next opportunity for work in the same position. The employer may rebut the presumption with clear and convincing evidence that the adverse action was taken for a permissible purpose. 6. Standard of Proof. Proof of retaliation under this chapter shall be sufficient upon a showing that an employer or any other person has taken an adverse action against a person and the person's exercise of rights protected in this chapter was a motivating factor in the adverse action, unless the employer can prove that the action would have been taken in the absence of such protected activity. 7. The protections afforded under this section shall apply to any person who mistakenly but in good faith alleges violations of this chapter. Section 8. Enforcement. 1. Any person or class of persons that suffers financial injury as a result of a violation of this chapter or is the subject of prohibited retaliation under this chapter, or any other individual or entity acting on their behalf, may bring a civil action in a court of competent jurisdiction against the employer or other person violating this chapter and, upon prevailing, shall be awarded reasonable attorney fees and costs and such legal or equitable relief as may be appropriate to remedy the violation including, without limitation, the payment of any unpaid wages plus interest due to the person and liquidated damages in an additional amount of up to twice the unpaid wages; compensatory damages; and a penalty payable to any aggrieved party of up to $5,000 if the aggrieved party was subject to prohibited retaliation. For the purposes of this section, an aggrieved party means an employee or other person who suffers tangible or intangible harm due to an employer or other person's violation of this chapter. Interest shall accrue from the date the unpaid wages were first due at the higher of twelve percent per arum or the maximum rate permitted under RCW 19.52.020. 2. For purposes of determining membership within a class of persons entitled to bring an action under this section, two or more employees are similarly situated if they: a. Are or were employed by the same employer or employers, whether concurrently or otherwise, at some point during the applicable statute of limitations period; b. Allege one or more violations that raise similar questions as to liability; and C. Seek similar forms of relief. d. Employees shall not be considered dissu filar solely because their claims seek damages that differ in amount, or their job titles or other means of classifying employees differ in ways that we umelated to their claims. 3. Each covered employer shall retain records as required by RCW 49.46.070, as well as such information as the City may require to confirm compliance with this chapter. If an employer fails to retain such records, there shall be a presumption, rebuttable by clear and convincing evidence, that the employer violated this chapter for the periods and for each employee for whom records were not retained. 4. Employers shall permit authorized City representatives access to work sites and relevant records for the purpose of monitoring compliance with the chapter and investigating complaints of noncompliance, including production for inspection and copying of employment records. The City may designate representatives, including city contractors and representatives of unions or worker advocacy organizations, to access the worksite and relevant records. 5. Complaints that any provision of this chapter has been violated may also be presented to the City Attorney, who is hereby authorized to investigate and, if they deem appropriate, initiate legal or other action to remedy any violation of this chapter. 6. The City has the authority to issue administrative citations and to order injunctive relief including reinstatement, restitution, payment of back wages, or other forms of relief. 7. The City may, in the exercise of its authority and performance of its functions and services, agree by contract or otherwise to participate jointly or in cooperation with Washington State, King County, or any city, town, or other incorporated place, or subdivision thereof, or engage outside counsel, to enforce this chapter. 8. The remedies and penalties provided under this chapter are cumulative and are not intended to be exclusive of any other available remedies or penalties, including existing remedies for enforcement of Renton Municipal Code chapters. 9. The statute of limitations for any enforcement action shall be five (5) yews. Section 9. A new section is added to Renton Municipal Code (RMC) Section 5-5-4 as follows: 1. The Finance Director may deny, suspend, or revoke any license under this chapter for violation of this ordinance. 2. The Finance Director must deny, suspend, or revoke any license under this chapter for repeated intentional violations of this ordinance. 3. Any action by the Finance Director under this section shall be subject to the procedures and requirements of RMC subsection 5-5-3.E, as well as other due process rights that a court may require. Section 10. Definitions. For the purposes of this chapter, the following terms shall have the following meanings: "City" means the City of Renton. "Covered employer" means an employer that either (1) employs at least 15 employees regardless of where those employees are employed, or (2) has annual gross revenue over $2 million. "Effective date" is the effective date of this ordinance. "Employee" is defined as set forth in RCW 49.46.010. An employer bears the burden of proof that the individual is, as a matter of economic reality, in business for oneself rather than dependent upon the alleged employer. "Employer" is defined as set forth in RCW 49.46.010. "Employer classification" includes the determination of whether an employer is a covered employer and whether a covered employer is a large employer, "Franchise" means an agreement, express or implied, oral or written by which: 1. A person is granted the right to engage in the business of offering, selling, or distributing goods or services under a marketing plan prescribed or suggested in substantial part by the grantor or its affiliate; 2. The operation of the business is substantially associated with a trademark, service mark, trade time, advertising, or other commercial symbol; designating, owned by, or licensed by the grantor or its affiliate; and 3. The person pays, agrees to pay, or is required to pay, directly or indirectly, a franchise fee. The term, "franchise fee" is meant to be construed broadly to include any instance in which the grantor or its affiliate derives income or profit from aperson who enters into a franchise agreement with the grantor. "Hour worked within the City" is to be interpreted according to its ordinary meaning, including all hours worked within the geographic boundaries of the City, excluding time spent in the City solely for the purpose of traveling through the City from a point of origin outside the City to a destination outside the City, with no employment -related or commercial stops in the City except for refueling or the employee's personal meals or errands. "Large Employer" means all employers that employ more than 500 employees, regardless of where those employees are employed, and all franchisees associated with a franchisor or a network of franchises with franchisees that employ more than 500 employees in aggregate. "Other covered employer" means a covered employer that does not qualify as a large employer. "Service charge" is defined as set forth in RCW 49.46.160(2)(c). "Tips" means a verifiable sum to be presented by a customer as a gift or gratuity in recognition of some service performed for the customer by the employee receiving the tip. "Wage" is defined as set forth in RCW 49.46.010. Section 11. Other Legal Requirements. This ordinance shall not be construed to preempt, limit, or otherwise affect the applicability of any other law, regulation, requirement, policy, or standard that provides for greater wages or compensation; and nothing in this ordinance shall be interpreted or applied so as to create any power or duty in conflict with federal or state law. Section 12. Rulemaking. Within 180 days after the effective date, the City shall adopt rules and procedures to implement and ensure compliance with this chapter, which shall require employers to maintain adequate records and to annually certify compliance with this chapter. The City shall seek feedback from worker organizations and covered employers before finalizing the rules and procedures. Section 13. Constitutional Subject. For constitutional purposes, this measure's subject `concerns labor standards for certain employers." See Filo Foods, LLC v. City of SeaTac, 183 Wash. 2d 770, 783, 357 P.3d 1040, 1047 (2015) (upholding this statement of subject for an initiative that set a minimum wage and addressed employees' access to hows). Section 14. Codification. All sections of this ordinance except section 9 shall be codified in a new chapter of the Renton Municipal Code. Section 15. Election date. In the event that the election on this measure takes place later than November 7, 2023, the Finance Department must establish and publish the initial minimum wage within 30 days of the effective date. Section 16. Severability. The provisions of this ordinance are declared to be separate and severable. If any clause, sentence, paragraph, subdivision, section, subsection, or portion of this ordinance, or the application thereof to any employer, employee, or circumstance, is held to be invalid, it shall not affect the validity of the remainder of this ordinance, or the validity of its application to other persons or circumstances. Raising The Minimum Wage In Renton INITIATIVE PETITION FOR SUBMISSION TO THE RENTON CITY COUNCIL TO: The City Council of the City of Renton: We, the undersigned registered voters of the City of Renton, State of Washington, residing at the addresses set forth opposite our respective names, being equal to fifteen percent (15%) of the total number of names of persons listed as registered voters within the City on the day of the last preceding City general election, respectfully request that the following ordinance be enacted by the City Council or, if not so enacted, be submitted to a vote of the residents of the City. The title of the said ordinance is as follows: ORDINANCE CONCERNING LABOR STANDARDS FOR CERTAIN EMPLOYEES A full, true and correct copy of the ordinance is attached to this Petition. Each of us for himself or herself says: I have personally signed this petition; I am a registered voter of the City of Renton, State of Washington; and my residence is correctly stated. Signature Printed Name Street and Number City Phone Number Email Date S`PO&z Printed Name 1234 Anywhere St. Renton 206-555-1234 maria@something.org 4/10/2023 _ 4 I� �Renton dI 2. 4�9�— ��� 2 i�rn S , Renton 25_�3 Z93 z/' cry cbry) s. WQA t Ili L� �GlG �� / J2> S Renton Lf2C -SOU /%� 1 �iQJr1 ���G� �C— rC151 _ Renton I 4. 2 t j_ _ "i- �O - �JoZ��-I�IZS ��J�� G�.� corn 5. Ji' / Kit rtA-6`✓eA/,ktptj l Z SF I �r2-yJo� S�' Renton 2 G- - (9�bar'n.t17 �/ly�rL 1.� sl�(Z3 6. �' o �" %�Z� po'cj lej CIar-)L( i h?u/ DL-t, 3- AIC J Renton 2SS SL,p -7) bs kDG%e,/ C 51?0q q.zq 1 Z'< 7 10. Renton 5a3 - 6% Renton Z ��� zi b IL^, 0-,n1 C s / 8 l 7 of N Renton �� 7 Q [. l a a-v\' 106 -41n .Aje Renton Warning Every person who signs this petition with any other than his or her true name, or who knowingly signs more than one of these petitions, or signs a petition seek- ing an election when he or she is not a legal voter, or signs a petition when he or she is otherwise not qualified to sign, or who makes herein any false statement, shall be guilty of a misdemeanor. AN ORDINANCE concerning labor standards for certain employees. Section 1. Findings. 1. The people of the City of Renton hereby adopt this citizen initiative addressing labor standards for certain employees, for the purpose of ensuring that, to the extent reasonably practicable, people employed in Renton have good wages and access to sufficient hours of work. 2. The City of Renton is one of the lugestjob centers in Washington State, with thousands of shoppers and workers visiting daily to participate in the local economy, Renton is home to The Landing shopping center, the historic Downtown Urban Center, as well as retail and commercial office and warehouse districts around the Rainier/Grady Way Junction. The City is a net importer ofjobs, with nearly 60,000 employed workers. Renton has a wide may of both long established and new and evolving business sectors. Retail businesses, restaurants and bars, auto sales, hospitality, healthcare, and office workers are well represented. 3. The statewide minimum wage is not sufficient to afford rising rents and costs of living in Renton. According to the National Low Income Housing Coalition's Out of Reach 2022 report, a worker making Washington's minimum wage would have to work 72 hours each week (up from 70 hours each week in 2021) to afford a modest one -bedroom rental home at Fair Market Rent. 4. When working families earn insufficient income due to low wages and involuntary under -employment, they struggle to pay for basic necessities like health care, child care, and groceries, and they are more likely to be evicted and become homeless. 5. Nearby King County cities of SeaTac, Seattle, and Tukwila enacted higher minimum wages in 2013, 2014, and 2022 respectively, but until now Renton has not followed suit. 6. Children growing up in poverty experience insecurity with housing, nutrition, and health cue while enduring other hardships that prevent their ability to learn in school. Full time working parents must be able to reasonably provide for their family to ensure access to the opportunities and promise of public education. Section 2. Intent. It is the intent of the people to establish fair labor standards and protect the rights of workers by: (1) ensuring that the vast majority of employees in the City of Renton receive a minimum wage comparable to employees in the nearby cities of Tukwila, SeaTac, and Seattle; (2) requiring covered employers to offer additional hours of work to qualified part-time employees before hiring new employees to fill those hours; and (3) adopting enforcement requirements. Section 3. Large Employers Shall Pay Minimum Wages Comparable to Those in Nearby Cities. 1. Effective July 1, 2024, every large employer shall pay to each employee an hourly wage of not less than the 2023 new minimum wage rate in the City of Tukwila, established by City of Tukwila Initiative Measure No. 1, approved by voters in November 2022, adjusted for 2024 by the annual rate of inflation. 2. On January 1, 2025, and on each January 1 thereafter, the hourly minimum wage shall increase by the annual rate of inflation to maintain employee purchasing power. 3. By December 31, 2023, and by October 15 of each year thereafter, the Finance Department shall establish and publish the applicable hourly minimum wage for the following year using the annual rate of inflation. 4. For purposes of this chapter, the annual rate of inflation means 100 percent of the annual average growth rate of the bi-monthly Seattle -Tacoma -Bellevue Area Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers, termed CPI-W, for the 12-month period ending in August, provided that the percentage increase shall not be less than zero. 5. An employer must pay to its employees: a. All tips and gratuities; and b. All service charges as defined under RCW 49.46.160 except those that, pursuant to RCW 49.46.160, are itemized as not being payable to the employee or employees servicing the customer. Tips and service charges paid to an employee are in addition to, and may not count towards, the employee's hourly minimum wage. Section 4. Other Covered Employers Shall Have a Multiyear Phase -In Period. Other covered employers shall phase in the new minimum wage, as follows: 1. Effective July 1, 2024, other covered employers shall pay employees not less than the hourly minimum wage established under Section 3 minus Two Dollars ($2) per hour. 2. Effective July 1, 2025, other covered employers shall pay employees not less than the hourly minimum wage established under Section 3 minus One Dollar ($I) per hour. 3. Effective July 1, 2026, and thereafter, all covered employers shall pay employees not less than the hourly minimum wage established under Section 3. Section 5. Coverage and Employer Classifications. 1. Covered employers must pay employees at least the minimum wage established by this chapter for each hour worked within the City. 2. Employer classification for the current calendar year will be calculated based upon the average number of employees during all weeks in the previous calendar year in which the employer had at least one employee. For employers that did not have any employees during the previous calendar year, classification will be based upon the average number of employees during the most recent three months of the current year. In this determination, all employees will be counted, regardless of their location, and including employees who worked in full-time employment, part-time employment, joint employment, temporary employment, or through the services of a temporary services or staffing agency or similar entity. 3. Employer classification for the current calendar year will be calculated based upon the gross revenue for the previous year. For employers that did not have gross revenue during the previous calendar year, annual gross revenue will be calculated from the gross revenue during the most recent three months of the current year. 4. For the purposes of employer classification, separate entities will be considered a single employer if they form an integrated enterprise or they are underjoint control by one of those entities or a separate entity. The factors to consider in making this assessment include, but are not limited to: a. Degree of interrelation between the operations of multiple entities; b. Degree to which the entities share common management; C. Centralized control of labor relations; and d. Degree of common ownership or financial control over the entities. Section 6. Part -Time Employees Shall Have Fair Access to Additional Hours. 1. Before hiring additional employees or subcontractors, including hiring through the use of temporary services or staffing agencies, covered employers must offer additional hours of work to existing employees who, in the employer's good faith and reasonable judgment, have the skills and experience to perform the work, and shall use a reasonable, transparent, and nondiscriminatory process to distribute the hours of work among those existing employees. 2. This section shall not be construed to require any employer to offer an employee work hours if the employer would be required to compensate the employee at time -and -a -half or other premium rate under any law or collective bargaining agreement, nor to prohibit any employer from offering such work hours. Section 7. Retaliation Prohibited. 1. No employer or any other person shall interfere with, restrain, or deny the exercise of, or the attempt to exercise, any right protected under this chapter. 2. No employer or any other person shall take any adverse action against any person because the person has exercised in good faith the rights under this chapter. Such rights include but are not limited to the right to make inquiries about the rights protected under this chapter•, the right to inform others about their rights under this chapter; the right to inform the person's employer, union, or similar organization, and/or the person's legal counsel or any other person about an alleged violation of this chapter; the right to bring a civil action for an alleged violation of this chapter; the right to testify in a proceeding under or related to this chapter; the right to refuse to participate in an activity that would result in a violation of city, state, or federal law; and the right to oppose any policy, practice, or act that is unlawful under this chapter. 3. For the purposes of this section, an adverse action means denying ajob or promotion, demoting, terminating, failing to rehire after a seasonal interruption of work, threatening, penalizing, retaliating, engaging in unfair immigration -related practices, filing a false report with a government agency, changing an employee's status to nonemployee, decreasing or declining to provide additional work hours when they otherwise would have been offered, scheduling an employee for hours outside of their availability, or otherwise discriminating against any person for any reason prohibited by this chapter. "Adverse action" for an employee may involve any aspect of employment, including pay, work hours, responsibilities, or other material change in the terms and conditions of employment. 4. No employer or any other person shall communicate to a person exercising rights protected under this chapter, directly or indirectly, the willingness to inform a government employee that the person is not lawfully in the United States, or to report, or to make an implied or express assertion of a willingness to report, suspected citizenship or immigration status of the person or a family member of the person to a federal, state, or local agency because the person has exercised a right under this chapter. 5. There shall be a rebuttable presumption of unlawful retaliation if an employer or any other person takes an adverse action against a person within 90 days of the person's exercise of any right protected in this chapter. However, in the case of seasonal work that ended before the close of the 90-day period, the presumption also applies if the employer fails to rehire a former employee at the next opportunity for work in the same position. The employer may rebut the presumption with clear and convincing evidence that the adverse action was taken for a permissible purpose. 6. Standard of Proof. Proof of retaliation under this chapter shall be sufficient upon a showing that an employer or any other person has taken an adverse action against a person and the person's exercise of rights protected in this chapter was a motivating factor in the adverse action, unless the employer can prove that the action would have been taken in the absence of such protected activity. 7. The protections afforded under this section shall apply to any person who mistakenly but in good faith alleges violations of this chapter. Section 8. Enforcement. 1. Any person or class of persons that suffers financial injury as a result of a violation of this chapter or is the subject of prohibited retaliation under this chapter, or any other individual or entity acting on their behalf, may bring a civil action in a court of competent jurisdiction against the employer or other person violating this chapter and, upon prevailing, shall be awarded reasonable attorney fees and costs and such legal or equitable relief as may be appropriate to remedy the violation including, without limitation, the payment of any unpaid wages plus interest due to the person and liquidated damages in an additional amount of up to twice the unpaid wages; compensatory damages; and a penalty payable to any aggrieved party of up to $5,000 if the aggrieved party was subject to prohibited retaliation. For the purposes of this section, an aggrieved party means an employee or other person who suffers tangible or intangible harm due to an employer or other person's violation of this chapter. Interest shall accrue from the date the unpaid wages were first due at the higher of twelve percent per annum or the maximum rate permitted under RCW 19.52.020. 2. For purposes of determining membership within a class of persons entitled to bring an action under this section, two or more employees are similarly situated if they: a. Are or were employed by the same employer or employers, whether concurrently or otherwise, at some point during the applicable statute of limitations period; b. Allege one or more violations that raise similar questions as to liability; and C. Seek similar forms of relief. d. Employees shall not be considered dissimilar solely because their claims seek damages that differ in amount, or their job titles or other means of classifying employees differ in ways that are unrelated to their claims. 3. Each covered employer shall retain records as required by RCW 49.46.070, as well as such information as the City may require to confirm compliance with this chapter. If an employer fails to retain such records, there shall be a presumption, rebuttable by clear and convincing evidence, that the employer violated this chapter for the periods and for each employee for whom records were not retained. 4. Employers shall permit authorized City representatives access to work sites and relevant records for the purpose of monitoring compliance with the chapter and investigating complaints of noncompliance, including production for inspection and copying of employment records. The City may designate representatives, including city contractors and representatives of unions or worker advocacy organizations, to access the worksite and relevant records. 5. Complaints that any provision of this chapter has been violated may also be presented to the City Attorney, who is hereby authorized to investigate and, if they deem appropriate, initiate legal or other action to remedy any violation of this chapter. 6. The City has the authority to issue administrative citations and to order injunctive relief including reinstatement, restitution, payment of back wages, or other forms of relief. 7. The City may, in the exercise of its authority and performance of its functions and services, agree by contract or otherwise to participate jointly or in cooperation with Washington State, King County, or any city, town, or other incorporated place, or subdivision thereof, or engage outside counsel, to enforce this chapter. 8. The remedies and penalties provided under this chapter are cumulative and are not intended to be exclusive of any other available remedies or penalties, including existing remedies for enforcement of Renton Municipal Code chapters. 9. The statute of limitations for any enforcement action shall be five (5) years. Section 9. A new section is added to Renton Municipal Code (RMC) Section 5-5-4 as follows: 1. The Finance Director may deny, suspend, or revoke any license under this chapter for violation of this ordinance. 2. The Finance Director must deny, suspend, or revoke any license under this chapter for repeated intentional violations of this ordinance. 3. Any action by the Finance Director under this section shall be subject to the procedures and requirements of RMC subsection 5-5-3.E, as well as other due process rights that a court may require. Section 10. Definitions. For the purposes of this chapter, the following terms shall have the following meanings: "City" means the City of Renton. "Covered employer" means an employer that either (1) employs at least 15 employees regardless of where those employees are employed, or (2) has annual gross revenue over $2 million. "Effective date" is the effective date of this ordinance. "Employee" is defined as set forth in RCW 49.46.010. An employer bears the burden of proof that the individual is, as a matter of economic reality, in business for oneself rather than dependent upon the alleged employer. "Employer" is defined as set forth in RCW 49.46.010. "Employer classification" includes the determination of whether an employer is a covered employer and whether a covered employer is a large employer. "Franchise" means an agreement, express or implied, oral or written by which: 1. A person is granted the right to engage in the business of offering, selling, or distributing goods or services under a marketing plan prescribed or suggested in substantial part by the grantor or its affiliate; 2. The operation of the business is substantially associated with a trademark, service mark, trade name, advertising, or other commercial symbol; designating, owned by, or licensed by the grantor or its affiliate; and 3. The person pays, agrees to pay, or is required to pay, directly or indirectly, a franchise fee. The tern, "franchise fee" is meant to be construed broadly to include any instance in which the grantor or its affiliate derives income or profit from a person who enters into a franchise agreement with the grantor. "How worked within the City" is to be interpreted according to its ordinary meaning, including all hours worked within the geographic boundaries of the City, excluding time spent in the City solely for the purpose of traveling through the City from a point of origin outside the City to a destination outside the City, with no employment -related or commercial stops in the City except for refueling or the employee's personal meals or errands. "Large Employer" means all employers that employ more than 500 employees, regardless of where those employees are employed, and all franchisees associated with a franchisor or a network of franchises with franchisees that employ more than 500 employees in aggregate. "Other covered employer" means a covered employer that does not qualify as a large employer. "Service charge" is defined as set forth in RCW 49.46.160(2)(c). "Tips" means a verifiable sum to be presented by a customer as a gift or gratuity in recognition of some service performed for the customer by the employee receiving the tip. "Wage" is defined as set forth in RCW 49.46.010. Section 11. Other Legal Requirements. This ordinance shall not be construed to preempt, limit, or otherwise affect the applicability of my other law, regulation, requirement, policy, or standard that provides for greater wages or compensation; and nothing in this ordinance shall be interpreted or applied so as to create any power or duty in conflict with federal or state law. Section 12. Rolemaking. Within 180 days after the effective date, the City shall adopt rules and procedures to implement and ensure compliance with this chapter, which shall require employers to maintain adequate records and to annually certify compliance with this chapter. The City shall seek feedback from worker organizations and covered employers before finalizing the rules and procedures. Section 13. Constitutional Subject. For constitutional purposes, this measure's subject "concerns labor standards for certain employers." See Filo Foods, LLC v. City of SeaTac, 183 Wash. 2d 770, 783, 357 RM 1040, 1047 (2015) (upholding this statement of subject for an initiative that set a minimum wage and addressed employees' access to hours). Section 14. Codification. All sections of this ordinance except section 9 shall be codified in a new chapter of the Renton Municipal Code. Section 15. Election date. In the event that the election on this measure takes place later than November 7, 2023, the Finance Department must establish and publish the initial minimum wage within 30 days of the effective date. Section 16. Severability. The provisions of this ordinance are declared to be separate and severable. If any clause, sentence, paragraph, subdivision, section, subsection, or portion of this ordinance, or the application thereof to any employer, employee, or circumstance, is held to be invalid, it shall not affect the validity of the remainder of this ordinance, or the validity of its application to other persons or circmnstances. Name Of Canvasser: Date Canvassed: rv,w"r Email and Phone Number: 1. 2. Raising The Minimum Wage In Renton INITIATIVE PETITION FOR SUBMISSION TO THE RENTON CITY COUNCIL TO: The City Council of the City of Renton: We, the undersigned registered voters of the City of Renton, State of Washington, residing at the addresses set forth opposite our respective names, being equal to fifteen percent (15%) of the total number of names of persons listed as registered voters within the City on the day of the last preceding City general election, respectfully request that the following ordinance be enacted by the City Council or, if not so enacted, be submitted to a vote of the residents of the City. The title of the said ordinance is as follows: ORDINANCE CONCERNING LABOR STANDARDS FOR CERTAIN EMPLOYEES A full, true and correct copy of the ordinance is attached to this Petition. Each of us for himself or herself says: I have personally signed this petition; I am a registered voter of the City of Renton, State of Washington; and my residence is correctly stated. Signature Printed Name Street and Number City Phone Number Email S `lOreJD , Printed Name 1234 Anywhere St. Renton 206-555-1234 maria@something.org ( iti.q c �q �ia� r'tvlc'-lon 6- '4'103 Renton 2`fi [(arr ngl04eNye 3. ��� h y7v Il _17o 5. 7 Renton Renton S-o y 2S k 9 3 �?_ / di"'] gjmc,II , CAM Date 4/10/2023 i� )i l aoa3 le� Renton AY-3�� / ANO k LEC V5 f i7v��e L � ` _ I kl� F� Renton 4 l&Dz'_'Z � s. �,- y /�✓� 9. 1 Icy o W1 4,L,ce4E 4 );?ItgeC-k-- to1� 11ry/k_1 '� i a d-O Renton ������/�� ly/ Renton //�/ / /0_,M3, /�/� Renton /"o shill ' 3 1�FVGi Renton IS—z3 Warning Every person who signs this petition with any other than his or her true name, or who knowingly signs more than one of these petitions, or signs a petition seek- ing an election when he or she is not a legal voter, or signs a petition when he or she is otherwise not qualified to sign, or who makes herein any false statement, shall be guilty of a misdemeanor. AN ORDINANCE concerning labor standards for certain employees. Section 1. Findings. 1. The people of the City of Renton hereby adopt this citizen initiative addressing labor standards for certain employees, for the purpose of ensuring that, to the extent reasonably practicable, people employed in Renton have good wages and access to sufficient hours of work. 2. The City of Renton is one of the largest job centers in Washington State, with thousands of shoppers and workers visiting daily to participate in the local economy. Renton is home to The Landing shopping center, the historic Downtown Urban Center, as well as retail and commercial office and warehouse districts around the Rainier/Grady Way Junction. The City is a net importer ofjobs, with nearly 60,000 employed workers. Renton has a wide array of both long established and new and evolving business sectors. Retail businesses, restaurants and bars, auto sales, hospitality, healthcare, and office workers are well represented. 3. The statewide minimum wage is not sufficient to afford rising rents and costs of living in Renton. According to the National Low Income Housing Coalition's Out of Reach 2022 report, a worker making Washington's minimum wage would have to work 72 hours each week (up from 70 hours each week in 2021) to afford a modest one -bedroom rental home at Fair Market Rent. 4. When working families earn insufficient income due to low wages and involuntary under -employment, they struggle to pay for basic necessities like health care, child care, and groceries, and they are more likely to be evicted and become homeless. 5. Nearby King County cities of SeaTac, Seattle, and Tukwila enacted higher minimum wages in 2013, 2014, and 2022 respectively, but until now Renton has not followed suit. 6. Children growing up in poverty experience insecurity with housing, nutrition, and health care while enduring other hardships that prevent their ability to learn in school. Full time working parents must be able to reasonably provide for their family to ensure access to the opportunities and promise of public education. Section 2. Intent. It is the intent of the people to establish fair labor standards and protect the rights of workers by: (1) ensuring that the vast majority of employees in the City of Renton receive a minimum wage comparable to employees in the nearby cities of Tukwila, SeaTac, and Seattle; (2) requiring covered employers to offer additional hours of work to qualified part-time employees before hiring new employees to fill those hours; and (3) adopting enforcement requirements. Section 3. Large Employers Shall Pay Minimum Wages Comparable to Those in Nearby Cities. 1. Effective July 1, 2024, every large employer shall pay to each employee an hourly wage of not less than the 2023 new minimum wage rate in the City of Tukwila, established by City of Tukwila Initiative Measure No. 1, approved by voters in November 2022, adjusted for 2024 by the annual rate of inflation. 2. On January 1, 2025, and on each January 1 thereafter, the hourly minimum wage shall increase by the annual rate of inflation to maintain employee purchasing power. 3. By December 31, 2023, and by October 15 of each year thereafter, the Finance Department shall establish and publish the applicable hourly minimum wage for the following year using the annual rate of inflation. 4. For purposes of this chapter, the annual rate of inflation means 100 percent of the annual average growth rate of the bi-monthly Seattle -Tacoma -Bellevue Area Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers, termed CPI-W, for the 12-month period ending in August, provided that the percentage increase shall not be less than zero. An employer must pay to its employees: a. All tips and gratuities; and b. All service charges as defined under RCW 49.46.160 except those that, pursuant to RCW 49.46.160, are itemized as not being payable to the employee or employees servicing the customer. Tips and service charges paid to an employee are in addition to, and may not count towards, the employee's hourly minimum wage. Section 4. Other Covered Employers Shall Have a Multiyear Phase -In Period. Other covered employers shall phase in the new minimum wage, as follows: 1. Effective July 1, 2024, other covered employers shall pay employees not less than the hourly minimum wage established under Section 3 minus Two Dollars ($2) per hour. 2. Effective July 1, 2025, other covered employers shall pay employees not less than the hourly minimum wage established under Section 3 minus One Dollar ($1) per hour. 3. Effective July 1, 2026, and thereafter, all covered employers shall pay employees not less than the hourly minimum wage established under Section 3, Section 5. Coverage and Employer Classifications. 1. Covered employers must pay employees at least the minimum wage established by this chapter for each hour worked within the City. 2. Employer classification for the current calendar year will be calculated based upon the average number of employees during all weeks in the previous calendar year in which the employer had at least one employee. For employers that did not have any employees during the previous calendar year, classification will be based upon the average number of employees during the most recent three months of the current year. In this determination, all employees will be counted, regardless of their location, and including employees who worked in full-time employment, part-time employment, joint employment, temporary employment, or through the services of a temporary services or staffing agency or similar entity. 3. Employer classification for the current calendar year will be calculated based upon the gross revenue for the previous year. For employers that did not have gross revenue during the previous calendar year, annual gross revenue will be calculated from the gross revenue during the most recent three months of the current year. 4. For the purposes of employer classification, separate entities will be considered a single employer if they form an integrated enterprise or they are underjoint control by one of those entities or a separate entity. The factors to consider in making this assessment include, but are not limited to: a. Degree of interrelation between the operations of multiple entities; b. Degree to which the entities share common management; C. Centralized control of labor relations; and d. Degree of common ownership or financial control over the entities. Section 6. Part -Time Employees Shall Have Fair Access to Additional Hours. 1. Before hiring additional employees or subcontractors, including hiring through the use of temporary services or staffing agencies, covered employers must offer additional hours of work to existing employees who, in the employer's good faith and reasonable judgment, have the skills and experience to perform the work, and shall use a reasonable, transparent, and nondiscriminatory process to distribute the hours of work among those existing employees. 2. This section shall not be construed to require any employer to offer an employee work hours if the employer would be required to compensate the employee at time -and -a -half or other premium rate under any law or collective bargaining agreement, nor to prohibit any employer from offering such work hours. Section 7. Retaliation Prohibited. 1. No employer or any other person shall interfere with, restrain, or deny the exercise of, or the attempt to exercise, any right protected under this chapter. 2. No employer or any other person shall take any adverse action against any person because the person has exercised in good faith the rights under this chapter. Such rights include but are not limited to the right to make inquiries about the rights protected under this chapter; the right to inform others about their rights under this chapter; the right to inform the person's employer, union, or similar organization, and/or the person's legal counsel or any other person about an alleged violation of this chapter; the right to bring a civil action for an alleged violation of this chapter; the right to testify in a proceeding under or related to this chapter; the right to refuse to participate in an activity that would result in a violation of city, state, or federal law; and the right to oppose any policy, practice, or act that is unlawful under this chapter. 3. For the purposes of this section, an adverse action means denying ajob or promotion, demoting, terminating, failing to rehire after a seasonal interruption of work, threatening, penalizing, retaliating, engaging in unfair immigration -related practices, filing a false report with a government agency, changing an employee's status to nonemployee, decreasing or declining to provide additional work hours when they otherwise would have been offered, scheduling an employee for hours outside of their availability, or otherwise discriminating against any person for any reason prohibited by this chapter. "Adverse action" for an employee may involve any aspect of employment, including pay, work hours, responsibilities, or other material change in the terms and conditions of employment. 4. No employer or any other person shall communicate to a person exercising rights protected under this chapter, directly or indirectly, the willingness to inform a government employee that the person is not lawfully in the United States, or to report, or to make an implied or express assertion of a willingness to report, suspected citizenship or immigration status of the person or a family member of the person to a federal, state, or local agency because the person has exercised aright under this chapter. 5. There shall be a rebuttable presumption of unlawful retaliation if an employer or any other person takes an adverse action against a person within 90 days of the person's exercise of any right protected in this chapter. However, in the case of seasonal work that ended before the close of the 90-day period, the presumption also applies if the employer fails to rehire a former employee at the next opportunity for work in the same position. The employer may rebut the presumption with clear and convincing evidence that the adverse action was taken for a permissible purpose. 6. Standard of Proof. Proof of retaliation under this chapter shall be sufficient upon a showing that an employer or any other person has taken an adverse action against a person and the person's exercise of rights protected in this chapter was a motivating factor in the adverse action, unless the employer can prove that the action would have been taken in the absence of such protected activity. 7. The protections afforded under this section shall apply to any person who mistakenly but in good faith alleges violations of this chapter. Section S. Enforcement. 1. Any person or class of persons that suffers financial injury as a result of a violation of this chapter or is the subject of prohibited retaliation under this chapter, or any other individual or entity acting on their behalf, may bring a civil action in a court of competentjurisdiction against the employer or other person violating this chapter and, upon prevailing, shall be awarded reasonable attorney fees and costs and such legal or equitable relief as may be appropriate to remedy the violation including, without limitation, the payment of any unpaid wages plus interest due to the person and liquidated damages in an additional amount of up to twice the unpaid wages; compensatory damages; and a penalty payable to any aggrieved party of up to $5,000 if the aggrieved party was subject to prohibited retaliation. For the purposes of this section, an aggrieved party means an employee or other person who suffers tangible or intangible harm due to an employer or other person's violation of this chapter. Interest shall accrue from the date the unpaid wages were first due at the higher of twelve percent per annum or the maximum rate permitted under RCW 19.52.020. 2. For purposes of determining membership within a class of persons entitled to bring an action under this section, two or more employees are similarly situated if they: a. Are or were employed by the same employer or employers, whether concurrently or otherwise, at some point during the applicable statute of limitations period; b. Allege one or more violations that raise similar questions as to liability; and C. Seek similar forms of relief. d. Employees shall not be considered dissimilar solely because their claims seek damages that differ in amount, or their job titles or other means of classifying employees differ in ways that are unrelated to their claims. 3. Each covered employer shall retain records as required by RCW 49.46.070, as well as such information as the City may require to confirm compliance with this chapter. If an employer fails to retain such records, there shall be a presumption, rebuttable by clear and convincing evidence, that the employer violated this chapter for the periods and for each employee for whom records were not retained, 4. Employers shall permit authorized City representatives access to work sites and relevant records for the purpose of monitoring compliance with the chapter and investigating complaints of noncompliance, including production for inspection and copying of employment records. The City may designate representatives, including city contractors and representatives of unions or worker advocacy organizations, to access the workshe and relevant records. 5. Complaints that any provision of this chapter has been violated may also be presented to the City Attorney, who is hereby authorized to investigate and, if they deem appropriate, initiate legal or other action to remedy any violation of this chapter. 6. The City has the authority to issue administrative citations and to order injunctive relief including reinstatement, restitution, payment of back wages, or other forms of relief. 7. The City may, in the exercise of its authority and performance of its functions and services, agree by contract or otherwise to participate jointly or in cooperation with Washington State, King County, or any city, town, or other incorporated place, or subdivision thereof, or engage outside counsel, to enforce this chapter. 8. The remedies and penalties provided under this chapter are cumulative and are not intended to be exclusive of any other available remedies or penalties, including existing remedies for enforcement of Renton Municipal Code chapters. 9. The statute of limitations for any enforcement action shall be five (5) years. Section 9. A new section is added to Renton Municipal Code (RMC) Section 5-5-4 as follows: 1. The Finance Director may deny, suspend, or revoke any license under this chapter for violation of this ordinance. 2. The Finance Director must deny, suspend, or revoke any license under this chapter for repeated intentional violations of this ordinance. 3. Any action by the Finance Director under this section shall be subject to the procedures and requirements of RMC subsection 5-5-3.E, as well as other due process rights that a court may require. Section 10. Definitions. For the purposes of this chapter, the following terms shall have the following meanings: "City" means the City of Renton. "Covered employer" means an employer that either (1) employs at least 15 employees regardless of where those employees are employed, or (2) has annual gross revenue over $2 million. "Effective date" is the effective date of this ordinance. "Employee" is defined as set forth in RCW 49.46.010. An employer bears the burden of proof that the individual is, as a matter of economic reality, in business for oneself rather than dependent upon the alleged employer. "Employer" is defined as set forth in RCW 49,46.010. "Employer classification" includes the determination of whether an employer is a covered employer and whether a covered employer is a large employer. "Franchise" means an agreement, express or implied, oral or written by which: 1. A person is granted the right to engage in the business of offering, selling, or distributing goods or services under a marketing plan prescribed or suggested in substantial part by the grantor or its affiliate; 2. The operation of the business is substantially associated with a trademark, service mark, trade name, advertising, or other commercial symbol; designating, owned by, or licensed by the grantor or its affiliate; and 3. The person pays, agrees to pay, or is required to pay, directly or indirectly, a franchise fee. The term, "franchise fee" is meant to be construed broadly to include any instance in which the grantor or its affiliate derives income or profit from a person who enters into a franchise agreement with the grantor. "Hour worked within the City" is to be interpreted according to its ordinary meaning, including all hours worked within the geographic boundaries of City, excluding time spent in the City solely for the purpose of traveling through the City from a point of origin outside the City to a destination outside the City, with no employment -related or commercial stops in the City except for refueling or the employee's personal meals or errands. "Large Employer" means all employers that employ more than 500 employees, regardless of where those employees are employed, and all franchisees associated with a franchisor or a network of franchises with franchisees that employ more than 500 employees in aggregate. "Other covered employer" means a covered employer that does not qualify as a large employer. "Service charge" is defined as set forth in RCW 49.46.160(2)(c). "Tips" means a verifiable sum to be presented by a customer as a gift or gratuity in recognition of some service performed for the customer by the employee receiving the tip. "Wage" is defined as set forth in RCW 49.46.010. Section 11. Other Legal Requirements. This ordinance shall not be construed to preempt, limit, or otherwise affect the applicability of any other law, regulation, requirement, policy, or standard that provides for greater wages or compensation; and nothing in this ordinance shall be interpreted or applied so as to create any power or duty in conflict with federal or state law. Section 12. Rulemaking. Within 180 days after the effective date, the City shall adopt rules and procedures to implement and ensure compliance with this chapter, which shall require employers to maintain adequate records and to annually certify compliance with this chapter. The City shall seek feedback from worker organizations and covered employers before finalizing the rules and procedures. Section 13. Constitutional Subject. For constitutional purposes, this measure's subject "concerns labor standards for certain employers." See File Foods, LLC v. City of SeaTac, 183 Wash. 2d 770, 783, 357 P.3d 1040, 1047 (2015) (upholding this statement of subject for an initiative that set a minimum wage and addressed employees' access to hours). Section 14. Codification. All sections of this ordinance except section 9 shall be codified in a new chapter of the Renton Municipal Code. Section 15. Election date. In the event that the election on this measure takes place later than November 7, 2023, the Finance Department must establish and publish the initial minimum wage within 30 days of the effective date. Section 16. Severability. The provisions of this ordinance are declared to be separate and severable. If any clause, sentence, paragraph, subdivision, section, subsection, or portion of this ordinance, or the application thereof to any employer, employee, or circumstance, is held to be invalid, it shall not affect the validity of the remainder of this ordinance, or the validity of its application to other persons or circumstances. Name Of Canvasser: Date Canvassed: Canvasser Email and Phone Number: Raising The Minimum Wage In Renton INITIATIVE PETITION FOR SUBMISSION TO THE RENTON CITY COUNCIL TO: The City Council of the City of Renton: @)(.Msr 933-M 'euw.wvw�^j6 We, the undersigned registered voters of the City of Renton, State of Washington, residing at the addresses set forth opposite our respective names, being equal to fifteen percent (15%) of the total number of names of persons listed as registered voters within the City on the day of the last preceding City general election, respectfully request that the following ordinance be enacted by the City Council or, if not so enacted, be submitted to a vote of the residents of the City. The title of the said ordinance is as follows: ORDINANCE CONCERNING LABOR STANDARDS FOR CERTAIN EMPLOYEES �&full, true and correct copy of the ordinance is attached to this Petition. Each of us for himself or herself says: I have personally signed this petition; I am a registered voter of the City of Renton, State of Washington; and my residence is correctly stated. Signature Printed Name Street and Number City Phone Number Email Date SaNO&11oten Printed Name 1234 Anywhere St. Renton 206-555-1234 maria@something.org 4/10/2023 1. !�U ✓ / .�/i/ ��� f �t ;/% / C Renton 2. � /�� l�la�l � E. M I � � Renton r, �•15- 3. Renton 4 l 2 ���� ltt� �� l� ✓� .0 r Renton 2C1�� ✓ / `7 —� h=Z � 1 i6`343 Sr. 1�3`'t 5(' .� 5. Renton /Pb 6. `GQ� S W�M1R ,�1<A jh,F Renton �\ ' 10 7. ,� U tirc �� �Vk�%�"+[r ( OVvS j U'yA Renton �" I,O a 10. l� U 7z� Warning Every person who signs this petition with any other than his or her true name, or who knowingly signs more than one of these petitions, or signs a petition seek- ing an election when he or she is not a legal voter, or signs a petition when he or she is otherwise not qualified to sign, or who makes herein any false statement, shall be guilty of a misdemeanor. AN ORDINANCE concerning labor standards for certain employees. Section 1. Findings. 1. The people of the City of Renton hereby adopt this citizen initiative addressing labor standards for certain employees, for the purpose of ensuring that, to the extent reasonably practicable, people employed in Renton have good wages and access to sufficient hours of work. 2. The City of Renton is one of the largest job centers in Washington State, with thousands of shoppers and workers visiting daily to participate in the local economy. Renton is home to The Landing shopping center, the historic Downtown Urban Center, as well as retail and commercial office and warehouse districts around the Rainier/Grady Way Junction. The City is a net importer ofjobs, with nearly 60,000 employed workers. Renton has a wide array of both long established and new and evolving business sectors. Retail businesses, restaurants and bars, auto sales, hospitality, healthcare, and office workers me well represented. 3. The statewide minimum wage is not sufficient to afford rising rents and costs of living in Renton. According to the National Low Income Housing Coalition's Out of Reach 2022 report, a worker making Washington's minimum wage would have to work 72 hours each week (up from 70 hours each week in 2021) to afford a modest one -bedroom rental home at Fair Market Rent. 4. When working families earn insufficient income due to low wages and involuntary under -employment, they struggle to pay for basic necessities like health care, child care, and groceries, and they are more likely to be evicted and become homeless. 5. Nearby King County cities of SeaTac, Seattle, and Tukwila enacted higher minimum wages in 2013, 2014, and 2022 respectively, but until now Renton has not followed suit. 6. Children growing up in poverty experience insecurity with housing, nutrition, and health cue while enduring other hardships that prevent their ability to learn in school. Full dme working parents must be able to reasonably provide for their family to ensure access to the opportunities and promise of public education. Section 2. Intent. It is the intent of the people to establish fair labor standards and protect the rights of workers by: (1) ensuring that the vast majority of employees in the City of Renton receive a minimum wage comparable to employees in the nearby cities of Tukwila, SeaTac, and Seattle; (2) requiring covered employers to offer additional hours of work to qualified part-time employees before hiring new employees to fill those hours; and (3) adopting. enforcement requirements. Section 3. Large Employers Shall Pay Minimum Wages Comparable to Those in Nearby Cities. 1. Effective July 1, 2024, every large employer shall pay to each employee an hourly wage of not less than the 2023 new minimum wage rate in the City of Tukwila, established by City of Tukwila Initiative Measure No. 1, approved by voters in November 2022, adjusted for 2024 by the annual rate of inflation. 2. On January 1, 2025, and on each January 1 thereafter, the hourly minimum wage shall increase by the annual rate of inflation to maintain employee purchasing power. 3. By December 31, 2023, and by October 15 of each year thereafter, the Finance Department shall establish and publish the applicable hourly minimum wage for the following year using the annual rate of inflation. 4. For purposes of this chapter, the annual rate of inflation means 100 percent of the annual average growth rate of the bi-monthly Seattle -Tacoma -Bellevue Area Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers, tenned CPI-W, for the 12-month period ending in August, provided that the percentage increase shall not be less than zero. 5. An employer must pay to its employees: a. All tips and gratuities; and b. All service charges as defined under RCW 49.46.160 except those that, pursuant to RCW 49.46.160, are itemized as not being payable to the employee or employees servicing the customer. Tips and service charges paid to an employee me in addition to, and may not count towards, the employee's hourly minimum wage. Section 4. Other Covered Employers Shall Have a Multiyear Phase -In Period. Other covered employers shall phase in the new minimum wage, as follows: 1. Effective July 1, 2024, other covered employers shall pay employees not less than the hourly minimum wage established under Section 3 minus Two Dollars ($2) per hour. 2. Effective July 1, 2025, other covered employers shall pay employees not less than the hourly minimum wage established order Section 3 minus One Dollar ($1) per hour. 3. Effective July 1, 2026, and thereafter, all covered employers shall pay employees not less than the hourly minimum wage established under Section 3. Section 5. Coverage and Employer Classifications. 1. Covered employers must pay employees at least the minimum wage established by this chapter for each hour worked within the City. 2. Employer classification for the current calendar year will be calculated based upon the average number of employees during all weeks in the previous calendar year in which the employer had at least one employee. For employers that did not have any employees during the previous calendar yew, classification will be based upon the average number of employees during the most recent three months of the current year. In this determination, all employees will be counted, regardless of their location, and including employees who worked in full-time employment, part-time employment, joint employment, temporary employment, or through the services of a temporary services or staffing agency or similes entity. 3. Employer classification for the current calendar year will be calculated based upon the gross revenue for the previous yew. For employers that did not have gross revenue during the previous calendar year, annual gross revenue will be calculated from the gross revenue during the most recent three months of the current yew. 4. For the purposes of employer classification, separate entities will be considered a single employer if they form an integrated enterprise or they are under joint control by one of those entities or a separate entity. The factors to consider in making this assessment include, but are not limited to: a. Degree of interrelation between the operations of multiple entities; b. Degree to which the entities share common management, C. Centralized control of labor relations; and d. Degree of common ownership or financial control over the entities. Section 6. Part -Time Employees Shall Have Fair Access to Additional Hours. 1. Before hiring additional employees or subcontractors, including hiring through the use of temporary services or staffing agencies, covered employers must offer additional hours of work to existing employees who, in the employer's good faith and reasonable judgment, have the skills and experience to perform the work, and shall use a reasonable, transparent, and nondiscriminatory process to distribute the hours of work among those existing employees. 2. This section shall not be construed to require any employer to offer an employee work hours if the employer would be required to compensate the employee at time -and -a -half or other premium rate under any law or collective bargaining agreement, nor to prohibit any employer from offering such work hours. Section 7. Retaliation Prohibited. 1. No employer or any other person shall interfere with, restrain, or deny the exercise of, or the attempt to exercise, any right protected under this chapter. 2. No employer or any other person shall take any adverse action against any person because the person has exercised in good faith the rights under this chapter. Such rights include but are not limited to the right to make inquiries about the rights protected under this chapter; the right to inform others about their rights under this chapter; the right to inform the person's employer, union, or similar organization, and/or the person's legal counsel or any other person about an alleged violation of this chapter; the right to bring a civil action for an alleged violation of this chapter; the right to testify in a proceeding under or related to this chapter; the right to refuse to participate in an activity that would result in a violation of city, state, or federal law; and the right to oppose any policy, practice, or act that is unlawful under this chapter. 3. For the purposes of this section, an adverse action means denying ajob or promotion, demoting, terminating, failing to rehire after a seasonal interruption of work, threatening, penalizing, retaliating, engaging in unfair immigration -related practices, filing a false report with a government agency, changing an employee's status to nonemployee, decreasing or declining to provide additional work hours when they otherwise would have been offered, scheduling an employee for hours outside of their availability, or otherwise discriminating against any person for any reason prohibited by this chapter. "Adverse action" for an employee may involve any aspect of employment, including pay, work hours, responsibilities, or other material change in the terms and conditions of employment. 4. No employer or any other person shall communicate to a person exercising rights protected under this chapter, directly or indirectly, the willingness to inform a government employee that the person is not lawfully in the United States, or to report, or to make an implied or express assertion of a willingness to report, suspected citizenship or immigration status of the person or a family member of the person to a federal, state, or local agency because the person has exercised a right under this chapter. 5. There shall be a rebuttable presumption of unlawful retaliation if an employer or any other person takes an adverse action against a person within 90 days of the person's exercise of any right protected in this chapter. However, in the case of seasonal work that ended before the close of the 90-day period, the presumption also applies if the employer fails to rehire a former employee at the next opportunity for work in the same position. The employer may rebut the presumption with clear and convincing evidence that the adverse action was taken for a permissible purpose. 6. Standard of Proof. Proof of retaliation under this chapter shall be sufficient upon a showing that an employer or any other person has taken an adverse action against a person and the person's exercise of rights protected in this chapter was a motivating factor in the adverse action, unless the employer can prove that the action would have been taken in the absence of such protected activity. 7. The protections afforded under this section shall apply to any person who mistakenly but in good faith alleges violations of this chapter. Section 8. Enforcement. 1. Any person or class of persons that suffers financial injury as a result of a violation of this chapter or is the subject of prohibited retaliation under this chapter, or any other individual or entity acting on their behalf, may bring a civil action in a court of competent jurisdiction against the employer or other person violating this chapter and, upon prevailing, shall be awarded reasonable attorney fees and costs and such legal or equitable relief as may be appropriate to remedy the violation including, without limitation, the payment of any unpaid wages plus interest due to the person and liquidated damages in an additional amount of up to twice the unpaid wages; compensatory damages; and a penalty payable to any aggrieved party of up to $5,000 if the aggrieved party was subject to prohibited retaliation. For the purposes of this section, an aggrieved party means an employee or other person who suffers tangible or intangible harm due to an employer or other person's violation of this chapter. Interest shall accrue from the date the unpaid wages were first due at the higher of twelve percent per antrum or the maximum rate permitted under RCW 19.52.020. 2. For purposes of determining membership within a class of persons entitled to bring an action under this section, two or more employees are similarly situated if they: a. Are or were employed by the same employer or employers, whether concurrently or otherwise, at some point during the applicable statute of limitations period; b. Allege one or more violations that raise similar questions as to liability; and C. Seek similar forms of relief. d. Employees shall not be considered dissimilar solely because their claims seek damages that differ in amount, or their job titles or other means of classifying employees differ in ways that are unrelated to their claims. 3. Each covered employer shall retain records as required by RCW 49.46.070, as well as such information as the City may require to confinn compliance with this chapter. If an employer fails to retain such records, there shall be a presumption, rebuttable by clear and convincing evidence, that the employer violated this chapter for the periods and for each employee for whom records were not retained. 4. Employers shall permit authorized City representatives access to work sites and relevant records for the purpose of monitoring compliance with the chapter and investigating complaints of noncompliance, including production for inspection and copying of employment records. The City may designate representatives, including city contractors and representatives of unions or worker advocacy organizations, to access the worksite and relevant records. 5. Complaints that any provision of this chapter has been violated may also be presented to the City Attorney, who is hereby authorized to investigate and, if they deem appropriate, initiate legal or other action to remedy any violation of this chapter. 6. The City has the authority to issue administrative citations and to order injunctive relief including reinstatement, restitution, payment of back wages, or other forms of relief. 7. The City may, in the exercise of its authority and performance of its functions and services, agree by contract or otherwise to participate jointly or in cooperation with Washington State, King County, or any city, town, or other incorporated place, or subdivision thereof, or engage outside counsel, to enforce this chapter. 8. The remedies and penalties provided under this chapter are cumulative and are not intended to be exclusive of any other available remedies or penalties, including existing remedies for enforcement of Renton Municipal Code chapters. 9. The statute of limitations for any enforcement action shall be five (5) years. Section 9. A new section is added to Renton Municipal Code (RMC) Section 5-5-4 as follows: 1. The Finance Director may deny, suspend, or revoke any license under this chapter for violation of this ordinance. 2. The Finance Director must deny, suspend, or revoke any license under this chapter for repeated intentional violations of this ordinance. 3. Any action by the Finance Director under this section shall be subject to the procedures and requirements of RMC subsection 5-5-3.E, as well as other due process rights that a court may require. Section 10. Definitions. For the purposes of this chapter, the following terms shall have the following meanings: "City" means the City of Renton. "Covered employer" means an employer that either (1) employs at least 15 employees regardless of where those employees are employed, or (2) has annual gross revenue over $2 million. "Effective date" is the effective date of this ordinance. "Employee" is defined as set forth in RCW 49.46.010. An employer bears the burden of proof that the individual is, as a matter of economic reality, in business for oneself rather than dependent upon the alleged employer. "Employer" is defined as set forth in RCW 49.46.010. "Employer classification" includes the determination of whether an employer is a covered employer and whether a covered employer is a large employer. "Franchise" means an agreement, express or implied, oral or written by which: 1. A person is granted the right to engage in the business of offering, selling, or distributing goods or services under a marketing plan prescribed or suggested in substantial part by the grantor or its affiliate; 2. The operation of the business is substantially associated with a trademark, service mark, trade name, advertising, or other commercial symbol; designating, owned by, or licensed by the grantor or its affiliate; and 3. The person pays, agrees to pay, or is required to pay, directly or indirectly, a franchise fee. The term, "franchise fee" is meant to be construed broadly to include any instance in which the grantor or its affiliate derives income or profit from a person who enters into a franchise agreement with the grantor. "Hour worked within the City" is to be interpreted according to its ordinary meaning, including all hours worked within the geographic boundaries of the City, excluding time spent in the City solely for the purpose of traveling through the City from a point of origin outside the City to a destination outside the City, with no employment -related or commercial stops in the City except for refueling or the employee's personal meals or errands. "Large Employer" means all employers that employ more than 500 employees, regardless of where those employees are employed, and all franchisees associated with a financhisor or a network of franchises with franchisees that employ more than 500 employees in aggregate. "Other covered employer" means a covered employer that does not qualify as a large employer. "Service charge" is defined as set forth in RCW 49.46.160(2)(c). "Tips" means a verifiable sum to be presented by a customer as a gift or gratuity in recognition of some service performed for the customer by the employee receiving the tip. "Wage" is defined as set forth in RCW 49.46.010. Section 11. Other Legal Requirements. This ordinance shall not be constmed to preempt, limit, or otherwise affect the applicability of any other law, regulation, requirement, policy, or standard that provides for greater wages or compensation; and nothing in this ordinance shall be interpreted or applied so as to create any power or duty in conflict with federal or state law. Section 12. Rulemaking. Within 180 days after the effective date, the City shall adopt rules and procedures to implement and ensure compliance with this chapter, which shall require employers to maintain adequate records and to annually certify compliance with this chapter. The City shall seek feedback from worker organizations and covered employers before finalizing the rules and procedures. Section 13. Constitutional Subject. For constitutional purposes, this measure's subject "concerns labor standards for certain employers." See File Foods, LLC v. City of SeaTac, 183 Wash. 2d 770, 783, 357 P.3d 1040, 1047 (2015) (upholding this statement of subject for an initiative that set a minimum wage and addressed employees' access to hours). Section 14. Codification. All sections of this ordinance except section 9 shall be codified in a new chapter of the Renton Municipal Code. Section 15. Election date. In the event that the election on this measure takes place later than November 7, 2023, the Finance Department must establish and publish the initial minimum wage within 30 days of the effective date. Section 16. Severability. The provisions of this ordinance are declared to be separate and severable. If any clause, sentence, paragraph, subdivision, section, subsection, or portion of this ordinance, or the application thereof to any employer, employee, or circumstance, is held to be invalid, it shall not affect the validity of the remainder of this ordinance, or the validity of its application to other persons or circumstances. 1. 3. 9 5. 40 Raising The Minimum Wage In Renton INITIATIVE PETITION FOR SUBMISSION TO THE RENTON CITY COUNCIL TO: The City Council of the City of Renton: We, the undersigned registered voters of the City of Renton, State of Washington, residing at the addresses set forth opposite our respective names, being equal to fifteen percent (15%) of the total number of names of persons listed as registered voters within the City on the day of the last preceding City general election, respectfully request that the following ordinance be enacted by the City Council or, if not so enacted, be submitted to a vote of the residents of the City. The title of the said ordinance is as follows: ORDINANCE CONCERNING LABOR STANDARDS FOR CERTAIN EMPLOYEES A full, true and correct copy of the ordinance is attached to this Petition. Each of us for himself or herself says: I have personally signed this petition; I am a registered voter of the City of Renton, State of Washington; and my residence is correctly stated. Signature Printed Name Street and Number City Phone Number Email Date S'?IQt�z Printed Name 1234 Anywhere St. Renton 206-555-1234 maria@something.org 4/10/2023 4_3� Renton y�n��7�G CrLf p cp— l 1-7 Renton /�o-7rl PL Renton 6. 7. _ w% S� u ten- l7 q o I Jo A- 4___� �/L�//� 'lEA — ();3 Y(P S Z � 01 4T g7lG. Renton Pz's-- I&.316 J Renton Renton Renton J L WIC Renton Renton Renton -�cA-Z// z63-973-- 55tlo Sll<0(z3 5�8/-.17'5 s 10 a2 Warning Every person who signs this petition with any other than his or her true name, or who knowingly signs more than one of these petitions, or signs a petition seek- ing an election when he or she is not a legal voter, or signs a petition when he or she is otherwise not qualified to sign, or who makes herein any false statement, shall be guilty of a misdemeanor. 511 IVO AN ORDINANCE concerning labor standards for certain employees. Section 1. Findings. L The people of the City of Renton hereby adopt this citizen initiative addressing labor standards for certain employees, for the purpose of ensuring that, to the extent reasonably practicable, people employed in Renton have good wages and access to sufficient hours of work. 2. The City of Renton is one of the largestjob centers in Washington State, with thousands of shoppers and workers visiting daily to participate in the local economy. Renton is home to The Landing shopping center, the historic Downtown Urban Center, as well as retail and commercial office and warehouse districts around the Rainier/Grady Way Junction. The City is a net importer ofjobs, with nearly 60,000 employed workers. Renton has a wide array of both long established and new and evolving business sectors. Retail businesses, restaurants and bars, auto sales, hospitality, healthcare, and office workers are well represented. 3. The statewide minimum wage is not sufficient to afford rising rents and costs of living in Renton. According to the National Low Income Housing Coalition's Out of Reach 2022 report, a worker making Washington's minimum wage would have to work 72 hours each week (up from 70 hours each week in 2021) to afford a modest one -bedroom rental home at Fair Market Rent. 4. When working families earn insufficient income due to low wages and involuntary under -employment, they struggle to pay for basic necessities like health care, child care, and groceries, and they are more likely to be evicted and become homeless. 5. Nearby King County cities of SeaTac, Seattle, and Tukwila enacted higher minimum wages in 2013, 2014, and 2022 respectively, but until now Renton has not followed suit. 6. Children growing up in poverty experience insecurity with housing, nutrition, and health care while enduring other hardships that prevent their ability to learn in school. Full time working parents must be able to reasonably provide for their family to ensure access to the opportunities and promise of public education. Section 2. Intent. It is the intent of the people to establish fair labor standards and protect the rights of workers by: (1) ensuring that the vast majority of employees in the City of Renton receive a minimum wage comparable to employees in the nearby cities of Tukwila, SeaTac, and Seattle; (2) requiring covered employers to offer additional hours of work to qualified part-time employees before hiring new employees to fill those hours; and (3) adopting enforcement requirements. Section 3. Large Employers Shall Pay Minimum Wages Comparable to Those in Nearby Cities. 1. Effective July 1, 2024, every large employer shall pay to each employee an hourly wage of not less than the 2023 new minimum wage rate in the City of Tukwila, established by City of Tukwila Initiative Measure No. 1, approved by voters in November 2022, adjusted for 2024 by the annual rate of inflation. 2. On January 1, 2025, and on each January 1 thereafter, the hourly minimum wage shall increase by the annual rate of inflation to maintain employee purchasing power. 3. By December 31, 2023, and by October 15 of each year thereafter, the Finance Department shall establish and publish the applicable hourly minimum wage for the following year using the annual rate of inflation, 4. For purposes of this chapter, the annual rate of inflation means 100 percent of the annual average growth rate of the bi-monthly Seattle -Tacoma -Bellevue Area Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers, termed CPI-W, for the 12-month period ending in August, provided that the percentage increase shall not be less than zero. 5. An employer must pay to its employees: a. All tips and gratuities; and b. All service charges as defined under RCW 49.46.160 except those that, pursuant to RCW 49.46.160, we itemized as not being payable to the employee or employees servicing the customer. Tips and service charges paid to an employee are in addition to, and may not count towards, the employee's hourly minimum wage. Section 4. Other Covered Employers Shall Have a Multiyear Phase -In Period. Other covered employers shall phase in the new minimum wage, as follows: 1. Effective July 1, 2024, other covered employers shall pay employees not less than the hourly minimum wage established under Section 3 minus Two Dollars ($2) per hour. 2. Effective July 1, 2025, other covered employers shall pay employees not less than the hourly minimum wage established under Section 3 minus One Dollar ($1) per hour. 3. Effective July 1, 2026, and thereafter, all covered employers shall pay employees not less than the hourly minimum wage established under Section 3. Section 5. Coverage and Employer Classifications. 1. Covered employers must pay employees at least the minimum wage established by this chapter for each hour worked within the City. 2. Employer classification for the current calendar year will be calculated based upon the average number of employees during all weeks in the previous calendar year in which the employer had at least one employee. For employers that did not have any employees during the previous calendar year, classification will be based upon the average number of employees during the most recent three months of the current year. In this determination, all employees will be counted, regardless of their location, and including employees who worked in full-time employment, part-time employment, joint employment, temporary employment, or through the services of a temporary services or staffing agency or similar entity. 3. Employer classification for the current calendar year will be calculated based upon the gross revenue for the previous year. For employers that did not have gross revenue during the previous calendar year, annual gross revenue will be calculated from the gross revenue during the most recent three months of the current year. 4. For the purposes of employer classification, separate entities will be considered a single employer if they form an integrated enterprise or they are under joint control by one of those entities or a separate entity. The factors to consider in making this assessment include, but are not limited to: a. Degree of interrelation between the operations of multiple entities; b. Degree to which the entities share common management; C. Centralized control of labor relations; and d. Degree of common ownership or financial control over the entities. Section 6. Part -Time Employees Shall Have FairAccess to Additional Hours. 1. Before hiring additional employees or subcontractors, including hiring through the use of temporary services or staffing agencies, covered employers must offer additional hours of work to existing employees who, in the employer's good faith and reasonable judgment, have the skills and experience to perform the work, and shall use a reasonable, transparent, and nondiscriminatory process to distribute the hours of work among those existing employees. 2. This section shall not be construed to require any employer to offer an employee work hours if the employer would be required to compensate the employee at time -and -a -half or other premium rate under any law or collective bargaining agreement, nor to prohibit any employer from offering such work hours. Section 7. Retaliation Prohibited. 1. No employer or any other person shall interfere with, restrain, or deny the exercise of, or the attempt to exercise, any right protected under this chapter. 2. No employer or any other person shall take any adverse action against any person because the person has exercised in good faith the rights under this chapter. Such rights include but are not limited to the right to make inquiries about the rights protected under this chapter; the right to inform others about their rights under this chapter; the right to inform the person's employer, union, or similar organization, and/or the person's legal counsel or any other person about an alleged violation of this chapter; the right to bring a civil action for an alleged violation of this chapter; the right to testify in a proceeding under or related to this chapter; the right to refuse to participate in an activity that would result in a violation of city, state, or federal law; and the right to oppose any policy, practice, or act that is unlawful under this chapter. 3. For the purposes of this section, an adverse action means denying ajob or promotion, demoting, terminating, failing to rehire after a seasonal interruption of work, threatening, penalizing, retaliating, engaging in unfair immigration -related practices, filing a false report with a government agency, changing an employee's status to nonemployee, decreasing or declining to provide additional work hours when they otherwise would have been offered, scheduling an employee for hours outside of their availability, or otherwise discriminating against any person for any reason prohibited by this chapter. "Adverse action" for an employee may involve any aspect of employment, including pay, work hours, responsibilities, or other material change in the terms and conditions of employment. 4. No employer or any other person shall communicate to a person exercising rights protected under this chapter, directly or indirectly, the willingness to inform a government employee that the person is not lawfully in the United States, or to report, or to make an implied or express assertion of a willingness to report, suspected citizenship or immigration status of the person or a family member of the person to a federal, state, or local agency because the person has exercised a right under this chapter. 5. There shall be a rebuttable presumption of unlawful retaliation if an employer or any other person takes an adverse action against a person within 90 days of the person's exercise of any right protected in this chapter. However, in the case of seasonal work that ended before the close of the 90-day period, the presumption also applies if the employer fails to rehire a former employee at the next opportunity for work in the same position. The employer may rebut the presumption with clear and convincing evidence that the adverse action was taken for a permissible purpose. 6. Standard of Proof. Proof of retaliation under this chapter shall be sufficient upon a showing that an employer or any other person has taken an adverse action against a person and the person's exercise of rights protected in this chapter was a motivating factor in the adverse action, unless the employer can prove that the action would have been taken in the absence of such protected activity. 7. The protections afforded under this section shall apply to any person who mistakenly but in good faith alleges violations of this chapter. Section 8. Enforcement. 1. Any person or class of persons that suffers financial injury as a result of a violation of this chapter or is the subject of prohibited retaliation under this chapter, or any other individual or entity acting on their behalf, may bring a civil action in a court of competentjurisdiction against the employer or other person violating this chapter and, upon prevailing, shall be awarded reasonable attorney fees and costs and such legal or equitable relief as may be appropriate to remedy the violation including, without limitation, the payment of any unpaid wages plus interest due to the person and liquidated damages in an additional amount of up to twice the unpaid wages; compensatory damages; and a penalty payable to any aggrieved party of up to $5,000 if the aggrieved party was subject to prohibited retaliation. For the purposes of this section, an aggrieved party means an employee or other person who suffers tangible or intangible harm due to an employer or other person's violation of this chapter. Interest shall accrue from the date the unpaid wages were first due at the higher of twelve percent per annum or the maximum rate permitted under RCW 19.52.020. 2. For purposes of determining membership within a class of persons entitled to bring an action under this section, two or more employees are similarly situated if they: a. Are or were employed by the same employer or employers, whether concurrently or otherwise, at some point during the applicable statute of limitations period; b. Allege one or more violations that raise similar questions as to liability; and C. Seek similar forms of relief. d. Employees shall not be considered dissimilar solely because their claims seek damages that differ in amount, or theirjob titles or other means of classifying employees differ in ways that are unrelated to their claims. 3. Each covered employer shall retain records as required by RCW 49.46.070, as well as such information as the City may require to confirm compliance with this chapter. If an employer fails to retain such records, there shall be a presumption, rebuttable by clear and convincing evidence, that the employer violated this chapter for the periods and for each employee for whom records were not retained. 4. Employers shall permit authorized City representatives access to work sites and relevant records for the purpose of monitoring compliance with the chapter and investigating complaints of noncompliance, including production for inspection and copying of employment records. The City may designate representatives, including city contractors and representatives of unions or worker advocacy organizations, to access the worksite and relevant records. 5. Complaints that any provision of this chapter has been violated may also be presented to the City Attorney, who is hereby authorized to investigate and, if they deem appropriate, initiate legal or other action to remedy any violation of this chapter. 6. The City has the authority to issue administrative citations and to order injunctive relief including reinstatement, restitution, payment of back wages, or other forms of relief. 7. The City may, in the exercise of its authority and performance of its functions and services, agree by contract or otherwise to participate jointly or in cooperation with Washington State, King County, or any city, town, or other incorporated place, or subdivision thereof, or engage outside counsel, to enforce this chapter. 8. The remedies and penalties provided under this chapter are cumulative and are not intended to be exclusive of any other available remedies or penalties, including existing remedies for enforcement of Renton Municipal Code chapters. 9. The statute of limitations for any enforcement action shall be five (5) years. Section 9. A new section is added to Renton Municipal Code (RMC) Section 5-5-4 as follows: 1. The Finance Director may deny, suspend, or revoke any license under this chapter for violation of this ordinance. 2. The Finance Director must deny, suspend, or revoke any license under this chapter for repeated intentional violations of this ordinance. 3. Any action by the Finance Director under this section shall be subject to the procedures and requirements of RMC subsection 5-5-3.E, as well as other due process rights that a court may require. Section 10. Definitions. For the purposes of this chapter, the following terms shall have the following meanings: "City" means the City of Renton. "Covered employer" means an employer that either (1) employs at least 15 employees regardless of where those employees are employed, or (2) has annual gross revenue over $2 million. "Effective date" is the effective date of this ordinance. "Employee" is defined as set forth in RCW 49.46.010. An employer bears the burden of proof that the individual is, as a matter of economic reality, in business for oneself rather than dependent upon the alleged employer. "Employer" is defined as set forth in RCW 49.46.010. "Employer classification" includes the determination of whether an employer is a covered employer and whether a covered employer is a large employer. "Franchise" means an agreement, express or implied, oral or written by which: 1. A person is granted the right to engage in the business of offering, selling, or distributing goods or services under a marketing plan prescribed or suggested in substantial part by the grantor or its affiliate; 2. The operation of the business is substantially associated with a trademark, service mark, trade name, advertising, or other commercial symbol; designating, owned by, or licensed by the grantor or its affiliate; and 3. The person pays, agrees to pay, or is required to pay, directly or indirectly, a franchise fee. The term, "franchise fee" is meant to be construed broadly to include any instance in which the grantor or its affiliate derives income or profit from a person who enters into a franchise agreement with the grantor. "Hour worked within the City" is to be interpreted according to its ordinary meaning, including all hours worked within the geographic boundaries of the City, excluding time spent in the City solely for the purpose of traveling through the City from a point of origin outside the City to a destination outside the City, with no employment -related or commercial stops in the City except for refueling or the employee's personal meals or errands. "Large Employer" means all employers that employ more than 500 employees, regardless of where those employees are employed, and all franchisees associated with a franchisor or a network of franchises with franchisees that employ more than 500 employees in aggregate. "Other covered employer" means a covered employer that does not qualify as a large employer. "Service charge" is defined as set forth in RCW 49.46.160(2)(c). "Tips" means a verifiable sum to be presented by a customer as a gift or gratuity in recognition of some service performed for the customer by the employee receiving the tip. "Wage" is defined as set forth in RCW 49.46.010. Section 11. Other Legal Requirements. This ordinance shall not be construed to preempt, limit, or otherwise affect the applicability of any other law, regulation, requirement, policy, or standard that provides for greater wages or compensation; and nothing in this ordinance shall be interpreted or applied so as to create any power or duty in conflict with federal or state law. Section 12. Rulemaking. Within 180 days after the effective date, the City shall adopt rules and procedures to implement and ensure compliance with this chapter, which shall require employers to maintain adequate records and to annually certify compliance with this chapter. The City shall seek feedback from worker organizations and covered employers before finalizing the rules and procedures. Section 13. Constitutional Subject. For constitutional purposes, this measure's subject "concerns labor standards for certain employers." See Filo Foods, LLC v. City of SeaTac, 183 Wash. 2d 770, 783, 357 P.3d 1040, 1047 (2015) (upholding this statement of subject for an initiative that set a minimum wage and addressed employees' access to hours). Section 14. Codification. All sections of this ordinance except section 9 shall be codified in a new chapter of the Renton Municipal Code. Section 15. Election date. In the event that the election on this measure takes place later than November 7, 2023, the Finance Department must establish and publish the initial minimum wage within 30 days of the effective date. Section 16. Severability. The provisions of this ordinance are declared to be separate and severable. If any clause, sentence, paragraph, subdivision, section, subsection, or portion of this ordinance, or the application thereof to any employer, employee, or circumstance, is held to be invalid, it shall not affect the validity of the remainder of this ordinance, or the validity of its application to other persons or circumstances. Name Of Canvasser: Date Canvassed: Canvasser Email and Phone Number: Raising The Minimum Wage In Renton INITIATIVE PETITION FOR SUBMISSION TO THE RENTON CITY COUNCIL TO: The City Council of the City of Renton: ®keener 933-M We, the undersigned registered voters of the City of Renton, State of Washington, residing at the addresses set forth opposite our respective names, being equal to fifteen percent (15%) of the total number of names of persons listed as registered voters within the City on the day of the last preceding City general election, respectfully request that the following ordinance be enacted by the City Council or, if not so enacted, be submitted to a vote of the residents of the City. The title of the said ordinance is as follows: ORDINANCE CONCERNING LABOR STANDARDS FOR CERTAIN EMPLOYEES A full, true and correct copy of the ordinance is attached to this Petition. Each of us for himself or herself says: I have personally signed this petition; I am a registered voter of the City of Renton, State of Washington; and my residence is correctly stated. 1. !r 2. 3. 4. 5. _ 6. 7. 8. 9. v 10. Signature Saayde?eret Printed Name Printed Name Street and Number City Phone Number 1234 Anywhere St. Renton 206-555-1234 1we;, (�f Renton ZoG `tab et Email Date maria@something.org 4/10/2023 'ja,r a.rh _J-�1 F Lye )' �o 1. 'ti' , .5h Warning Every person who signs this petition with any other than his or her true name, or who knowingly signs more than one of these petitions, or signs a petition seek- ing an election when he or she is not a legal voter, or signs a petition when he or she is otherwise not qualified to sign, or who makes herein any false statement, shall be guilty of a misdemeanor. AN ORDINANCE concerning labor standards for certain employees. Section 1. Findings. 1. The people of the City of Renton hereby adopt this citizen initiative addressing labor standards for certain employees, for the purpose of ensuring that, to the extent reasonably practicable, people employed in Renton have good wages and access to sufficient hours of work. 2. The City of Renton is one of the largest job centers in Washington State, with thousands of shoppers and workers visiting daily to participate in the local economy. Renton is home to The Landing shopping center, the historic Downtown Urban Center, as well as retail and commercial office and warehouse districts around the Rainier/Grady Way Junction. The City is a net importer ofjobs, with nearly 60,000 employed workers. Renton has a wide array of both long established and new and evolving business sectors. Retail businesses, restaurants and bars, auto sales, hospitality, healthcare, and office workers are well represented. 3. The statewide minimum wage is not sufficient to afford rising rents and costs of living in Renton. According to the National Low Income Housing Coalition's Out of Reach 2022 report, a worker making Washington's minimum wage would have to work 72 hours each week (up from 70 hours each week in 2021) to afford a modest one -bedroom rental home at Fair Market Rent. 4. When working families am insufficient income due to low wages and involuntary under -employment, they struggle to pay for basic necessities like health care, child care, and groceries, and they are more likely to be evicted and become homeless. 5. Nearby King County cities of SeaTac, Seattle, and Tukwila enacted higher minimum wages in 2013, 2014, and 2022 respectively, but until now Renton has not followed suit. 6. Children growing up in poverty experience insecurity with housing, nutrition, and health care while enduring other hardships that prevent their ability to learn in school. Full time working parents must be able to reasonably provide for thew family to ensure access to the opportunities and promise of public education. Section 2. Intent. It is the intent of the people to establish fair labor standards and protect the rights of workers by: (1) ensuring that the vast majority of employees in the City of Renton receive a minimum wage comparable to employees in the nearby cities of Tukwila, SeaTac, and Seattle; (2) requiring covered employers to offer additional hours of work to qualified part-time employees before hiring new employees to fill those hours; and (3) adopting enforcement requirements. Section 3. Large Employers Shall Pay Minimum Wages Comparable to Those in Nearby Cities. 1. Effective July 1, 2024, every large employer shall pay to each employee an hourly wage of not less than the 2023 new minimum wage rate in the City of Tukwila, established by City of Tukwila Initiative Measure No. 1, approved by voters in November 2022, adjusted for 2024 by the annual rate of inflation. 2. On January 1, 2025, and on each January 1 thereafter, the hourly minimum wage shall increase by the annual rate of inflation to maintain employee purchasing power. 3. By December 31, 2023, and by October 15 of each year thereafter, the Finance Department shall establish and publish the applicable hourly minimum wage for the following year using the annual rate of inflation. 4. For purposes of this chapter, the annual rate of inflation means 100 percent of the annual average growth rate of the bi-monthly Seattle -Tacoma -Bellevue Area Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers, termed CPI-W, for the 12-month period ending in August, provided that the percentage increase shall not be less than zero. 5. An employer must pay to its employees: a. All tips and gratuities; and b. All service charges as defined under RCW 49.46.160 except those that, pursuant to RCW 49.46.160, are itemized as not being payable to the employee or employees servicing the customer. Tips and service charges paid to an employee are in addition to, and may not count towards, the employee's hourly minimum wage. Section 4. Other Covered Employers Shall Have a Multiyear Phase -In Period. Other covered employers shall phase in the new minimum wage, as follows: 1. Effective July 1, 2024, other covered employers shall pay employees not less than the hourly minimum wage established order Section 3 minus Two Dollars ($2) per hour. 2. Effective July 1, 2025, other covered employers shall pay employees not less than the hourly minimum wage established under Section 3 minus One Dollar ($1) per hour. 3. Effective July 1, 2026, and thereafter, all covered employers shall pay employees not less than the hourly minimum wage established under Section 3. Section 5. Coverage and Employer Classifications. 1. Covered employers must pay employees at least the minimum wage established by this chapter for each hour worked within the City. 2. Employer classification for the current calendar year will be calculated based upon the average number of employees during all weeks in the previous calendar year in which the employer had at least one employee. For employers that did not have any employees during the previous calendar year, classification will be based upon the average number of employees during the most recent three months of the current year. In this determination, all employees will be counted, regardless of their location, and including employees who worked in full-time employment, part-time employment, joint employment, temporary employment, or through the services of a temporary services or staffing agency or similar entity. 3. Employer classification for the current calendar year will be calculated based upon the gross revenue for the previous year. For employers that did not have gross revenue during the previous calendar year, annual gross revenue will be calculated from the gross revenue during the most recent three months of the current year. 4. For the purposes of employer classification, separate entities will be considered a single employer if they form an integrated enterprise or they are underjoint control by one of those entities or a separate entity. The factors to consider in making this assessment include, but are not limited to: a. Degree of interrelation between the operations of multiple entities; b. Degree to which the entities share common management; c. Centralized control of labor relations; and d. Degree of common ownership or financial control over the entities. Section 6. Part -Time Employees Shall Have Fair Access to Additional Hours. 1. Before hiring additional employees or subcontractors, including hiring through the use of temporary services or staffing agencies, covered employers must offer additional hours of work to existing employees who, in the employer's good faith and reasonable judgment, have the skills and experience to perform the work, and shall use a reasonable, transparent, and nondiscriminatory process to distribute the hours of work among those existing employees. 2. This section shall not be construed to require any employer to offer an employee work hours if the employer would be required to compensate the employee at time -and -a -half or other premium rate under any law or collective bargaining agreement, nor to prohibit any employer from offering such work hours. Section 7. Retaliation Prohibited. I. No employer or any other person shall interfere with, restrain, or deny the exercise of, or the attempt to exercise, any right protected under this chapter. 2. No employer or any other person shall take any adverse action against any person because the person has exercised in good faith the rights under this chapter. Such rights include but are not limited to the right to make inquiries about the rights protected under this chapter; the right to inform others about their rights under this chapter; the right to inform the person's employer, union, or similar organization, and/or the person's legal counsel or any other person about an alleged violation of this chapter; the right to bring a civil action for an alleged violation of this chapter; the right to testify in a proceeding under or related to this chapter; the right to refuse to participate in an activity that would result in a violation of city, state, or federal law; and the right to oppose any policy, practice, or act that is unlawful under this chapter. 3. For the purposes of this section, an adverse action means denying ajob or promotion, demoting, terminating, failing to rehire after a seasonal interruption of work, threatening, penalizing, retaliating, engaging in unfair immigration -related practices, filing a false report with a government agency, changing an employee's status to nonemployee, decreasing or declining to provide additional work hours when they otherwise would have been offered, scheduling an employee for hours outside of their availability, or otherwise discriminating against any person for any reason prohibited by this chapter. "Adverse action" for an employee may involve any aspect of employment, including pay, work hours, responsibilities, or other material change in the terms and conditions of employment. 4. No employer or any other person shall communicate to a person exercising rights protected under this chapter, directly or indirectly, the willingness to inform a government employee that the person is not lawfully in the United States, or to report, or to make an implied or express assertion of a willingness to report, suspected citizenship or immigration status of the person or a family member of the person to a federal, state, or local agency because the person has exercised a right under this chapter. 5. There shall be a rebuttable presumption of unlawful retaliation if an employer or any other person takes an adverse action against a person within 90 days of the person's exercise of any right protected in this chapter. However, in the case of seasonal work that ended before the close of the 90-day period, the presumption also applies if the employer falls to rehire a former employee at the next opportunity for work in the same position. The employer may rebut the presumption with clear and convincing evidence that the adverse action was taken for a permissible purpose. 6. Standard of Proof. Proof of retaliation under this chapter shall be sufficient upon a showing that an employer or any other person has taken an adverse action against a person and the person's exercise of rights protected in this chapter was a motivating factor in the adverse action, unless the employer can prove that the action would have been taken in the absence of such protected activity. 7. The protections afforded under this section shall apply to any person who mistakenly but in good faith alleges violations of this chapter. Section 8. Enforcement. 1. Any person or class of persons that suffers financial injury as a result of a violation of this chapter or is the subject of prohibited retaliation under this chapter, or any other individual or entity acting on their behalf, may bring a civil action in a court of competent jurisdiction against the employer or other person violating this chapter and, upon prevailing, shall be awarded reasonable attorney fees and costs and such legal or equitable relief a; may be appropriate to remedy the violation including without limitation, the payment of any unpaid wages plus interest due to the person and liquidated damages in an additional amount of up to twice the unpaid wages; compensatory damages; and a penalty payable to any aggrieved party of up to $5,000 if the aggrieved party was subject to prohibited retaliation. For the purposes of this section, an aggrieved party means an employee or other person who suffers tangible or intangible harm due to an employer or other person's violation of this chapter. Interest shall accrue from the date the unpaid wages were first due at the higher of twelve percent per arum or the maximum rate permitted under RCW 19.52.020. 2. For purposes of determining membership within a class of persons entitled to bring an action under this section, two or more employees are similarly situated if they: a. Are or were employed by the same employer or employers, whether concurrently or otherwise, at some point during the applicable statute of limitations period; b. Allege one or more violations that raise similar questions as to liability; and C. Seek similar forms of relief. d. Employees shall not be considered dissimilar solely because their claims seek damages that differ in amount, or their job titles or other means of classifying employees differ in ways that are unrelated to their claims. 3. Each covered employer shall retain records as required by RCW 49.46.070, as well as such information as the City may require to confirm compliance with this chapter. If an employer fails to retain such records, there shall be a presumption, rebuttable by clear and convincing evidence, that the employer violated this chapter for the periods and for each employee for whom records were not retained. 4. Employers shall permit authorized City representatives access to work sites and relevant records for the purpose of monitoring compliance with the chapter and investigating complaints of noncompliance, including production for inspection and copying of employment records. The City may designate representatives, including city contractors and representatives of unions or worker advocacy organizations, to access the worksite and relevant records. 5. Complaints that any provision of this chapter has been violated may also be presented to the City Attorney, who is hereby authorized to investigate and, if they deem appropriate, initiate legal or other action to remedy any violation of this chapter. 6. The City has the authority to issue administrative citations and to order injunctive relief including reinstatement, restitution, payment of back wages, or other forms of relief. 7. The City may, in the exercise of its authority and performance of its functions and services, agree by contract or otherwise to participate jointly or in cooperation with Washington State, King County, or any city, town, or other incorporated place, or subdivision thereof, or engage outside counsel, to enforce this chapter. 8. The remedies and penalties provided under this chapter are cumulative and are not intended to be exclusive of any other available remedies or penalties, including existing remedies for enforcement of Renton Municipal Code chapters. 9. The statute of limitations for any enforcement action shall be five (5) years. Section 9. A new section is added to Renton Municipal Code (RMC) Section 5-5-4 as follows: 1. The Finance Director may deny, suspend, or revoke any license under this chapter for violation of this ordinance. 2. The Finance Director must deny, suspend, or revoke any license under this chapter for repeated intentional violations of this ordinance. 3. Any action by the Finance Director under this section shall be subject to the procedures and requirements of RMC subsection 5-5-3.E, as well as other due process rights that a court may require. Section 10. Definitions. For the purposes of this chapter, the following terms shall have the following meanings: "City" means the City of Renton. "Covered employer" means an employer that either (1) employs at least 15 employees regardless of where those employees are employed, or (2) has annual gross revenue over $2 million. "Effective date" is the effective date of this ordinance. "Employee" is defined as set forth in RCW 49.46.010. An employer bears the burden of proof that the individual is, as a matter of economic reality, in business for oneself rather than dependent upon the alleged employer. "Employer" is defined as set forth in RCW 49.46.010. "Employer classification" includes the determination of whether an employer is a covered employer and whether a covered employer is a large employer. "Franchise" means an agreement, express or implied, oral or written by which: 1. A person is granted the right to engage in the business of offering, selling, or distributing goods or services under a marketing plan prescribed or suggested in substantial part by the grantor or its affiliate; 2. The operation of the business is substantially associated with a trademark, service mark, trade name, advertising, or other commercial symbol; designating owned by, or licensed by the grantor or its affiliate; and 3. The person pays, agrees to pay, or is required to pay, directly or indirectly, a franchise fee. The term, "franchise fee" is meant to be construed broadly to include any instance in which the grantor or its affiliate derives income or profit from a person who enters into a franchise agreement with the grantor. "Hour worked within the City" is to be interpreted according to its ordinary meaning including all hours worked within the geographic boundaries of the City, excluding time spent in the City solely for the purpose of traveling through the City from a point of origin outside the City to a destination outside the City, with no employment -related or commercial stops in the City except for refueling or the employee's personal meals or errands. "Large Employer" means all employers that employ more than 500 employees, regardless of where those employees are employed, and all franchisees associated with a franchisor or a network of franchises with franchisees that employ more than 500 employees in aggregate. "Other covered employer" means a covered employer that does not qualify as a large employer. "Service charge" is defined as set forth in RCW 49.46.160(2)(c). "Tips" means a verifiable sum to be presented by a customer as a gift or gratuity in recognition of some service performed for the customer by the employee receiving the tip. "Wage" is defined as set forth in RCW 49.46.010. Section 11. Other Legal Requirements. This ordinance shall not be construed to preempt, limit, or otherwise affect the applicability of any other law, regulation, requirement, policy, or standard that provides for greater wages or compensation; and nothing in this ordinance shall be interpreted or applied so as to create any power or duty in conflict with federal or state law. Section 12. Rulemaking. Within 180 days after the effective date, the City shall adopt rules and procedures to implement and ensure compliance with this chapter, which shall require employers to maintain adequate records and to annually certify compliance with this chapter. The City shall seek feedback from worker organizations and covered employers before finalizing the rules and procedures. Section 13. Constitutional Subject. For constitutional purposes, this measure's subject "concerns labor standards for certain employers." See Filo Foods, LLC v. City of SeaTac, 183 Wash. 2d 770, 783,357 P.3d 1040, 1047 (2015) (upholding this statement of subject for an initiative that set a minimum wage and addressed employees' access to hours). Section 14. Codification. All sections of this ordinance except section 9 shall be codified in a new chapter of the Renton Municipal Code. Section 15. Election date. In the event that the election on this measure takes place later than November 7, 2023, the Finance Department must establish and publish the initial minimum wage within 30 days of the effective date. Section 16. Severability. The provisions of this ordinance are declared to be separate and severable. If any clause, sentence, paragraph, subdivision, section, subsection, or portion of this ordinance, or the application thereof to any employer, employee, or circumstance, is held to be invalid, it shall not affect the validity of the remainder of this ordinance, or the validity of its application to other persons or circumstances. Raising The Minimum Wage In Renton INITIATIVE PETITION FOR SUBMISSION TO THE RENTON CITY COUNCIL TO: The City Council of the City of Renton: p 48q�y�PMPPm'"-, �cceneri933-M - We, the undersigned registered voters of the City of Renton, State of Washington, residing at the addresses set forth opposite our respective names, being equal to fifteen percent (15%) of the total number of names of persons listed as registered voters within the City on the day of the last preceding City general election, respectfully request that the following ordinance be enacted by the City Council or, if not so enacted, be submitted to a vote of the residents of the City. The title of the said ordinance is as follows: ORDINANCE CONCERNING LABOR STANDARDS FOR CERTAIN EMPLOYEES A full, true and correct copy of the ordinance is attached to this Petition. Each of us for himself or herself says: I have personally signed this petition; I am a registered voter of the City of Renton, State of Washington; and my residence is correctly stated. Signature Printed Name Street and Number City Phone Number Email Date 5"A&`t/erm Printed Name 1234 Anywhere St. Renton 206-555-1234 maria@something.org 4/10/2023 AN Renton (4 ✓vl r'er-&-, d 2 `� 3 7oz 715,& q I (- l'Za03 Warning Every person who signs this petition with any other than his or her true name, or who knowingly signs more than one of these petitions, or signs a petition seek- ing an election when he or she is not a legal voter, or signs a petition when he or she is otherwise not qualified to sign, or who makes herein any false statement, shall be guilty of a misdemeanor. AN ORDINANCE concerning labor standards for certain employees. Section 1. Findings. 1. The people of the City of Renton hereby adopt this citizen initiative addressing labor standards for certain employees, for the purpose of ensuring that, to the extent reasonably practicable, people employed in Renton have good wages and access to sufficient hours of work. 2. The City of Renton is one of the largestjob centers in Washington State, with thousands of shoppers and workers visiting daily to participate in the local economy. Renton is home to The Landing shopping center, the historic Downtown Urban Center, as well as retail and commercial office and warehouse districts around the Rainier/Grady Way Junction. The City is a net importer ofjobs, with nearly 60,000 employed workers. Renton has a wide array of both long established and new and evolving business sectors. Retail businesses, restaurants and bars, auto sales, hospitality, healthcare, and office workers are well represented. 3. The statewide minimum wage is not sufficient to afford rising rents and costs of living in Renton. According to the National Low Income Housing Coalition's Out of Reach 2022 report, a worker making Washington's minimum wage would have to work 72 hours each week (up from 70 hours each week in 2021) to afford a modest one -bedroom rental home at Fair Market Rent. 4. When working families earn insufficient income due to low wages and involuntary under -employment, they straggle to pay for basic necessities like health care, child care, and groceries, and they are more likely to be evicted and become homeless. 5. Nearby King County cities of SeaTac, Seattle, and Tukwila enacted higher minimum wages in 2013, 2014, and 2022 respectively, but until now Renton has not followed suit. 6. Children growing up in poverty experience insecurity with housing, nutrition, and health cue while enduring other hardships that prevent their ability to learn in school. Full time working parents must be able to reasonably provide for their family to ensure accessto the opportunities and promise of public education. Section 2. Intent. It is the intent of the people to establish fair labor standards and protect the rights of workers by: (1) ensuring that the vast majority of employees in the City of Renton receive a minimum wage comparable to employees in the nearby cities of Tukwila, SeaTac, and Seattle; (2) requiring covered employers to offer additional hours of work to qualified part-time employees before hiring new employees to fill those hours; and (3) adopting enforcement requirements. Section 3. Large Employers Shall Pay Minimum Wages Comparable to Those in Nearby Cities. 1. Effective July 1, 2024, every large employer shall pay to each employee an hourly wage of not less than the 2023 new minimum wage rate in the City of Tukwila, established by City of Tukwila Initiative Measure No. 1, approved by voters in November 2022, adjusted for 2024 by the annual rate of inflation. 2. On January I, 2025, and on each January I thereafter, the hourly minimum wage shall increase by the annual rate of inflation to maintain employee purchasing power. 3. By December 31, 2023, and by October 15 of each year thereafter, the Finance Department shall establish and publish the applicable hourly minimum wage for the following year using the annual rate of inflation. 4. For purposes of this chapter, the annual rate of inflation means 100 percent of the annual average growth rate of the bi-monthly Seattle -Tacoma -Bellevue Area Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers, termed CPI-W, for the 12-month period ending in August, provided that the percentage increase shall not be less than zero. 5. An employer must pay to its employees: a. All tips and gratuities; and b. All service charges as defined under RCW 49.46.160 except those that, pursuant to RCW 49.46.160, me itemized as not being payable to the employee or employees servicing the customer. Tips and service charges paid to an employee are in addition to, and may not count towards, the employee's hourly minimum wage. Section 4. Other Covered Employers Shall Have a Multiyear Phase -In Period. Other covered employers shall phase in the new minimum wage, as follows: 1. Effective July 1, 2024, other covered employers shall pay employees not less than the hourly minimum wage established under Section 3 minus Two Dollars ($2) per hour. 2. Effective July 1, 2025, other covered employers shall pay employees not less than the hourly minimum wage established under Section 3 minus One Dollar 1$1) per hour. 3. Effective July 1, 2026, and thereafter, all covered employers shall pay employees not less than the hourly minimum wage established under Section 3. Section 5. Coverage and Employer Classifications. 1. Covered employers must pay employees at least the minimum wage established by this chapter for each hour worked within the City. 2. Employer classification for the current calendar year will be calculated based upon the average number of employees during all weeks in the previous calendar year in which the employer had at least one employee. For employers that did not have any employees during the previous calendar year, classification will be based upon the average number of employees during the most recent three months of the current year. In this determination, all employees will be counted, regardless of their location, and including employees who worked in full-time employment, part-time employment, joint employment, temporary employment, or through the services of a temporary services or staffing agency or similar entity. 3. Employer classification for the current calendar year will be calculated based upon the gross revenue for the previous year. For employers that did not have gross revenue during the previous calendar year, annual gross revenue will be calculated from the gross revenue during the most recent three months of the current year. 4. For the purposes of employer classification, separate entities will be considered a single employer if they form an integrated enterprise or they are under joint control by one of those entities or a separate entity. The factors to consider in making this assessment include, but are not limited to: a. Degree of interrelation between the operations of multiple entities; b. Degree to which the entities share common management; C. Centralized control of labor relations; and d. Degree of common ownership or financial control over the entities. Section 6. Part -Time Employees Shall Have Fair Access to Additional Hours. 1. Before hiring additional employees or subcontractors, including hiring through the use of temporary services or staffing agencies, covered employers must offer additional hours of work to existing employees who, in the employer's good faith and reasonable judgment, have the skills and experience to perform the work, and shall use a reasonable, transparent, and nondiscriminatory process to distribute the hours of work among those existing employees. 2. This section shall not be construed to require any employer to offer an employee work hours if the employer would be required to compensate the employee at time -and -a -half or other premium rate under any law or collective bargaining agreement, nor to prohibit any employer from offering such work hours. Section 7. Retaliation Prohibited. 1. No employer or any other person shall interfere with, restrain, or deny the exercise of, or the attempt to exercise, any right protected under this chapter. 2. No employer or any other person shall take any adverse action against any person because the person has exercised in good faith the rights under this chapter. Such rights include but are not limited to the right to make inquiries about the rights protected under this chapter; the right to inform others about their rights under this chapter; the right to inform the person's employer, union, or similar organization, and/or the person's legal counsel or any other person about an alleged violation of this chapter; the right to bring a civil action for an alleged violation of this chapter; the right to testify in a proceeding under or related to this chapter; the right to refuse to participate in an activity that would result in a violation of city, state, or federal law; and the right to oppose any policy, practice, or act that is unlawful under this chapter. 3. For the purposes of this section, an adverse action means denying ajob or promotion, demoting, terminating, failing to rehire after a seasonal interruption of work, threatening, penalizing, retaliating, engaging in unfair immigration -related practices, filing a false report with a government agency, changing an employee's status to nonemployee, decreasing or declining to provide additional work hours when they otherwise would have been offered, scheduling an employee for hours outside of their availability, or otherwise discriminating against any person for any reason prohibited by this chapter. "Adverse action" for an employee may involve any aspect of employment, including pay, work hours, responsibilities, or other material change in the terms and conditions of employment. 4. No employer or any other person shall communicate to a person exercising rights protected under this chapter, directly or indirectly, the willingness to inform a government employee that the person is not lawfully in the United States, or to report, or to make an implied or express assertion of a willingness to report, suspected citizenship or immigration status of the person or a family member of the person to a federal, state, or local agency because the person has exercised a right under this chapter. 5. There shall be a rebuttable presumption of unlawful retaliation if an employer or any other person takes an adverse action against a person within 90 days of the person's exercise of any right protected in this chapter. However, in the case of seasonal work that ended before the close of the 90-day period, the presumption also applies if the employer fails to rehire a former employee at the next opportunity for work in the same position. The employer may rebut the presumption with clear and convincing evidence that the adverse action was taken for a permissible purpose. 6. Standard of Proof. Proof of retaliation under this chapter shall be sufficient upon a showing that an employer or any other person has taken an adverse action against a person and the person's exercise of rights protected in this chapter was a motivating factor in the adverse action, unless the employer can prove that the action would have been taken in the absence of such protected activity. 7. The protections afforded under this section shall apply to any person who mistakenly but in good faith alleges violations of this chapter. Section S. Enforcement. 1. Any person or class of persons that suffers financial injury as a result of a violation of this chapter or is the subject of prohibited retaliation under this chapter, or any other individual or entity acting on their behalf, may bring a civil action in a court of competent jurisdiction against the employer or other person violating this chapter and, upon prevailing, shall be awarded reasonable attorney fees and costs and such legal or equitable relief as may be appropriate to remedy the violation including, without limitation, the payment of any unpaid wages plus interest due to the person and liquidated damages in an additional amount of up to twice the unpaid wages; compensatory damages; and a penalty payable to any aggrieved party of up to $5,000 if the aggrieved party was subject to prohibited retaliation. For the purposes of this section, an aggrieved party means an employee or other person who suffers tangible or intangible harm due to an employer or other person's violation of this chapter. Interest shall accrue from the date the unpaid wages were first due at the higher of twelve percent per annum or the maximum rate permitted under RCW 19.52.020. 2. For purposes of determining membership within a class of persons entitled to bring an action under this section, two or more employees are similarly situated if they: a. Are or were employed by the same employer or employers, whether concurrently or otherwise, at some point during the applicable statute of limitations period; b. Allege one or more violations that raise similar questions as to liability; and C. Seek similar forms of relief. d. Employees shall not be considered dissimilar solely because their claims seek damages that differ in amount, or their job titles or other means of classifying employees differ in ways that are unrelated to their claims. 3. Each covered employer shall retain records as required by RCW 49.46.070, as well as such information as the City may require to confirm compliance with this chapter. If an employer fails to retain such records, there shall be a presumption, rebuttable by clear and convincing evidence, that the employer violated this chapter for the periods and for each employee for whom records were not retained. 4. Employers shall permit authorized City representatives access to work sites and relevant records for the purpose of monitoring compliance with the chapter and investigating complaints of noncompliance, including production for inspection and copying of employment records. The City may designate representatives, including city contractors and representatives of unions or worker advocacy organizations, to access the worksite and relevant records. 5. Complaints that any provision of this chapter has been violated may also be presented to the City Attorney, who is hereby authorized to investigate and, if they deem appropriate, initiate legal or other action to remedy any violation of this chapter. 6. The City has the authority to issue administrative citations and to order injunctive relief including reinstatement, restitution, payment of back wages, or other forms of relief. 7. The City may, in the exercise of its authority and performance of its functions and services, agree by contract or otherwise to participate jointly or in cooperation with Washington State, King County, or any city, town, or other incorporated place, or subdivision thereof, or engage outside counsel, to enforce this chapter. 8. The remedies and penalties provided under this chapter are cumulative and are not intended to be exclusive of any other available remedies or penalties, including existing remedies for enforcement of Renton Municipal Code chapters. 9. The statute of limitations for any enforcement action shall be five (5) years. Section 9. A new section is added to Renton Municipal Code (RMC) Section 5-5-4 as follows: 1. The Finance Director may deny, suspend, or revoke any license under this chapter for violation of this ordinance. 2. The Finance Director must deny, suspend, or revoke any license under this chapter for repeated intentional violations of this ordinance. 3. Any action by the Finance Director under this section shall be subject to the procedures and requirements of RMC subsection 5-5-3.E, as well as other due process rights that a court may require. Section 10. Definitions. For the purposes of this chapter, the following terms shall have the following meanings: "City" means the City of Renton. "Covered employer" means an employer that either (1) employs at least 15 employees regardless of where those employees are employed, or (2) has annual gross revenue over $2 million. "Effective date" is the effective date of this ordinance. "Employee" is defined as set forth in RCW 49.46.010. An employer bears the burden of proof that the individual is, as a matter of economic reality, in business for oneself rather than dependent upon the alleged employer. "Employer" is defined as set forth in RCW 49.46.010. "Employer classification" includes the determination of whether an employer is a covered employer and whether a covered employer is a large employer. "Franchise" means an agreement, express or implied, oral or written by which: 1. A person is granted the right to engage in the business of offering, selling, or distributing goods or services under a marketing plan prescribed or suggested in substantial part by the grantor or its affiliate; 2. The operation of the business is substantially associated with a trademark, service mark, trade time, advertising, or other commercial symbol; designating, owned by, or licensed by the grantor or its affiliate; and 3. The person pays, agrees to pay, or is required to pay, directly or indirectly, a franchise fee. The term, "franchise fee" is meant to be construed broadly to include any instance in which the grantor or its affiliate derives income or profit from a person who enters into a franchise agreement with the grantor. "Hour worked within the City" is to be interpreted according to its ordinary meaning, including all hours worked within the geographic boundaries of the City, excluding time spent in the City solely for the purpose of traveling through the City from a point of origin outside the City to a destination outside the City, with no employment -related or commercial stops in the City except for refueling or the employee's personal meals or errands. "Large Employer" means all employers that employ more than 500 employees, regardless of where those employees are employed, and all franchisees associated with a franchisor or a network of franchises with franchisees that employ more than 500 employees in aggregate. "Other covered employer" means a covered employer that does not qualify as a large employer. "Service charge" is defined as set forth in RCW 49.46.160(2)(c). "Tips" means a verifiable sum to be presented by a customer as a gift or gratuity in recognition of some service performed for the customer by the employee receiving the tip. "Wage" is defined as set forth in RCW 49.46.010. Section 11. Other Legal Requirements. This ordinance shall not be construed to preempt, limit, or otherwise affect the applicability of any other law, regulation, requirement, policy, or standard that provides for greater wages or compensation; and nothing in this ordinance shall be interpreted or applied so as to create any power or duty in conflict with federal or state law. Section 12. Rulemaking. Within 180 days after the effective date, the City shall adopt rules and procedures to implement and ensure compliance with this chapter, which shall require employers to maintain adequate records and to annually certify compliance with this chapter. The City shall seek feedback from worker organizations and covered employers before finalizing the rates and procedures. Section 13. Constitutional Subject. For constitutional purposes, this measure's subject "concerns labor standards for certain employers." See Filo Foods, LLC v. City of SeaTac, 183 Wash. 2d 770, 783, 357 P.3d 1040, 1047 (2015) (upholding this statement of subject for an initiative that set a minimum wage and addressed employees' access to hours). Section 14. Codification. All sections of this ordinance except section 9 shall be codified in a new chapter of the Renton Municipal Code. Section 15. Election date. In the event that the election on this measure takes place later than November 7, 2023, the Finance Department must establish and publish the initial minimum wage within 30 days of the effective date. Section 16. Severability. The provisions of this ordinance are declared to be separate and severable. If any clause, sentence, paragraph, subdivision, section, subsection, or portion of this ordinance, or the application thereof to any employer, employee, or circumstance, is held to be invalid, it shall not affect the validity of the remainder of this ordinance, or the validity of its application to other persons or circumstances. Name Of Canvasser: Date Canvassed: and Phone Number: Raising The Minimum Wage In Renton INITIATIVE PETITION FOR SUBMISSION TO THE RENTON CITY COUNCIL TO: The City Council of the City of Renton: ®— Eccner esa-M W4W9MPM�'� We, the undersigned registered voters of the City of Renton, State of Washington, residing at the addresses set forth opposite our respective names, being equal to fifteen percent (15%) of the total number of names of persons listed as registered voters within the City on the day of the last preceding City general election, respectfully request that the following ordinance be enacted by the City Council or, if not so enacted, be submitted to a vote of the residents of the City. The title of the said ordinance is as follows: ORDINANCE CONCERNING LABOR STANDARDS FOR CERTAIN EMPLOYEES A full, true and correct copy of the ordinance is attached to this Petition. Each of us for himself or herself says: I have personally signed this petition; I am a registered voter of the City of Renton, State of Washington; and my residence is correctly stated Signature Printed Name Street and Number city Phone Number Email Date Printed Name 1234 Anywhere St. Renton 206-555-1234 maria@something.org 4/10/2023 2. 3. 4.K/ 5. 0 7. K C� k() iei Y-217 CIO W�VVS 3e-- W 'P_0 d121 c P' A try N 14 I Renton C Renton Renton Renton (Zcv 2U6-Z9(�5 / I Z�J Renton 7 <z' _ _a,71< Renton Renton Renton 9. � Evk-n Te t. f-r Renton Zvi q65 vi?v �Q(Ay?)_ �e l ^��I %��.J� Renton ,`5 // 71 !/ *��7-3 Warning Every person who signs this petition with any other than his or her true name, or who knowingly signs more than one of these petitions, or signs a petition seek- ing an election when he or she is not a legal voter, or signs a petition when he or she is otherwise not qualified to sign, or who makes herein any false statement, shall be guilty of a misdemeanor. SZI 23 AN ORDINANCE concerning labor standards for certain employees. Section 1. Findings. 1. The people of the City of Renton hereby adopt this citizen initiative addressing labor standards for certain employees, for the purpose of ensuring that, to the extent reasonably practicable, people employed in Renton have good wages and access to sufficient hours of work. 2. The City of Renton is one of the largestjob centers in Washington State, with thousands of shoppers and workers visiting daily to participate in the local economy. Renton is home to The Landing shopping center, the historic Downtown Urban Center, as well as retail and commercial office and warehouse districts around the Rainier/Grady Way Junction. The City is a net importer ofjobs, with nearly 60,000 employed workers. Renton has a wide array of both long established and new and evolving business sectors. Retail businesses, restaurants and bars, auto sales, hospitality, healthcare, and office workers are well represented. 3. The statewide minimum wage is not sufficient to afford rising rents and costs of living in Renton. According to the National Low Income Housing Coalition's Out of Reach 2022 report, a worker making Washington's minimum wage would have to work 72 hours each week (up from 70 hours each week in 2021) to afford a modest one -bedroom rental home at Fair Market Rent. 4. When working families earn insufficient income due to low wages and involuntary under -employment, they struggle to pay for basic necessities like health care, child cue, and groceries, and they are more likely to be evicted and become homeless. 5. Nearby King County cities of SeaTac, Seattle, and Tukwila enacted higher minimum wages in 2013, 2014, and 2022 respectively, but until now Renton has not followed suit. 6. Children growing up in poverty experience insecurity with housing, nutrition, and health care while enduring other hardships that prevent their ability to learn in school. Full time working parents must be able to reasonably provide for their family to ensure access to the opportunities and promise of public education. Section 2. Intent. It is the intent of the people to establish fair labor standards and protect the rights of workers by: (1) ensuring that the vast majority of employees in the City of Renton receive a minimum wage comparable to employees in the nearby cities of Tukwila, SeaTac, and Seattle; (2) requiring covered employers to offer additional hours of work to qualified part-time employees before hiring new employees to fill those hours; and (3) adopting enforcement requirements. Section 3. Large Employers Shall Pay Minimum Wages Comparable to Those in Nearby Cities. 1. Effective July 1, 2024, every large employer shall pay to each employee an hourly wage of not less than the 2023 new minimum wage rate in the City of Tukwila, established by City of Tukwila Initiative Measure No. I, approved by voters in November 2022, adjusted for 2024 by the annual rate of inflation. 2. On January 1, 2025,,and on each January 1 thereafter, the hourly minimum wage shall increase by the annual rate of inflation to maintain employee purchasing power. 3. By December 31, 2023, and by October 15 of each year thereafter, the Finance Department shall establish and publish the applicable hourly minimum wage for the following year using the annual rate of inflation. 4. For purposes of this chapter, the annual rate of inflation means 100 percent of the annual average growth rate of the bi-monthly Seattle -Tacoma -Bellevue Area Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers, termed CPI-W, for the 12-month period ending in August, provided that the percentage increase shall not be less than zero. 5. An employer must pay to its employees: a. All tips and gratuities; and b. All service charges as defined under RCW 49.46.160 except those that, pursuant to RCW 49.46.160, are itemized as not being payable to the employee or employees servicing the customer. Tips and service charges paid to an employee are in addition to, and may not count towards, the employee's hourly minimum wage. Section 4. Other Covered Employers Shall Have a Multiyear Phase -In Period. Other covered employers shall phase in the new minimum wage, as follows: 1. Effective July 1, 2024, other covered employers shall pay employees not less than the hourly minimum wage established under Section 3 minus Two Dollars ($2) per hour. 2. Effective July 1, 2025, other covered employers shall pay employees not less than the hourly minimum wage established under Section 3 minus One Dollar ($I) per hour. 3. Effective July 1, 2026, and thereafter, all covered employers shall pay employees not less than the hourly minimum wage established under Section 3. Section 5. Coverage and Employer Classifications. 1. Covered employers must pay employees at least the minimum wage established by this chapter for each hour worked within the City. 2. Employer classification for the current calendar year will be calculated based upon the average number of employees during all weeks in the previous calendar year in which the employer had at least one employee. For employers that did not have any employees during the previous calendar year, classification will be based upon the average number of employees during the most recent three months of the current year. In this determination, all employees will be counted, regardless of their location, and including employees who worked in full-time employment, part-time employment, joint employment, temporary employment, or through the services of a temporary services or staffing agency or similar entity, 3. Employer classification for the current calendar year will be calculated based upon the gross revenue for the previous year. For employers that did not have gross revenue during the previous calendar year, annual gross revenue will be calculated from the gross revenue during the most recent three months of the current year. 4. For the purposes of employer classification, separate entities will be considered a single employer if they form an integrated enterprise or they are under joint control by one of those entities or a separate entity. The factors to consider in making this assessment include, but are not limited to: a. Degree of interrelation between the operations of multiple entities; b. Degree to which the entities share common management; C. Centralized control of labor relations; and d. Degree of common ownership or financial control over the entities. Section 6. Part -Time Employees Shall Have Fair Access to Additional Hours. I. Before hiring additional employees or subcontractors, including hiring through the use of temporary services or staffing agencies, covered employers must offer additional hours of work to existing employees who, in the employer's good faith and reasonable judgment, have the skills and experience to perform the work, and shall use a reasonable, transparent, and nondiscriminatory process to distribute the hours of work among those existing employees. 2. This section shall not be construed to require any employer to offer an employee work hours if the employer would be required to compensate the employee at time -and -a -half or other premium rate under any law or collective bargaining agreement, nor to prohibit any employer from offering such work hours. Section 7. Retaliation Prohibited. 1. No employer or any other person shall interfere with, restrain, or deny the exercise of, or the attempt to exercise, any right protected under this chapter. 2. No employer or any other person shall take any adverse action against any person because the person has exercised in good faith the rights under this chapter. Such rights include but are not limited to the right to make inquiries about the rights protected under this chapter; the right to inform others about their rights under this chapter; the right to inform the person's employer, union, or similar organization, and/or the person's legal counsel or any other person about an alleged violation of this chapter; the right to bring a civil action for an alleged violation of this chapter; the right to testify in a proceeding under or related to this chapter; the right to refuse to participate in an activity that would result in a violation of city, state, or federal law; and the right to oppose any policy, practice, or act that is unlawful under this chapter. 3. For the purposes of this section, an adverse action means denying ajob or promotion, demoting, terminating, failing to rehire after a seasonal interruption of work, threatening, penalizing, retaliating, engaging in unfair immigration -related practices, filing a false report with a government agency, changing an employee's status to nonemployee, decreasing or declining to provide additional work hours when they otherwise would have been offered, scheduling an employee for hours outside of their availability, or otherwise discriminating against any person for any reason prohibited by this chapter. "Adverse action" for an employee may involve any aspect of employment, including pay, work hours, responsibilities, or other material change in the terms and conditions of employment. 4. No employer or any other person shall communicate to a person exercising rights protected under this chapter, directly or indirectly, the willingness to inform a government employee that the person is not lawfully in the United States, or to report, or to make an implied or express assertion of a willingness to report, suspected citizenship or immigration status of the person or a family member of the person to a federal, state, or local agency because the person has exercised a right under this chapter. 5. There shall be a rebuttable presumption of unlawful retaliation if an employer or any other person takes an adverse action against a person within 90 days of the person's exercise of any right protected in this chapter. However, in the case of seasonal work that ended before the close of the 90-day period, the presumption also applies if the employer fails to rehire a former employee at the next opportunity for work in the same position. The employer may rebut the presumption with clear and convincing evidence that the adverse action was taken for a permissible purpose. 6. Standard of Proof. Proof of retaliation under this chapter shall be sufficient upon a showing that an employer or any other person has taken an adverse action against a person and the person's exercise of rights protected in this chapter was a motivating factor in the adverse action, unless the employer can prove that the action would have been taken in the absence of such protected activity. 7. The protections afforded under this section shall apply to any person who mistakenly but in good faith alleges violations of this chapter. Section 8. Enforcement. 1. Any person or class of persons that suffers financial injury as a result of a violation of this chapter or is the subject of prohibited retaliation under this chapter, or any other individual or entity acting on their behalf, may bring a civil action in a court of competentjurisdiction against the employer or other person violating this chapter and, upon prevailing, shall be awarded reasonable attorney fees and costs and such legal or equitable relief as may be appropriate to remedy the violation including, without limitation, the payment of any unpaid wages plus interest due to the person and liquidated damages in an additional amount of up to twice the unpaid wages; compensatory damages; and a penalty payable to any aggrieved party of up to $5,000 if the aggrieved party was subject to prohibited retaliation. For the purposes of this section, an aggrieved party means an employee or other person who suffers tangible or intangible harm due to an employer or other person's violation of this chapter. Interest shall accrue from the date the unpaid wages were first due at the higher of twelve percent per mount or the maximum rate permitted under RCW 19.52.020. 2. For purposes of determining membership within a class of persons entitled to bring an action under this section, two or more employees are similarly situated if they: a. Are or were employed by the same employer or employers, whether concurrently or otherwise, at some point during the applicable statute of limitations period; b. Allege one or more violations that raise similar questions as to liability; and C. Seek similar forms of relief. it. Employees shall not be considered dissimilar solely because their claims seek damages that differ in amount, or their job titles or other means of classifying employees differ in ways that are unrelated to their claims. 3. Each covered employer shall retain records as required by RCW 49.46.070, as well as such information as the City may require to confirm compliance with this chapter. If an employer fails to retain such records, there shall be a presumption, rebuttable by clew and convincing evidence, that the employer violated this chapter for the periods and for each employee for whom records were not retained. 4. Employers shall permit authorized City representatives access to work sites and relevant records for the purpose of monitoring compliance with the chapter and investigating complaints of noncompliance, including production for inspection and copying of employment records. The City may designate representatives, including city contractors and representatives of unions or worker advocacy organizations, to access the worksite and relevant records. 5. Complaints that any provision of this chapter has been violated may also be presented to the City Attorney, who is hereby authorized to investigate and, if they deem appropriate, initiate legal or other action to remedy any violation of this chapter. 6. The City has the authority to issue administrative citations and to order injunctive relief including reinstatement, restitution, payment of back wages, or other forms of relief. 7. The City may, in the exercise of its authority and performance of its functions and services, agree by contract or otherwise to participate jointly or in cooperation with Washington State, King County, or any city, town, or other incorporated place, or subdivision thereof, or engage outside counsel, to enforce this chapter. 8. The remedies and penalties provided under this chapter are cumulative and are not intended to be exclusive of any other available remedies or penalties, including existing remedies for enforcement of Renton Municipal Code chapters. 9. The statute of limitations for any enforcement action shall be five (5) years. Section 9. A new section is added to Renton Municipal Code (RMC) Section 5-5-4 as follows: 1. The Finance Director may deny, suspend, or revoke any license under this chapter for violation of this ordinance. 2. The Finance Director must deny, suspend, or revoke any license under this chapter for repeated intentional violations of this ordinance. 3. Any action by the Finance Director under this section shall be subject to the procedures and requirements of RMC subsection 5-5-3.E, as well as other due process rights that a court may require. Section 10. Definitions. For the purposes of this chapter, the following terms shall have the following meanings: "City" means the City of Renton. "Covered employer" means an employer that either (1) employs at least 15 employees regardless of where those employees are employed, or (2) has annual gross revenue over $2 million. "Effective date" is the effective date of this ordinance. "Employee" is defined as set forth in RCW 49.46.010. An employer bears the burden of proof that the individual is, as a matter of economic reality, in business for oneself rather than dependent upon the alleged employer. "Employer" is defined as set forth in RCW 49.46.010. "Employer classification" includes the determination of whether an employer is a covered employer and whether a covered employer is a large employer. "Franchise" means an agreement, express or implied, oral or written by which: 1. A person is granted the right to engage in the business of offering, selling, or distributing goods or services under a marketing plan prescribed or suggested in substantial part by the grantor or its affiliate; 2. The operation of the business is substantially associated with a trademark, service mark, trade time, advertising, or other commercial symbol; designating, owned by, or licensed by the grantor or its affiliate; and 3. The person pays, agrees to pay, or is required to pay, directly or indirectly, a franchise fee. The term, "franchise fee" is meant to be construed broadly to include any instance in which the grantor or its affiliate derives income or profit from a person who enters into a franchise agreement with the grantor. "Hour worked within the City" is to be interpreted according to its ordinary meaning, including all hours worked within the geographic boundaries of the City, excluding time spent in the City solely for the purpose of traveling through the City from a point of origin outside the City to a destination outside the City, with no employment -related or commercial stops in the City except for refueling or the employee's personal meals or emands. "Large Employer" means all employers that employ more than 500 employees, regardless of where those employees are employed, and all franchisees associated with a franchisor or a network of franchises with franchisees that employ more than 500 employees in aggregate. "Other covered employer" means a covered employer that does not qualify as a large employer. "Service charge" is defined as set forth in RCW 49.46.160(2)(c). "Tips" means a verifiable sum to be presented by a customer as a gift or gratuity in recognition of some service performed for the customer by the employee receiving the tip. "Wage" is defined as set forth in RCW 49.46.010. Section 11. Other Legal Requirements. This ordinance shall not be construed to preempt, limit, or otherwise affect the applicability of any other law, regulation, requirement, policy, or standard that provides for greater wages or compensation; and nothing in this ordinance shall be interpreted or applied so as to create any power or duty in conflict with federal or state law. Section 12. Rulemaking. Within 180 days after the effective date, the City shall adopt rules and procedures to implement and ensure compliance with this chapter, which shall require employers to maintain adequate records and to annually certify compliance with this chapter. The City shall seek feedback from worker organizations and covered employers before finalizing the rules and procedures. Section 13. Constitutional Subject. For constitutional purposes, this measure's subject "concerns labor standards for certain employers." See File Foods, LLC v. City of SeaTac, 183 Wash. 2d 770, 783, 357 RM 1040, 1047 (2015) (upholding this statement of subject for an initiative that set a minimum wage and addressed employees' access to hours). Section 14. Codification. All sections of this ordinance except section 9 shall be codified in a new chapter of the Renton Municipal Code, Section 15. Election date. In the event that the election on this measure takes place later than November 7, 2023, the Finance Department must establish and publish the initial minimum wage within 30 days of the effective date. Section 16. Severability. The provisions of this ordinance are declared to be separate and severable. If any clause, sentence, paragraph, subdivision, section, subsection, or portion of this ordinance, or the application thereof to any employer, employee, or circumstance, is held to be invalid, it shall not affect the validity of the remainder of this ordinance, or the validity of its application to other persons or circumstances. IF" Name Of Date t j;anvasser Email and Phone Raising The Minimum Wage In Renton INITIATIVE PETITION FOR SUBMISSION TO THE RENTON CITY COUNCIL TO: The City Council of the City of Renton: We, the undersigned registered voters of the City of Renton, State of Washington, residing at the addresses set forth opposite our respective names, being equal to fifteen percent (15%) of the total number of names of persons listed as registered voters within the City on the day of the last preceding City general election, respectfully request that the following ordinance be enacted by the City Council or, if not so enacted, be submitted to a vote of the residents of the City. The title of the said ordinance is as follows: ORDINANCE CONCERNING LABOR STANDARDS FOR CERTAIN EMPLOYEES A full, true and correct copy of the ordinance is attached to this Petition. Each of us for himself or herself says: I have personally signed this petition; I am a registered voter of the City of Renton, State of Washington; and my residence is correctly stated. Signature Printed Name Street and Number city Phone Number Email Date SaHckee`Uaten Printed Name 1234 Anywhere St. Renton 206-555-1234 maria@something.org 4/10/2023 1. Renton 2. Cyr i �J�jr4�IG� 9 3. C.41 4.�� (� 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. e-hr1S 6f6�I r OWN p n � Yuen Y rV Ilof 19 5. �. E f7 -V S j . 2Z15 S-C AZi Renton Renton F -463 - 5+P Renton CcZ� Renton _ Renton 2�� Nr 9-rY Al ' f 163 Renton 03 e YS I'(' q S Do M oh yo �_ A v2 NC Yi Ell Renton I yI j IGiZs __M/%l � 9 4 ✓ `J Q Z (� 2 f i �C/G' S` Renton y72S:C� 0 ��l'��2� S7�e,4 - Renton t4` Warning Every person who signs this petition with any other than his or her true name, or who knowingly signs more than one of these petitions, or signs a petition seek- ing an election when he or she is not a legal voter, or signs a petition when he or she is otherwise not qualified to sign, or who makes herein any false statement, shall be guilty of a misdemeanor. ® *CC/BT, 933-M „w�,o AN ORDINANCE concerning labor standards for certain employees. Section 1. Findings. L The people of the City of Renton hereby adopt this citizen initiative addressing labor standards for certain employees, for the purpose of ensuring that, to the extent reasonably practicable, people employed in Renton have good wages and access to sufficient hours of work. 2. The City of Renton is one of the largestjob centers in Washington State, with thousands of shoppers and workers visiting daily to participate in the local economy. Renton is home to The Landing shopping center, the historic Downtown Urban Center, as well as retail and commercial office and warehouse districts around the Rainier/Grady Way Junction. The City is a net importer ofjobs, with nearly 60,000 employed workers. Renton has a wide array of both long established and new and evolving business sectors. Retail businesses, restaurants and bars, auto sales, hospitality, healthcare, and office workers are well represented. 3. The statewide minimum wage is not sufficient to afford rising rents and costs of living in Renton. According to the National Low Income Housing Coalition's Out of Reach 2022 report, a worker making Washington's minimum wage would have to work 72 hours each week (up from 70 hours each week in 2021) to afford a modest one -bedroom rental home at Fair Market Rent. 4. When working families earn insufficient income due to low wages and involuntary under -employment, they struggle to pay for basic necessities like health care, child care, and groceries, and they are more likely to be evicted and become homeless. 5. Nearby King County cities of SeaTac, Seattle, and Tukwila enacted higher minimum wages in 2013, 2014, and 2022 respectively, but until now Renton has not followed suit. 6. Children growing up in poverty experience insecurity with housing, nutrition, and health care while enduring other hardships that prevent their ability to learn in school. Full time working parents must be able to reasonably provide for their family to ensure access to the opportunities and promise of public education. Section 2. Intent. It is the intent of the people to establish fair labor standards and protect the rights of workers by: (1) ensuring that the vast majority of employees in the City of Renton receive a minimum wage comparable to employees in the nearby cities of Tukwila, SeaTac, and Seattle; (2) requiring covered employers to offer additional hours of work to qualified part-time employees before hiring new employees to fill those hours; and (3) adopting enforcement requirements. Section 3. Large Employers Shall Pay Minimum Wages Comparable to Those in Nearby Cities. 1. Effective July 1, 2024, every large employer shall pay to each employee an hourly wage of not less than the 2023 new minimum wage rate in the City of Tukwila, established by City of Tukwila Initiative Measure No. 1, approved by voters in November 2022, adjusted for 2024 by the annual rate of inflation. 2. On January 1, 2025, and on each January I thereafter, the hourly minimum wage shall increase by the annual rate of inflation to maintain employee purchasing power. 3. By December 31, 2023, and by October 15 of each year thereafter, the Finance Department shall establish and publish the applicable hourly minimum wage for the following year using the annual rate of inflation. 4. For purposes of this chapter, the annual rate of inflation means 100 percent of the annual average growth rate of the bi-monthly Seattle -Tacoma -Bellevue Area Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers, termed CPI-W, for the 12-month period ending in August, provided that the percentage increase shall not be less than zero. 5. An employer must pay to its employees: a. All tips and gratuities; and b. All service charges as defined under RCW 49.46.160 except those that, pursuant to RCW 49.46.160, are itemized as not being payable to the employee or employees servicing the customer. Tips and service charges paid to an employee are in addition to, and may not count towards, the employee's hourly minimum wage. Section 4. Other Covered Employers Shall Have a Multiyear Phase -In Period. Other covered employers shall phase in the new minimum wage, as follows: 1. Effective July 1, 2024, other covered employers shall pay employees not less than the hourly minimum wage established under Section 3 minus Two Dollars ($2) per hour. 2. Effective July 1, 2025, other covered employers shall pay employees not less than the hourly minimum wage established under Section 3 minus One Dollar ($1) per hour. 3. Effective July 1, 2026, and thereafter, all covered employers shall pay employees not less than the hourly minimum wage established under Section 3. Section 5. Coverage and Employer Classifications. 1. Covered employers must pay employees at least the minimum wage established by this chapter for each hour worked within the City. 2. Employer classification for the current calendar yew will be calculated based upon the average number of employees during all weeks in the previous calendar year in which the employer had at least one employee. For employers that did not have any employees during the previous calendar year, classification will be based upon the average number of employees during the most recent three months of the current year. In this determination, all employees will be counted, regardless of their location, and including employees who worked in full-time employment, part-time employment, joint employment, temporary employment, or through the services of a temporary services or staffing agency or similar entity. 3. Employer classification for the current calendar year will be calculated based upon the gross revenue for the previous yew. For employers that did not have gross revenue during the previous calendar year, annual gross revenue will be calculated from the gross revenue during the most recent three months of the current year. 4. For the purposes of employer classification, separate entities will be considered a single employer if they form an integrated enterprise or they are under joint control by one of those entities or a separate entity. The factors to consider in making this assessment include, but are not limited to: a. Degree of interrelation between the operations of multiple entities; b. Degree to which the entities share common management; C. Centralized control of labor relations; and d. Degree of common ownership or financial control over the entities. Section 6. Part -Time Employees Shall Have Fair Access to Additional Hours. 1. Before hiring additional employees or subcontractors, including hiring through the use of temporary services or staffing agencies, covered employers must offer additional hours of work to existing employees who, in the employer's good faith and reasonable judgment, have the skills and experience to perform the work, and shall use a reasonable, transparent, and nondiscriminatory process to distribute the hours of work among those existing employees. 2. This section shall not be construed to require any employer to offer an employee work hours if the employer would be required to compensate the employee at time -and -a -half or other premium rate under any law or collective bargaining agreement, nor to prohibit any employer from offering such work hours. Section 7. Retaliation Prohibited. 1. No employer or any other person shall interfere with, restrain, or deny the exercise of, or the attempt to exercise, any right protected under this chapter. 2. No employer or any other person shall take any adverse action against any person because the person has exercised in good faith the rights under this chapter. Such rights include but are not limited to the right to make inquiries about the rights protected under this chapter; the right to inform others about their rights under this chapter; the right to inform the person's employer, union, or similar organization, and/or the person's legal counsel or any other person about an alleged violation of this chapter; the right to bring a civil action for an alleged violation of this chapter; the right to testify in a proceeding under or related to this chapter; the right to refuse to participate in an activity that would result in a violation of city, state, or federal law; and the right to oppose any policy, practice, or act that is unlawful under this chapter. 3. For the purposes of this section, an adverse action means denying ajob or promotion, demoting, terminating, failing to rehire after a seasonal interruption of work, threatening, penalizing, retaliating, engaging in unfair immigration -related practices, filing a false report with a government agency, changing an employee's status to nonemployee, decreasing or declining to provide additional work hours when they otherwise would have been offered, scheduling an employee for hours outside of their availability, or otherwise discriminating against any person for any reason prohibited by this chapter. "Adverse action" for an employee may involve any aspect of employment, including pay, work hours, responsibilities, or other material change in the terms and conditions of employment. 4. No employer or any other person shall communicate to a person exercising rights protected under this chapter, directly or indirectly, the willingness to inform a government employee that the person is not lawfully in the United States, or to report, or to make an implied or express assertion of a willingness to report, suspected citizenship or immigration status of the person or a family member of the person to a federal, state, or local agency because the person has exercised a right under this chapter. 5. There shall be a rebuttable presumption of unlawful retaliation if an employer or any other person takes an adverse action against a person within 90 days of the person's exercise of any right protected in this chapter. However, in the case of seasonal work that ended before the close of the 90-day period, the presumption also applies if the employer fails to rehire a former employee at the next opportunity for work in the same position. The employer may rebut the presumption with clear and convincing evidence that the adverse action was taken for a permissible purpose. 6. Standard of Proof. Proof of retaliation under this chapter shall be sufficient upon a showing that an employer or any other person has taken an adverse action against a person and the person's exercise of rights protected in this chapter was a motivating factor in the adverse action, unless the employer can prove that the action would have been taken in the absence of such protected activity. 7. The protections afforded under this section shall apply to any person who mistakenly but in good faith alleges violations of this chapter. Section 8. Enforcement. I. Any person or class of persons that suffers financial injury as a result of a violation of this chapter or is the subject of prohibited retaliation under this chapter, or any other individual or entity acting on their behalf, may bring a civil action in a court of competent jurisdiction against the employer or other person violating this chapter and, upon prevailing, shall be awarded reasonable attorney fees and costs and such legal or equitable relief as may be appropriate to remedy the violation including, without limitation, the payment of any unpaid wages plus interest due to the person and liquidated damages in an additional amount of up to twice the unpaid wages; compensatory damages; and a penalty payable to any aggrieved party of up to $5,000 if the aggrieved party was subject to prohibited retaliation. For the purposes of this section, an aggrieved party means an employee or other person who suffers tangible or intangible harm due to an employer or other person's violation of this chapter. Interest shall accrue from the date the unpaid wages were first due at the higher of twelve percent per mum or the maximum rate permitted under RCW 19.52.020. 2. For purposes of determining membership within a class of persons entitled to bring an action under this section, two or more employees are similarly situated if they: a. Are or were employed by the same employer or employers, whether concurrently or otherwise, at some point during the applicable statute of limitations period; b. Allege one or more violations that raise similar questions as to liability; and C. Seek similar forms of relief. d. Employees shall not be considered dissimilar solely because their claims seek damages that differ in amount, or their job titles or other means of classifying employees differ in ways that are unrelated to their claims. 3. Each covered employer shall retain records as required by RCW 49.46.070, as well as such information as the City may require to confirm compliance with this chapter. I£ an employer fails to retain such records, there shall be a presumption, rebuttable by clear and convincing evidence, that the employer violated this chapter for the periods and for each employee for whom records were not retained. 4. Employers shall permit authorized City representatives access to work sites and relevant records for the purpose of monitoring compliance with the chapter and investigating complaints of noncompliance, including production for inspection and copying of employment records. The City may designate representatives, including city contractors and representatives of unions or worker advocacy organizations, to access the worksite and relevant records. 5. Complaints that any provision of this chapter has been violated may also be presented to the City Attorney, who is hereby authorized to investigate and, if they deem appropriate, initiate legal or other action to remedy any violation of this chapter. 6. The City has the authority to issue administrative citations and to order injunctive relief including reinstatement, restitution, payment of back wages, or other forms of relief. 7. The City may, in the exercise of its authority and performance of its functions and services, agree by contract or otherwise to participate jointly or in cooperation with Washington State, King County, or any city, town, or other incorporated place, or subdivision thereof, or engage outside counsel, to enforce this chapter. 8. The remedies and penalties provided under this chapter are cumulative and are not intended to be exclusive of any other available remedies or penalties, including existing remedies for enforcement of Renton Municipal Code chapters. 9. The statute of limitations for any enforcement action shall be five (5) years. Section 9. A new section is added to Renton Municipal Code (RMC) Section 5-5-4 as follows: 1. The Finance Director may deny, suspend, or revoke any license under this chapter for violation of this ordinance. 2. The Finance Director must deny, suspend, or revoke any license under this chapter for repeated intentional violations of this ordinance. 3. Any action by the Finance Director under this section shall be subject to the procedures and requirements of RMC subsection 5-5-3.E, as well as other due process rights that a court may require. Section 10. Definitions. For the purposes of this chapter, the following terms shall have the following meanings: "City" means the City of Renton. "Covered employer" means an employer that either (1) employs at least 15 employees regardless of where those employees are employed, or (2) has annual gross revenue over $2 million. "Effective date" is the effective date of this ordinance. "Employee" is defined as set forth in RCW 49.46.010. An employer bears the burden of proof that the individual is, as a matter of economic reality, in business for oneself rather than dependent upon the alleged employer. "Employer" is defined as set forth in RCW 49.46.010. "Employer classification" includes the determination of whether an employer is a covered employer. and whether a covered employer is a large employer. "Franchise" means an agreement, express or implied, oral or written by which: 1. A person is granted the right to engage in the business of offering, selling, or distributing goods or services under a marketing plan prescribed or suggested in substantial part by the grantor or its affiliate; 2. The operation of the business is substantially associated with a trademark, service mark, trade name, advertising, or other commercial symbol; designating, owned by, or licensed by the grantor or its affiliate; and 3. The person pays; agrees to pay, or is required to pay, directly or indirectly, a franchise fee. The term, "franchise fee" is meant to be construed broadly to include any instance in which the grantor or its affiliate derives income or profit from a person who enters into a franchise agreement with the grantor. "Hour worked within the City" is to be interpreted according to its ordinary meaning, including all hours worked within the geographic boundaries of the City, excluding time spent in the City solely for the purpose of traveling through the City from a point of origin outside the City to a destination outside the City, with no employment -related or commercial stops in the City except for refueling or the employee's personal meals or errands. "Large Employer" means all employers that employ more than 500 employees, regardless of where those employees are employed, and all franchisees associated with a franchisor or a network of franchises with franchisees that employ more than 500 employees in aggregate. "Other covered employer" means a covered employer that does not qualify as a large employer. "Service charge" is defined as set forth in RCW 49.46.160(2)(c). ; "Tips" means a verifiable sum to be presented by a customer as a gift or gratuity in recognition of some service performed for the customer by the employee receiving the tip. "Wage" is defined as set forth in RCW 49.46.010. Section 11. Other Legal Requirements. This ordinance shall not be construed to preempt, limit, or otherwise affect the applicability of any other law, regulation, requirement, policy, or standard that provides for greater wages or compensation; and nothing in this ordinance shall be interpreted or applied so as to create any power or duty in conflict with federal or state law. Section 12. Rulemaking. Within 180 days after the effective date, the City shall adopt rules and procedures to implement and ensure compliance with this chapter, which shall require employers to maintain adequate records and to annually certify compliance with this chapter. The City shall seek feedback from worker organizations and covered employers before finalizing the rules and procedures. Section 13. Constitutional Subject. For constitutional purposes, this measure's subject "concerns labor standards for certain employers." See File Foods, LLC v. City of SeaTac, 183 Wash. 2d 770, 783, 357 P.3d 1040, 1047 (2015) (upholding this statement of subject for an initiative that set a minimum wage and addressed employees' access to hours). Section 14. Codification. All sections of this ordinance except section 9 shall be codified in a new chapter of the Renton Municipal Code. Section 15. Election date. In the event that the election on this measure takes place later than November 7, 2023, the Finance Department must establish and publish the initial minimum wage within 30 days of the effective date. Section 16. Severability. The provisions of this ordinance are declared to be separate and severable. If any clause, sentence, paragraph, subdivision, section, subsection, or portion of this ordinance, or the application thereof to any employer, employee, or circumstance, is held to be invalid, it shall not affect the validity of the remainder of this ordinance, or the validity of its application to other persons or circumstances. Raising The Minimum Wage In Renton INITIATIVE PETITION FOR SUBMISSION TO THE RENTON CITY COUNCIL TO: The City Council of the City of Renton: We, the undersigned registered voters of the City of Renton, State of Washington, residing at the addresses set forth opposite our respective names, being equal to fifteen percent (15%) of the total number of names of persons listed as registered voters within the City on the day of the last preceding City general election, respectfully request that the following ordinance be enacted by the City Council or, if not so enacted, be submitted to a vote of the residents of the City. The title of the said ordinance is as follows: ORDINANCE CONCERNING LABOR STANDARDS FOR CERTAIN EMPLOYEES A full, true and correct copy of the ordinance is attached to this Petition. Each of us for himself or herself says: I have personally signed this petition; I am a registered voter of the City of Renton, State of Washington; and my residence is correctly stated. Signature Printed Name Street and Numb e .. City Phone Number Email Date 5,10' 2ePrinted Name 1234 Anywhere St. Renton 206-555-1234 maria@something.org 4/10/2023 � n 1. jw(o EvktA�/ /��ei, P0b Ory kvnMtn MZAA, ggoSr-liny Renton o206 �✓�jl r5t WN 17 ac %4 �i aL an Ie T 2. CX �p(U ije/ 15A\, C Renton to 1 Llo0 C at vC@ c ?� 3• m brim h /( w L IA -Dr S& Renton 4. !V ���r� l��iritt� "�` U2T Renton Renton 5. 6. Oki's pl Q��I� ��n5rtu RentonVJ35�� CI iJ`�I� i 1 yVl�(Q310( yv�Ott�. (o bfi 7. 1 � Y � Cum e�` k 0 \ l34-1- `J Renton Of 1? 2410 47-3 Z /2 � 8.StZ ��i�� Cif t✓3�jZ-(-7�j �S� RentonZp S�f�(�SGc�✓�� ��I� �l/Ce�z3 9. �ir--- hAr Lou I C��Jms ��o 0'n,/C� Renton 10. ` ` G GIIM( � ��i RbSIM() 0 N6-0+m Renton �Im�tU VVIGWI(�Db (. Warning a Every person who signs this petition with any other than his or her true name, or who knowingly signs more than one of these petitions, or signs a petition seek- ing an election when he or she is not a legal voter, or signs a petition when he or she is otherwise not qualified to sign, or who makes herein any false statement, shall be guilty of a misdemeanor. ® g C718T� 933-M p;�Mo AN ORDINANCE concerning labor standards for certain employees. Section 1, Findings. I, The people of the City of Renton hereby adopt this citizen initiative addressing labor standards for certain employees, for the purpose of ensuring that, to the extent reasonably practicable, people employed in Renton have good wages and access to sufficient hours of work. 2. The City of Renton is one of the largestjob centers in Washington State, with thousands of shoppers and workers visiting daily to participate in the local economy. Renton is home to The Landing shopping center, the historic Downtown Urban Center, as well as retail and commercial office and warehouse districts around the Rainier/Grady Way Junction. The City is a net importer ofjobs, with nearly 60,000 employed workers. Renton has a wide array of both long established and new and evolving business sectors. Retail businesses, restaurants and bars, auto sales, hospitality, healthcare, and office workers are well represented. 3. The statewide minimum wage is not sufficient to afford rising rents and costs of living in Renton. According to the National Low Income Housing Coalition's Out of Reach 2022 report, a worker making Washington's minimum wage would have to work 72 hours each week (up from 70 hours each week in 2021) to afford a modest one -bedroom rental home at Fair Market Rent. 4. When working families earn insufficient income due to low wages and involuntary under -employment, they struggle to pay for basic necessities like health care, child cue, and groceries, and they are more likely to be evicted and become homeless. 5. Nearby King County cities of SeaTac, Seattle, and Tukwila enacted higher minimum wages in 2013, 2014, and 2022 respectively, but until now Renton has not followed suit. 6. Children growing up in poverty experience insecurity with housing, nutrition, and health care while enduring other hardships that prevent their ability to learn in school. Full time working parents must be able to reasonably provide for their Family to ensure access to the opportunities and promise of public education. Section 2. Intent. It is the intent of the people to establish fair labor standards and protect the rights of workers by: (1) ensuring that the vasf majority of employees in the City of Renton receive a minimum wage comparable to employees in the nearby cities of Tukwila, SeaTac, and Seattle; (2) requiring covered employers to offer additional hours of work to qualified part-time employees before hiring new employees to fill those hours; and (3) adopting enforcement requirements. Section 3. Large Employers Shall Pay Minimum Wages Comparable to Those in Nearby Cities. 1. Effective July 1, 2024, every large employer shall pay to each employee an hourly wage of not less than the 2023 new minimum wage rate in the City of Tukwila, established by City of Tukwila Initiative Measure No. 1, approved by voters in November 2022, adjusted for 2024 by the annual rate of inflation. 2. On January 1, 2025, and on each January I thereafter, the hourly minimum wage shall increase by the annual rate of inflation to maintain employee purchasing power. 3. By December 31, 2023, and by October 15 of each year thereafter, the Finance Department shall establish and publish the applicable hourly minimum wage for the following year using the annual rate of inflation. 4. For purposes of this chapter, the annual rate of inflation means 100 percent of the annual average growth rate of the bi-monthly Seattle -Tacoma -Bellevue Area Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Farmers and Clerical Workers, termed CPI-W, for the 12-month period ending in August, provided that the percentage increase shall not be less than zero. 5. An employer must pay to its employees: a. All tips and gratuities; and b. All service charges as defined under RCW 49.46.160 except those that, pursuant to RCW 49.46.160, are itemized as not being payable to the employee or employees servicing the customer. Tips and service charges paid to an employee are in addition to, and may not count towards, the employee's hourly minimum wage. Section 4. Other Covered Employers Shall Have a Multiyear Phase -In Period. Other covered employers shall phase in the new minimum wage, as follows: 1. Effective July 1, 2024, other covered employers shall pay employees not less than the hourly minimum wage established under Section 3 minus Two Dollars ($2) per hour. 2. Effective July 1, 2025, other covered employers shall pay employees not less than the hourly minimum wage established under Section 3 minus One Dollar ($1) per hour. 3. Effective July 1, 2026, and thereafter, all covered employers shall pay employees not less than the hourly minimum wage established under Section 3. Section 5. Coverage and Employer Classifications. 1. Covered employers must pay employees at least the minimum wage established by this chapter for each hour worked within the City. 2. Employer classification for the current calendar yew will be calculated based upon the average number of employees during all weeks in the previous calendar year in which the employer had at least one employee. For employers that did not have any employees during the previous calendar year, classification will be based upon the average number of employees during the most recent three months of the current year. In this determination, all employees will be counted, regardless of their location, and including employees who worked in full-time employment, part-time employment, joint employment, temporary employment, or through the services of a temporary services or staffing agency or similar entity. 3. Employer classification for the current calendar year will be calculated based upon the gross revenue for the previous year. For employers that did not have gross revenue during the previous calendar year, annual gross revenue will be calculated from the gross revenue during the most recent three months of the current year. 4. For the purposes of employer classification, separate entities will be considered a single employer if they form an integrated enterprise or they are under joint control by one of those entities or a separate entity. The factors to consider in making this assessment include, but are not limited to: a. Degree of interrelation between the operations of multiple entities; b. Degree to which the entities share common management; C. Centralized control of labor relations; and d. Degree of common ownership or financial control over the entities. Section 6. Part -Time Employees Shall Have Fair Access to Additional Hours. I. Before hiring additional employees or subcontractors, including hiring through the use of temporary services or staffing agencies, covered employers must offer additional hours of work to existing employees who, in the employer's good faith and reasonable judgment, have the skills and experience to perform the work, and shall use a reasonable, transparent, and nondiscriminatory process to distribute the hours of work among those existing employees. 2. This section shall not be construed to require any employer to offer an employee work hours if the employer would be required to compensate the employee at time -and -a -half or other premium rate under any law or collective bargaining agreement, nor to prohibit any employer from offering such work hours. Section 7. Retaliation Prohibited. 1. No employer or any other person shall interfere with, restrain, or deny the exercise of, or the attempt to exercise, any right protected under this chapter. 2. No employer or any other person shall take any adverse action against any person because the person has exercised in good faith the rights under this chapter. Such rights include but are not limited to the right to make inquiries about the rights protected under this chapter; the right to inform others about their rights under this chapter; the right to inform the person's employer, union, or similar organization, and/or the person's legal counsel or any other person about an alleged violation of this chapter; the right to bring a civil action for an alleged violation of this chapter; the right to testify in a proceeding under or related to this chapter; the right to refuse to participate in an activity that would result in a violation of city, state, or federal law; and the right to oppose any policy, practice, or act that is unlawful under this chapter. 3. For the purposes of this section, an adverse action means denying ajob or promotion, demoting, terminating, failing to rehire after a seasonal interruption of work, threatening, penalizing, retaliating, engaging in unfair immigration -related practices, filing a false report with a government agency, changing an employee's status to nonemployee, decreasing or declining to provide additional work hours when they otherwise would have been offered, scheduling an employee for hours outside of their availability, or otherwise discriminating against any person for any reason prohibited by this chapter. "Adverse action" for an employee may involve any aspect of employment, including pay, work hours, responsibilities, or other material change in the terms and conditions of employment. 4. No employer or any other person shall communicate to a person exercising rights protected under this chapter, directly or indirectly, the willingness to inform a government employee that the person is not lawfully in the United States, or to report, or to make an implied or express assertion of a willingness to report, suspected citizenship or immigration status of the person or a family member of the person to a federal, state, or local agency because the person has exercised a right under this chapter. 5. There shall be a rebuttable presumption of unlawful retaliation if an employer or any other person takes an adverse action against a person within 90 days of the person's exercise of any right protected in this chapter, However, in the case of seasonal work that ended before the close of the 90-day period, the presumption also applies if the employer fails to rehire a former employee at the next opportunity for work in the same position. The employer may rebut the presumption with clear and convincing evidence that the adverse action was taken for a permissible purpose. 6. Standard of Proof. Proof of retaliation under this chapter shall be sufficient upon a showing that an employer or any other person has taken an adverse action against a person and the person's exercise of rights protected in this chapter was a motivating factor in the adverse action, unless the employer can prove that the action would have been taken in the absence of such protected activity. 7. The protections afforded under this section shall apply to any person who mistakenly but in good faith alleges violations of this chapter. Section 8. Enforcement. 1. Any person or class of persons that suffers financial injury as a result of a violation of this chapter or is the subject of prohibited retaliation under this chapter, or any other individual or entity acting on their behalf, may bring a civil action in a court of competent jurisdiction against the employer or other person violating this chapter and, upon prevailing, shall be awarded reasonable attorney fees and costs and such legal or equitable relief as may be appropriate to remedy the violation including, without limitation, the payment of any unpaid wages plus interest due to the person and liquidated damages in an additional amount of up to twice the unpaid wages; compensatory damages; and a penalty payable to any aggrieved -party of up to $5,000 if the aggrieved party was subject to prohibited retaliation. For the purposes of this section, an aggrieved party means an employee or other person who suffers tangible or intangible harm due to an employer or other person's violation of this chapter. Interest shall accrue from the date the unpaid wages were first due at the higher of twelve percent per annum or the maximum rate permitted under RCW 19.52.020, 2. For purposes of determining membership within a class of persons entitled to bring an action under this section, two or more employees are similarly situated if they: a. Are or were employed by the same employer or employers, whether concurrently or otherwise, at some point .during the applicable statute of limitations period; b. Allege one or more violations that raise similar questions as to liability; and C. Seek similar forms of relief. d. Employees shall not be considered dissimilar solely because their claims seek damages that differ in amount, or theirjob titles or other means of classifying employees differ in ways that are unrelated to their claims. 3. Each covered employer shall retain records as required by RCW 49.46.070, as well as such information as the City may require to confirm compliance with this chapter. If an employer fails to retain such records, there shall be a presumption, rebuttable by clear and convincing evidence, that the employer violated this chapter for the periods and for each employee for whom records were not retained. 4. Employers shall permit authorized City representatives access to work sites and relevant records for the purpose of monitoring compliance with the chapter and investigating complaints of noncompliance, including production for inspection and copying of employment records. The City may designate representatives, including city contractors and representatives of unions or worker advocacy organizations, to access the worksite and relevant records. 5. Complaints that any provision of this chapter has been violated may also be presented to the City Attorney, who is hereby authorized to investigate and, if they deem appropriate, initiate legal or other action to remedy any violation of this chapter. 6. The City has the authority to issue administrative citations and to order injunctive relief including reinstatement, restitution, payment of back wages, or other forms of relief. 7. The City may, in the exercise of its authority and performance of its functions and services, agree by contract or otherwise to participate jointly or in cooperation with Washington State, King County, or any city, town, or other incorporated place, or subdivision thereof, or engage outside counsel, to enforce this chapter. 8. The remedies and penalties provided under this chapter are cumulative and are not intended to be exclusive of any other available remedies or penalties, including existing remedies for enforcement of Renton Municipal Code chapters. 9. The statute of limitations for any enforcement action shall be five (5) years. Section 9. A new section is added to Renton Municipal Code (RMC) Section 5-5-4 as follows: I. The Finance Director may deny, suspend, or revoke any license under this chapter for violation of this ordinance. 2. The Finance Director must deny, suspend, or revoke any license under this chapter for repeated intentional violations of this ordinance. 3. Any action by the Finance Director under this section shall be subject to the procedures and requirements of RMC subsection 5-5-3.E, as well as other due process rights that a court may require. Section 10. Definitions. For the purposes of this chapter, the following terms shall have the following meanings: "City" means the City of Renton. "Covered employer" means an employer that either (1) employs at least 15 employees regardless of where those employees are employed, or (2) has annual gross revenue over $2 million. "Effective date" is the effective date of this ordinance. "Employee" is defined as set forth in RCW 49.46.010. An employer bears the burden of proof that the individual is, as a matter of economic reality, in business for oneself rather than dependent upon the alleged employer: "Employer" is defined as set forth in RCW 49.46.010. "Employer classification" includes the determination of whether an employer is a covered employer and whether a covered employer is a large employer. "Franchise" means an agreement, express or implied, oral or written by which: 1. A person is granted the right to engage in the business of offering, selling, or distributing goods or services under a marketing plan prescribed or suggested in substantial part by the grantor or its affiliate; 2. The operation of the business is substantially associated with a trademark, service mark, trade time, advertising, or other commercial symbol; designating, owned by, or licensed by the grantor or its affiliate; and 3. The person pays, agrees to pay, or is required to pay, directly or indirectly, a franchise fee. The tern, "franchise fee" is meant to be construed broadly to include any instance in which the grantor or its affiliate derives income or profit from a person who enters into a franchise agreement with the grantor. "Hour worked within the City" is to be interpreted according to its ordinary meaning, including all hours worked within the geographic boundaries of the City, excluding time spent in the City solely for the purpose of traveling through the City from a point of origin outside the City to a destination outside the City, with no employment -related or commercial stops in the City except for refueling or the employee's personal meals or errands. "Large Employer" means all employers that employ more than 500 employees, regardless of where those employees are employed, and all franchisees associated with a franchisor or a network of franchises with franchisees that employ more than 500 employees in aggregate. "Other covered employer" means a covered employer that does not qualify as a large employer. "Service charge" is defined as set forth in RCW 49.46.160(2)(c). "Tips" means a verifiable sum to be presented by a customer as a gift or gratuity in recognition of some service performed for the customer by the employee receiving the tip, "Wage" is defined as set forth in RCW 49.46.010. Section 11. Other Legal Requirements. This ordinance shall not be construed to preempt, limit, or otherwise affect the applicability of any other law, regulation, requirement, policy, or standard that provides for greater wages or compensation; and nothing in this ordinance shall be interpreted or applied so as to create any power or duty in conflict with federal or state law. Section 12, Rulemaking. Within 180 days after the effective date, the City shall adopt rules and procedures to implement and ensure compliance with this chapter, which shall require employers to maintain adequate records and to annually certify compliance with this chapter. The City shall seek feedback from worker organizations and covered employers before finalizing the rules and procedures. Section 13. Constitutional Subject. For constitutional purposes, this measure's subject "concerns labor standards for certain employers." See Ella Foods, LLC v. City of SeaTac, 183 Wash. 2d 770, 783, 357 P.3d 1040, 1047 (2015) (upholding this statement of subject for an initiative that set a minimum wage and addressed employees' access to hours). Section 14. Codification. All sections of this ordinance except section 9 shall be codified in a new chapter of the Renton Municipal Code. Section 15. Election date. In the event that the election on this measure takes place later than November 7, 2023, the Finance Department must establish and publish the initial minimum wage within 30 days of the effective date. Section 16. Severability. The provisions of this ordinance are declared to be separate and severable. If any clause, sentence, paragraph, subdivision, section, subsection, or portion of this ordinance, or the application thereof to any employer, employee, or circumstance, is held to be invalid, it shall not affect the validity of the remainder of this ordinance, or the validity of its application to other persons or circumstances. Name Of Canvasser: Date Canvassed: Raising The Minimum Wage In Renton INITIATIVE PETITION FOR SUBMISSION TO THE RENTON CITY COUNCIL TO: The City Council of the City of Renton: We, the undersigned registered voters of the City of Renton, State of Washington, residing at the addresses set forth opposite our respective names, being equal to fifteen percent (15%) of the total number of names of persons listed as registered voters within the City on the day of the last preceding City general election, respectfully request that the following ordinance be enacted by the City Council or, if not so enacted, be submitted to a vote of the residents of the City. The title of the said ordinance is as follows: ORDINANCE CONCERNING LABOR STANDARDS FOR CERTAIN EMPLOYEES A full, true and correct copy of the ordinance is attached to this Petition. Each of us for himself or herself says: I have personally signed this petition; I am a registered voter of the City of Renton, State of Washington; and my residence is correctly stated. Signature Printed Name Street and Number City Phone Number Email Date sa«r#&'716on Printed Name 1234 Anywhere St. Renton 206-555-1234 maria@something.org 4/10/2023 1. 2. 3. 4. /' 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. U1 'Qll N6 10'tv' ILL Renton uzS 43 4�arfU��1�YNOBS��@q l-(100A OSf i1123 -1 � & N c ql,-V ST Cs l Renton WAS 306"}a `{? s Z j�3 D c�va� ��5� OL�ve,V CA 3 8s- MI6 Vi s-c � Cf�g�155� �4 l Renton 3 7FC /V z L�J L�J G �` 0 Renton go/Jr(fllrlgl� 1�7' /, 6 $1,2-J / 1� Renton Renton S�Q� -Z crt( bU Cow ��j/J l� l] Y7✓ l (i'/� / 12,7 /UT C� �I�IQ Renton-�,r� l(l�3 U tip. a 0/ ' w Y ✓ l 7Y �`� Renton �Cj 55 V (1 8 WA). t Renton 11Yt^PYl,C 3-7 Renton�Ne Renton l 6�JiS� y�SS Cc,/v,Ipt-" l g9G�C�h `+� Sjz�/Zc�3 Warning Every person who signs this petition with any other than his or her true name, or who knowingly signs more than one of these petitions, or signs a petition seek- ing an election when he or she is not a legal voter, or signs a petition when he or she is otherwise not qualified to sign, or who makes herein any false statement, shall be guilty of a misdemeanor. AN ORDINANCE concerning labor standards for certain employees. Section 1. Findings. 1. The people of the City of Renton hereby adopt this citizen initiative addressing labor standards for certain employees, for the purpose of ensuring that, to the extent reasonably practicable, people employed in Renton have good wages and access to sufficient hours of work. 2. The City of Renton is one of the largest job centers in Washington State, with thousands of shoppers and workers visiting daily to participate in the local economy. Renton is home to The Landing shopping center, the historic Downtown Urban Center, as well as retail and commercial office and warehouse districts around the Rainier/Grady Way Junction. The City is a net importer ofjobs, with nearly 60,000 employed workers. Renton has a wide array of both long established and new and evolving business sectors. Retail businesses, restaurants and bars, auto sales, hospitality, healthcare, and office workers are well represented. 3. The statewide minimum wage is not sufficient to afford rising rents and costs of living in Renton. According to the National Low Income Housing Coalition's Out of Reach 2022 report, a worker making Washington's minimum wage would have to work 72 hours each week (up from 70 hours each week in 2021) to afford a modest one -bedroom rental home at Fair Market Rent, 4. When working families earn insufficient income due to low wages and involuntary under -employment, they struggle to pay for basic necessities like health cue, child care, and groceries, and they are more likely to be evicted and become homeless. 5. Nearby King County cities of SeaTac, Seattle, and Tukwila enacted higher minimum wages in 2013, 2014, and 2022 respectively, but until now Renton has not followed suit. 6. Children growing up in poverty experience insecurity with housing, nutrition, and health care while enduring other hardships that prevent their ability to learn in school. Full time working parents must be able to reasonably provide for their family to ensure access to the opportunities and promise of public education. Section 2. Intent. It is the intent of the people to establish fair labor standards and protect the rights of workers by: (1) ensuring that the vast majority of employees in the City of Renton receive a minimum wage comparable to employees in the nearby cities of Tukwila, SeaTac, and Seattle; (2) requiring covered employers to offer additional hours of work to qualified part-time employees before hiring new employees to fill those hours; and (3) adopting enforcement requirements. Section 3. Large Employers Shall Pay Minimum Wages Comparable to Those in Nearby Cities. 1. Effective July 1, 2024, every large employer shall pay to each employee an hourly wage of not less than the 2023 new minimum wage rate in the City of Tukwila, established by City of Tukwila Initiative Measure No. 1, approved by voters in November 2022, adjusted for 2024 by the annual rate of inflation. 2. On January 1, 2025, and on each January 1 thereafter, the hourly minimum wage shall increase by the annual rate of inflation to maintain employee purchasing power. 3. By December 31, 2023, and by October 15 of each year thereafter, the Finance Department shall establish and publish the applicable hourly minimum wage for the following year using the annual rate of inflation. 4. For purposes of this chapter, the annual rate of inflation means 100 percent of the annual average growth rate of the bi-monthly Seattle -Tacoma -Bellevue Area Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers, termed CPI-W, for the 12-month period ending in August, provided that the percentage increase shall not be less than zero. 5. Air employer must pay to its employees: a. All tips and gratuities; and b. All service charges as defined under RCW 49.46.160 except those that, pursuant to RCW 49.46.160, are itemized as not being payable to the employee or employees servicing the customer. Tips and service charges paid to an employee are in addition to, and may not count towards, the employee's hourly minimum wage. Section 4. Other Covered Employers Shall Have a Multiyear Phase -In Period. Other covered employers shall phase in the new minimum wage, as follows: 1. Effective July 1, 2024, other covered employers shall pay employees not less than the hourly minimum wage .established under Section 3 minus Two Dollars ($2) per hour. 2. Effective July 1, 2025, other covered employers shall pay employees not less than the hourly minimum wage established under Section 3 minus One Dollar ($1) per hour. 3. Effective July 1, 2026, and thereafter, all covered employers shall pay employees not less than the hourly minimum wage established under Section 3. Section 5. Coverage and Employer Classifications. 1. Covered employers must pay employees at least the minimum wage established by this chapter for each hour worked within the City. 2. Employer classification for the current calendar year will be calculated based upon the average number of employees during all weeks in the previous calendar year in which the employer had at least one employee. For employers that did not have any employees during the previous calendar year, classification will be based upon the average number of employees during the most recent three months of the current year. In this determination, all employees will be counted, regardless of their location, and including employees who worked in full-time employment, part-time employment, joint employment, temporary employment, or through the services of a temporary services or staffing agency or similar entity. 3. Employer classification for the current calendar year will be calculated based upon the gross revenue for the previous year. For employers that did not have gross revenue during the previous calendar year, annual gross revenue will be calculated from the gross revenue during the most recent three months of the current year. 4. For the purposes of employer classification, separate entities will be considered a single employer if they form an integrated enterprise or they are underjoint control by one of those entities or a separate entity. The factors to consider in making this assessment include, but are not limited to: a. Degree of interrelation between the operations of multiple entities; b. Degree to which the entities share common management; C. Centralized control of labor relations; and d. Degree of common ownership or financial control over the entities. Section 6. Part -Time Employees Shall Have Fair Access to Additional Hours. 1. Before hiring additional employees or subcontractors, including hiring through the use of temporary services or staffing agencies, covered employers must offer additional hours of work to existing employees who, in the employer's good faith and reasonable judgment, have the skills and experience to perform the work, and shall use a reasonable, transparent, and nondiscriminatory process to distribute the hours of work among those existing employees. 2. This section shall not be construed to require any employer to offer an employee work hours if the employer would be required to compensate the employee at time -and -a -half or other premium rate under any law or collective bargaining agreement, nor to prohibit any employer from offering such work hours. Section 7. Retaliation Prohibited. 1. No employer or any other person shall interfere with, restrain, or deny the exercise of, or the attempt to exercise, any right protected under this chapter. 2. No employer or any other person shall take any adverse action against any person because the person has exercised in good faith the rights under this chapter. Such rights include but are not limited to the right to make inquiries about the rights protected under this chapter; the right to inform others about their rights under this chapter; the right to inform the person's employer, union, or similar organization, and/or the person's legal counsel or any other person about an alleged violation of this chapter; the right to bring a civil action for an alleged violation of this chapter; the right to testify in a proceeding under or related to this chapter; the right to refuse to participate in an activity that would result in a violation of city, state, or federal law; and the right to oppose any policy, practice, or act that is unlawful under this chapter. 3. For the purposes of this section, an adverse action means denying ajob or promotion, demoting, terminating, failing to rehire after a seasonal interruption of work, threatening, penalizing, retaliating, engaging in unfair immigration -related practices, filing a false report with a government agency, changing an employee's status to nonemployee, decreasing or declining to provide additional work hours when they otherwise would have been offered, scheduling an employee for hours outside of their availability, or otherwise discriminating against any person for any reason prohibited by this chapter. "Adverse action" for an employee may involve any aspect of employment, including pay, work hours, responsibilities, or other material change in the terms and conditions of employment. 4. No employer or any other person shall communicate to a person exercising rights protected under this chapter, directly or indirectly, the willingness to inform a government employee that the person is not lawfully in the United States, or to report, or to make an implied or express assertion of a willingness to report, suspected citizenship or immigration status of the person or a family member of the person to a federal, state, or local agency because the person has exercised a right under this chapter. 5. There shall be a rebuttable presumption of unlawful retaliation if an employer or any other person takes an adverse action against a person within 90 days of the person's exercise of any right protected in this chapter. However, in the case of seasonal work that ended before the close of the 90-day period, the presumption also applies if the employer fails to rehire a former employee at the next opportunity for work in the same position. The employer may rebut the presumption with clear and convincing evidence that the adverse action was taken for a permissible purpose. 6. Standard of Proof. Proof of retaliation under this chapter shall be sufficient upon a showing that an employer or any other person has taken an adverse action against a person and the person's exercise of rights protected in this chapter was a motivating factor in the adverse action, unless the employer can prove that the action would have been taken in the absence of such protected activity. 7. The protections afforded under this section shall apply to any person who mistakenly but in good faith alleges violations of this chapter. Section 8. Enforcement. 1. Any person or class of persons that suffers financial injury as a result of a violation of this chapter or is the subject of prohibited retaliation under this chapter, or any other individual or entity acting on their behalf, may bring a civil action in a court of competent jurisdiction against the employer or other person violating this chapter and, upon prevailing, shall be awarded reasonable attorney fees and costs and such legal or equitable relief as may be appropriate to remedy the violation including, without limitation, the payment of any unpaid wages plus interest due to the person and liquidated damages in an additional amount of up to twice the unpaid wages; compensatory damages; and a penalty payable to any aggrieved party of up to $5,000 if the aggrieved party was subject to prohibited retaliation. For the purposes of this section, an aggrieved party means an employee or other person who suffers tangible or intangible harm due to an employer or other person's violation of this chapter. Interest shall accrue from the date the unpaid wages were first due at the higher of twelve percent per annum or the maximum rate permitted under RCW 19.52.020. 2. For purposes of determining membership within a class of persons entitled to bring an action under this section, two or more employees are similarly situated if they: a. Are or were employed by the same employer or employers, whether concurrently or otherwise, at some point during the applicable statute of limitations period; b. Allege one or more violations that raise similar questions as to liability; aid C. Seek similar forms of relief. d. Employees shall not be considered dissimilar solely because their claims seek damages that differ in amount, or their job titles or other means of classifying employees differ in ways that are unrelated to their claims. 3. Each covered employer shall retain records as required by RCW 49.46.070, as well as such information as the City may require to confirm compliance with this chapter. If an employer fails to retain such records, there shall be a presumption, rebuttable by clew and convincing evidence, that the employer violated this chapter for the periods and for each employee for whom records were not retained. 4. Employers shall permit authorized City representatives access to work sites and relevant records for the purpose of monitoring compliance with the chapter and investigating complaints of noncompliance, including production for inspection and copying of employment records. The City may designate representatives, including city contractors and representatives of unions or worker advocacy organizations, to access the worksite and relevant records. 5. Complaints that any provision of this chapter has been violated may also be presented to the City Attorney, who is hereby authorized to investigate and, if they deem appropriate, initiate legal or other action to remedy any violation of this chapter. 6. The City has the authority to issue administrative citations and to order injunctive relief including reinstatement, restitution, payment of back wages, or other forms of relief. 7. The City may, in the exercise of its authority and performance of its functions and services, agree by contract or otherwise to participate jointly or in cooperation with Washington State, King County, or any city, town, or other incorporated place, or subdivision thereof, or engage outside counsel, to enforce this chapter. 8. The remedies and penalties provided under this chapter are cumulative and are not intended to be exclusive of any other available remedies or penalties, including existing remedies for enforcement of Renton Municipal Code chapters. 9. The statute of limitations for any enforcement action shall be five (5) years. Section 9. A new section is added to Renton Municipal Code (RMC) Section 5-5-4 as follows: 1. The Finance Director may deny, suspend, or revoke any license under this chapter for violation of this ordinance. 2. The Finance Director must deny, suspend, or revoke any license under this chapter for repeated intentional violations of this ordinance. 3. Any action by the Finance Director under this section shall be subject to the procedures and requirements of RMC subsection 5-5-3.E, as well as other due process rights that a court may require. Section 10. Definitions. For the purposes of this chapter, the following terms shall have the following meanings: "City" means the City of Renton. "Covered employer" means an employer that either (I) employs at least 15 employees regardless of where those employees are employed, or (2) has annual gross revenue over $2 million. "Effective date" is the effective date of this ordinance. "Employee" is defined as set forth in RCW 49.46.010. An employer bears the burden of proof that the individual is, as a matter of economic reality, in business for oneself rather than dependent upon the alleged employer. "Employer" is defined as set forth in RCW 49.46.010. "Employer classification" includes the determination of whether an employer is a covered employer and whether a covered employer is a large employer. "Franchise" means an agreement, express or implied, oral or written by which: 1. A person is granted the right to engage in the business of offering, selling, or distributing goods or services under a marketing plan prescribed or suggested in substantial part by the grantor or its affiliate; 2. The operation of the business is substantially associated with a trademark, service mark, trade name, advertising, or other commercial symbol; designating, owned by, or licensed by the grantor or its affiliate; and 3. The person pays, agrees to pay, or is required to pay, directly or indirectly, a franchise fee. The tern, "franchise fee" is meant to be construed broadly to include any instance in which the grantor or its affiliate derives income or profit from a person who enters into a franchise agreement with the grantor. "Hour worked within the City" is to be interpreted according to its ordinary meaning, including all hours worked within the geographic boundaries of the City, excluding time spent in the City solely for the purpose of traveling through the City from a point of origin outside the City to a destination outside the City, with no employment -related or commercial stops in the City except for refueling or the employee's personal meals or errands. "Large Employer" means all employers that employ more than 500 employees, regardless of where those employees are employed, and all franchisees associated with a franchisor or a network of franchises with franchisees that employ more than 500 employees in aggregate. "Other covered employer" means a covered employer that does not qualify as a large employer. "Service charge" is defined as set forth in RCW 49.46.160(2)(c). "Tips" means a verifiable sum to be presented by a customer as a gift or gratuity in recognition of some service performed for the customer by the employee receiving the tip. "Wage" is defined as set forth in RCW 49.46.010. Section 11. Other Legal Requirements. This ordinance shall not be construed to preempt, limit, or otherwise affect the applicability of any other law, regulation, requirement, policy, or standard that provides for greater wages or compensation; and nothing in this ordinance shall be interpreted or applied so as to create any power or duty in conflict with federal or state law. Section 12. Rulemaking. Within 180 days after the effective date, the City shall adopt rules and procedures to implement and ensure compliance with this chapter, which shall require employers to maintain adequate records and to annually certify compliance with this chapter. The City shall seek feedback from worker organizations and covered employers before finalizing the rules and procedures. Section 13. Constitutional Subject. For constitutional purposes, this measure's subject "concerns labor standards for certain employers." See Filo Foods, LLC v. City of SeaTac, 183 Wash. 2d 770, 783, 357 P.3d 1040, 1047 (2015) (upholding this statement of subject for an initiative that set a minimum wage and addressed employees' access to hours). Section 14. Codification. All sections of this ordinance except section 9 shall be codified in a new chapter of the Renton Municipal Code. Section 15. Election date. In the event that the election on this measure takes place later than November 7, 2023, the Finance Department must establish and publish the initial minimum wage within 30 days of the effective date. Section 16. Severability. The provisions of this ordinance are declared to be separate and severable. If any clause, sentence, paragraph, subdivision, section, subsection, or portion of this ordinance, or the application thereof to any employer, employee, or circumstance, is held to be invalid, it shall not affect the validity of the remainder of this ordinance, or the validity of its application to other persons or circumstances. Name Of Car Date Can r r Email and Phone Nt Raising The Minimum Wage In Renton INITIATIVE PETITION FOR SUBMISSION TO THE RENTON CITY COUNCIL TO: The City Council of the City of Renton: a e GCC/IBT 933-M We, the undersigned registered voters of the City of Renton, State of Washington, residing at the addresses set forth opposite our respective names, being equal to fifteen percent (15%) of the total number of names of persons listed as registered voters within the City on the day of the last preceding City general election, respectfully request that the following ordinance be enacted by the City Council or, if not so enacted, be submitted to a vote of the residents of the City. The title of the said ordinance is as follows: ORDINANCE CONCERNING LABOR STANDARDS FOR CERTAIN EMPLOYEES �V v A full, true and correct copy of the ordinance is attached to this Petition. Each of us for himself or herself says: I have personally signed this petition; I am a registered voter of the City of Renton, State of Washington; and my residence is correctly stated. Signature Printed Name Street and Number City Phone Number Email Date Sa `sarm Printed Name 1234 Anywhere St. Renton 206-555-1234 maria@something.org 4/10/2023 66,:�j6��i�/�/ ��� �►1° I� Renton 353�% 2. �Ci�[d a ��°G�C 510 Stet) 7.s/io�� S�, 502 Renton � ,�•� C�� l� b 0.� 5lO �V2J d1" 3 Renton 2,2 23 3. �I V l' Renton �vto�1✓tl�'li���� ' 4. �1 V V��1� V t�i�� /li ���yl V I������ I �Kl/X S44 �� 2 Cp 263 _ Renton %� S 5."1�Gv� �S �� �le�e S �- (2c�� Renton 6. 21�Jj� Z� l— I�IISJ \!•(M(,I�I/Ir —��i Cvj��=% URenton aW �L� �j�G� ��"57. s. �ZRenton '7r�66S17235 (IAA a 10. �n��D(a ?\y I )E Renton %1j 6 n(U1' 4 ve /tv I✓ Renton (05C p4W'7 Xv/(.c� Warning Every person who signs this petition with any other than his or her true name, or who knowingly signs more than one of these petitions, or signs a petition seek- ing an election when he or she is not a legal voter, or signs a petition when he or she is otherwise not qualified to sign, or who makes herein any false statement, shall be guilty of a misdemeanor. �1 3 AN ORDINANCE concerning labor standards for certain employees. Section 1. Findings. 1. The people of the City of Renton hereby adopt this citizen initiative addressing labor standards for certain employees, for the purpose of ensuring that, to the extent reasonably practicable, people employed in Renton have good wages and access to sufficient hours of work. 2. The City of Renton is one of the largest job centers in Washington State, with thousands of shoppers and workers visiting daily to participate in the local economy. Renton is home to The Landing shopping center, the historic Downtown Urban Center, as well as retail and commercial office and warehouse districts around the Rainier/Grady Way Junction. The City is a net importer ofjobs, with nearly 60,000 employed workers. Renton has a wide army of both long established and new and evolving business sectors. Retail businesses, restaurants and bus, auto sales, hospitality, healthcare, and office workers are well represented. 3. The statewide minimum wage is not sufficient to afford rising rents and costs of living in Renton. According to the National Low Income Housing Coalition's Out of Reach 2022 report, a worker making Washington's minimum wage would have to work 72 hours each week (up from 70 hours each week in 2021) to afford a modest one -bedroom rental home at Fair Market Rent. 4. When working families earn insufficient income due to low wages and involuntary under -employment, they struggle to pay for basic necessities like health care, child care, and groceries, and they are more likely to be evicted and become homeless. 5. Nearby King County cities of SeaTac, Seattle, and Tukwila enacted higher minimum wages in 2013, 2014, and 2022 respectively, but until now Renton has not followed suit. 6. Children growing up in poverty experience insecurity with housing, nutrition, and health care while enduring other hardships that prevent their ability to learn in school. Full time working parents must be able to reasonably provide for their family to ensure access to the opportunities and promise of public education. Section 2. Intent. It is the intent of the people to establish fair labor standards and protect the rights of workers by: (1) ensuring that the vast majority of employees in the City of Renton receive a minimum wage comparable to employees in the nearby cities of Tukwila, SeaTac, and Seattle; (2) requiring covered employers to offer additional hours of work to qualified part-time employees before hiring new employees to fill those hours; and (3) adopting enforcement requirements. Section 3. Large Employers Shall Pay Minimum Wages Comparable to Those in Nearby Cities. 1. Effective July 1, 2024, every large employer shall pay to each employee an hourly wage of not less than the 2023 new minimum wage rate in the City of Tukwila, established by City of Tukwila Initiative Measure No. 1, approved by voters in November 2022, adjusted for 2024 by the annual rate of inflation. 2. On January 1, 2025, and on each January 1 thereafter, the hourly minimum wage shall increase by the annual rate of inflation to maintain employee purchasing power. 3. By December 31, 2023, and by October 15 of each year thereafter, the Finance Department shall establish and publish the applicable hourly minimum wage for the following year using the annual rate of inflation. 4. For purposes of this chapter, the annual rate of inflation means 100 percent of the annual average growth rate of the bi-monthly Seattle -Tacoma -Bellevue Area Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers, termed CPI-W, for the 12-month period ending in August, provided that the percentage increase shall not be less than zero. 5. An employer must pay to its employees: a. All tips and gratuities; and b. All service charges as defined under RCW 49.46.160 except those that, pursuant to RCW 49.46.160, are itemized as not being payable to the employee or employees servicing the customer. Tips and service charges paid to an employee are in addition to, and may not count towards, the employee's hourly minimum wage. Section 4. Other Covered Employers Shall Have a Multiyear Phase -In Period. Other covered employers shall phase in the new minimum wage, as follows: 1. Effective July 1, 2024, other covered employers shall pay employees not less than the hourly minimum wage established under Section 3 minus Two Dollars ($2) per hour. 2. Effective July 1, 2025, other covered employers shall pay employees not less than the hourly minimum wage established under Section 3 minus One Dollar ($I) per hour. 3. Effective July 1, 2026, and thereafter, all covered employers shall pay employees not less than the hourly minimum wage established under Section 3. Section 5. Coverage and Employer Classifications. 1. Covered employers must pay employees at least the minimum wage established by this chapter for each hour worked within the City. 2. Employer classification for the current calendar year will be calculated based upon the average number of employees during all weeks in the previous calendar yew in which the employer had at least one employee. For employers that did not have any employees during the previous calendar year, classification will be based upon the average number of employees during the most recent three months of the current year. In this determination, all employees will be counted, regardless of their location, and including employees who worked in full-time employment, part-time employment, joint employment, temporary employment, or through the services of a temporary services or staffing agency or similar entity. 3. Employer classification for the current calendar year will be calculated based upon the gross revenue for the previous year. For employers that did not have gross revenue during the previous calendar year, annual gross revenue will be calculated from the gross revenue during the most recent three months of the current year. 4. For the purposes of employer classification, separate entities will be considered a single employer if they form an integrated enterprise or they me underjoint control by one of those entities or a separate entity. The factors to consider in making this assessment include, but are not limited to: a. Degree of interrelation between the operations of multiple entities; b. Degree to which the entities share common management; C. Centralized control of labor relations; and d. Degree of common ownership or financial control over the entities. Section 6. Part -Time Employees Shall Have Fair Access to Additional Hours. 1. Before hiring additional employees or subcontractors, including hiring through the use of temporary services or staffing agencies, covered employers must offer additional hours of work to existing employees who, in the employer's good faith and reasonable judgment, have the skills and experience to perform the work, and shall use a reasonable, transparent, and nondiscriminatory process to distribute the hours of work among those existing employees. 2, This section shall not be construed to require any employer to offer an employee work hours if the employer would be required to compensate the employee at time -and -a -half or other premium rate under any law or collective bargaining agreement, nor to prohibit any employer from offering such work hours. Section 7. Retaliation Prohibited. 1. No employer or any other person shall interfere with, restrain, or deny the exercise of, or the attempt to exercise, any right protected under this chapter. 2. No employer or any other person shall take any adverse action against any person because the person has exercised in good faith the rights under this chapter. Such rights include but are not limited to the right to make inquiries about the rights protected under this chapter; the right to inform others about their rights under this chapter; the right to inform the person's employer, union, or similar organization, and/or the person's legal counsel or any other person about an alleged violation of this chapter; the right to bring a civil action for an alleged violation of this chapter; the right to testify in a proceeding under or related to this chapter; the right to refuse to participate in an activity that would result in a violation of city, state, or federal law; and the right to oppose any policy, practice, or act that is unlawful under this chapter. 3. For the purposes of this section, an adverse action means denying ajob or promotion, demoting, terminating, failing to rehire after a seasonal interruption of work, threatening, penalizing, retaliating, engaging in unfair immigration -related practices, filing a false report with a government agency, changing an employee's status to nonemployee, decreasing or declining to provide additional work hours when they otherwise would have been offered, scheduling an employee for hours outside of their availability, or otherwise discriminating against any person for any reason prohibited by this chapter. "Adverse action" for an employee may involve any aspect of employment, including pay, work hours, responsibilities, or other material change in the terns and conditions of employment. 4. No employer or any other person shall communicate to a person exercising rights protected under this chapter, directly or indirectly, the willingness to inform a government employee that the person is not lawfully in the United States, or to report, or to make an implied or express assertion of a willingness to report, suspected citizenship or immigration status of the person or a family member of the person to a federal, state, or local agency because the person has exercised a right under this chapter. 5. There shall be a rebuttable presumption of unlawful retaliation if an employer or any other person takes an adverse action against a person within 90 days of the person's exercise of any right protected in this chapter. However, in the case of seasonal work that ended before the close of the 90-day period, the presumption also applies if the employer fails to rehire a former employee at the next opportunity for work in the same position. The employer may rebut the presumption with clear and convincing evidence that the adverse action was taken for a permissible purpose. 6. Standard of Proof. Proof of retaliation under this chapter shall be sufficient upon a showing that an employer or any other person has taken an adverse action against a person and the person's exercise of rights protected in this chapter was a motivating factor in the adverse action, unless the employer can prove that the action would have been taken in the absence of such protected activity. 7. The protections afforded under this section shall apply to any person who mistakenly but in good faith alleges violations of this chapter. Section 8. Enforcement. 1. Any person or class of persons that suffers financial injury as a result of a violation of this chapter or is the subject of prohibited retaliation under this chapter, or any other individual or entity acting on their behalf, may bring a civil action in a court of competentjurisdiction against the employer or other person violating this chapter and, upon prevailing, shall be awarded reasonable attorney fees and costs and such legal or equitable relief as may be appropriate to remedy the violation including, without limitation, the payment of any unpaid wages plus interest due to the person and liquidated damages in an additional amount of up to twice the unpaid wages; compensatory damages; and a penalty payable to any aggrieved party of up to $5,000 if the aggrieved party was subject to prohibited retaliation. For the purposes of this section, an aggrieved party means an employee or other person who suffers tangible or intangible harm due to an employer or other person's violation of this chapter. Interest shall accrue from the date the unpaid wages were first due at the higher of twelve percent per annum or the maximum rate permitted under RCW 19.52.020. 2. For purposes of determining membership within a class of persons entitled to bring an action under this section, two or more employees are similarly situated if they: a. Are or were employed by the same employer or employers, whether concurrently or otherwise, at some point during the applicable statute of limitations period; b. Allege one or more violations that raise similar questions as to liability; and C. Seek similar forms of relief. it. Employees shall not be considered dissimilar solely because their claims seek damages that differ in amount, or theirjob titles or other means of classifying employees differ in ways that me unrelated to thew claims. 3. Each covered employer shall retain records as required by RCW 49.46.070, as well as such information as the City may require to confirm compliance with this chapter. If an employer fails to retain such records, there shall be a presumption, rebuttable by clear and convincing evidence, that the employer violated this chapter for the periods and for each employee for whom records were not retained. 4. Employers shall permit authorized City representatives access to work sites and relevant records for the purpose of monitoring compliance with the chapter and investigating complaints of noncompliance, including production for inspection and copying of employment records. The City may designate representatives, including city contractors and representatives of unions or worker advocacy organizations, to access the worksite and relevant records. 5. Complaints that any provision of this chapter has been violated may also be presented to the City Attorney, who is hereby authorized to investigate and, if they deem appropriate, initiate legal or other action to remedy any violation of this chapter. 6. The City has the authority to issue administrative citations and to order injunctive relief including reinstatement, restitution, payment of back wages, or other forms of relief. 7. The City may, in the exercise of its authority and performance of its functions and services, agree by contract or otherwise to participate jointly or in cooperation with Washington State, King County, or any city, town, or other incorporated place, or subdivision thereof, or engage outside counsel, to enforce this chapter. 8. The remedies and penalties provided under this chapter are cumulative and are not intended to be exclusive of any other available remedies or penalties, including existing remedies for enforcement of Renton Municipal Code chapters. 9. The statute of limitations for any enforcement action shall be five (5) years. Section 9. A new section is added to Renton Municipal Code (RMC) Section 5-5-4 as follows: 1. The Finance Director may deny, suspend, or revoke any license under this chapter for violation of this ordinance. 2. The Finance Director must deny, suspend, or revoke any license under this chapter for repeated intentional violations of this ordinance. 3. Any action by the Finance Director under this section shall be subject to the procedures and requirements of RMC subsection 5-5-3.E, as well as other due process rights that a court may require. Section 10. Definitions. For the purposes of this chapter, the following terms shall have the following meanings: "City" means the City of Renton. "Covered employer" means an employer that either (1) employs at least 15 employees regardless of where those employees are employed, or (2) has annual gross revenue over $2 million, "Effective date" is the effective date of this ordinance. "Employee" is defined as set forth in RCW 49.46.010. An employer bears the burden of proof that the individual is, as a matter of economic reality, in business for oneself rather than dependent upon the alleged employer. "Employer" is defined as set forth in RCW 49.46.010. "Employer classification" includes the determination of whether an employer is a covered employer and whether a covered employer is a large employer. "Franchise" means an agreement, express or implied, oral or written by which: 1. A person is granted the right to engage in the business of offering, selling, or distributing goods or services under a marketing plan prescribed or suggested in substantial part by the grantor or its affiliate; 2. The operation of the business is substantially associated with a trademark, service mark, trade name, advertising, or other commercial symbol; designating, owned by, or licensed by the grantor or its affiliate; and 3. The person pays, agrees to pay, or is required to pay, directly or indirectly, a franchise fee. The term, "franchise fee" is meant to be construed broadly to include any instance in which the grantor or its affiliate derives income or profit from a person who enters into a franchise agreement with the grantor. "Hour worked within the City" is to be interpreted according to its ordinary meaning, including all hours worked within the geographic boundaries of the City, excluding time spent in the City solely for the purpose of traveling through the City from a point of origin outside the City to a destination outside the City, with no employment -related or commercial stops in the City except for refueling or the employee's personal meals or errands. "Large Employer" means all employers that employ more than 500 employees, regardless of where those employees are employed, and all franchisees associated with a franchisor or a network of franchises with franchisees that employ more than 500 employees in aggregate. "Other covered employer" means a covered employer that does not qualify as a large employer. "Service charge" is defined as set forth in RCW 49.46.160(2)(c). "Tips" means a verifiable sum to be presented by a customer as a gift or gratuity in recognition of some service performed for the customer by the employee receiving the tip. "Wage" is defined as set forth in RCW 49.46.010. Section 11. Other Legal Requirements. This ordinance shall not be construed to preempt, limit, or otherwise affect the applicability of any other law, regulation, requirement, policy, or standard that provides for greater wages or compensation; and nothing in this ordinance shall be interpreted or applied so as to create any power or duty in conflict with federal or state law. Section 12. Rulemaking. Within 180 days after the effective date, the City shall adopt rules and procedures to implement and ensure compliance with this chapter, which shall require employers to maintain adequate records and to annually certify compliance with this chapter. The City shall seek feedback from worker organizations and covered employers before finalizing the rules and procedures. Section 13. Constitutional Subject. For constitutional purposes, this measure's subject "concerns labor standards for certain employers." See File Foods, LLC v. City of SeaTac, 183 Wash. 2d 770, 783, 357 P.3d 1040, 1047 (2015) (upholding this statement of subject for an initiative that set a minimum wage and addressed employees' access to hours). Section 14. Codification. All sections of this ordinance except section 9 shall be codified in a new chapter of the Renton Municipal Code. Section 15. Election date. In the event that the election on this measure takes place later than November 7, 2023, the Finance Department must establish and publish the initial minimum wage within 30 days of the effective date. Section 16. Severability. The provisions of this ordinance are declared to be separate and severable. If any clause, sentence, paragraph, subdivision, section, subsection, or portion of this ordinance, or the application thereof to any employer, employee, or circumstance, is held to be invalid, it shall not affect the validity of the remainder of this ordinance, or the validity of its application to other persons or circumstances. t 2. 3. N 5. 311 7 a Raising The Minimum Wage In Renton INITIATIVE PETITION FOR SUBMISSION TO THE RENTON CITY COUNCIL TO: The City Council of the City of Renton: We, the undersigned registered voters of the City of Renton, State of Washington, residing at the addresses set forth opposite our respective names, being equal to fifteen percent (15%) of the total number of names of persons listed as registered voters within the City on the day of the last preceding City general election, respectfully request that the following ordinance be enacted by the City Council or, if not so enacted, be submitted to a vote of the residents of the City. The title of the said ordinance is as follows: ORDINANCE CONCERNING LABOR STANDARDS FOR CERTAIN EMPLOYEES A full, true and correct copy of the ordinance is attached to this Petition. Each of us for himself or herself says: I have personally signed this petition; I am a registered voter of the City of Renton, State of Washington; and my residence is correctly stated. Signature Printed Name Street and Number City Phone Number Email Date samAee`( roz Printed Name 1234 Anywhere St. Renton 206-555-1234 maria@something.org 4/10/2023 �IA 21 12 0 C-_ ,� T "�L S4 q dOS% Renton l%3 T 6oS Renton LIZ CO) cl Al' �Y kQi 375c�� ��n ��re S� Renton! J75 ,V F��� Renton (/ �% i1`�fJ"\��(""� l'yr16v� �Jl SC�" Renton ek,U/-11 6't�2�$`V �. y ,n r q Alm �i, �yl�A��lff''l b�7 ��rcA� Ft �� Renton 2_5Z 2�1�7�0 5r2(I 575 (/%ZIU%1 �/ Renton �C. �DIe S 375 Ur;�-^ �,.E *� Renton S�JZJ � �� ENEW-4j�ffifflm f C'SGz-,s 1 -1 '� LAw, Renton 4",. cj-Z_(-z7 / /, % 7 1_✓v�li C Cc% �`f �"l V",A)✓C�� �(V� Renton LOG" (��- tC67 f— Z Warning Every person who signs this petition with any other than his or her true name, or who knowingly signs more than one of these petitions, or signs a petition seek- ing an election when he or she is not a legal voter, or signs a petition when he or she is otherwise not qualified to sign, or who makes herein any false statement, shall be guilty of a misdemeanor. AN ORDINANCE concerning labor standards for certain employees. Section 1. Findings. 1. The people of the City of Renton hereby adopt this citizen initiative addressing labor standards for certain employees, for the purpose of ensuring that, to the extent reasonably practicable, people employed in Renton have good wages and access to sufficient hours of work. 2. The City of Renton is one of the largestjob centers in Washington State, with thousands of shoppers and workers visiting daily to participate in the local economy. Renton is home to The Landing shopping center, the historic Downtown Urban Center, as well as retail and commercial office and warehouse districts around the Rainier/Grady Way Junction. The City is a net importer ofjobs, with nearly 60,000 employed workers. Renton has a wide array of both long established and new and evolving business sectors. Retail businesses, restaurants and bars, auto sales, hospitality, healthcare, and office workers are well represented. 3. The statewide minimum wage is not sufficient to afford rising rents and costs of living in Renton. According to the National Low Income Housing Coalition's Out of Reach 2022 report, a worker making Washington's minimum wage would have to work 72 hours each week (up from 70 hours each week in 2021) to afford a modest one -bedroom rental home at Fair Market Rent. 4. When working families earn insufficient income due to low wages and involuntary under -employment, they struggle to pay for basic necessities like health care, child care, and groceries, and they are more likely to be evicted and become homeless. 5. Nearby King County cities of SeaTac, Seattle, and Tukwila enacted higher minimum wages in 2013, 2014, and 2022 respectively, but until now Renton has not followed suit. 6. Children growing up in poverty experience insecurity with housing, nutrition, and health care while enduring other hardships that prevent their ability to learn in school. Full time working parents must be able to reasonably provide for their family to ensure access to the opportunities and promise of public education. Section 2. Intent. It is the intent of the people to establish fair labor standards and protect the rights of workers by: (1) ensuring that the vast majority of employees in the City of Renton receive a minimum wage comparable to employees in the nearby cities of Tukwila, SeaTac, and Seattle; (2) requiring covered employers to offer additional hours of work to qualified part-time employees before hiring new employees to fill those hours; and (3) adopting enforcement requirements. Section 3. Large Employers Shall Pay Minimum Wages Comparable to Those in Nearby Cities. 1. Effective July 1, 2024, every large employer shall pay to each employee an hourly wage of not less than the 2023 new minimum wage rate in the City of Tukwila, established by City of Tukwila Initiative Measure No. 1, approved by voters in November 2022, adjusted for 2024 by the annual rate of inflation. 2. On January 1, 2025, and on each January I thereafter, the hourly minimum wage shall increase by the annual rate of inflation to maintain employee purchasing power. 3. By December 31, 2023, and by October 15 of each year thereafter, the Finance Department shall establish and publish the applicable hourly minimum wage for the following year using the annual rate of inflation. 4. For purposes of this chapter, the annual rate of inflation means 100 percent of the annual average growth rate of the bi-monthly Seattle -Tacoma -Bellevue Area Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Eamers and Clerical Workers, termed CPI-W, for the 12-month period ending in August, provided that the percentage increase shall not be less than zero. 5. An employer must pay to its employees: a. All tips and gratuities; and b. All service charges as defined under RCW 49.46.160 except those that, pursuant to RCW 49.46.160, are itemized as not being payable to the employee or employees servicing the customer. Tips and service charges paid to an employee are in addition to, and may not count towards, the employee's hourly minimum wage. Section 4. Other Covered Employers Shall Have a Multiyear Phase -In Period. Other covered employers shall phase in the new minimum wage, as follows: 1. Effective July 1, 2024, other covered employers shall pay employees not less than the hourly minimum wage established under Section 3 minus Two Dollars ($2) per hour. 2. Effective July 1, 2025, other covered employers shall pay employees not less than the hourly minimum wage established under Section 3 minus One Dollar ($1) per hour. 3. Effective July 1, 2026, and thereafter, all covered employers shall pay employees not less than the hourly minimum wage established under Section 3. Section 5. Coverage and Employer Classifications. 1. Covered employers must pay employees at least the minimum wage established by this chapter for each hour worked within the City. 2. Employer classification for the current calendar year will be calculated based upon the average number of employees during all weeks in the previous calendar year in which the employer had at least one employee. For employers that did not have any employees during the previous calendar year, classification will be based upon the average number of employees during the most recent three months of the current year. In this determination, all employees will be counted, regardless of their location, and including employees who worked in full-time employment, part-time employment, joint employment, temporary employment, or through the services of a temporary services or staffing agency or similar entity. 3. Employer classification for the current calendar year will be calculated based upon the gross revenue for the previous year. For employers that did not have gross revenue during the previous calendar year, annual gross revenue will be calculated from the gross revenue during the most recent three months of the current year. 4. For the purposes of employer classification, separate entities will be considered a single employer if they form an integrated enterprise or they are underjoint control by one of those entities or a separate entity. The factors to consider in making this assessment include, but are not limited to: a. Degree of interrelation between the operations of multiple entities; b. Degree to which the entities share common management; C. Centralized control of labor relations; and d. Degree of common ownership or financial control over the entities. Section 6. Part -Time Employees Shall Have Fair Access to Additional Hours. 1. Before hiring additional employees or subcontractors, including hiring through the use of temporary services or staffing agencies, covered employers must offer additional hours of work to existing employees who, in the employer's good faith and reasonable judgment, have the skills and experience to perform the work, and shall use a reasonable, transparent, and nondiscriminatory process to distribute the hours of work among those existing employees. 2. This section shall not be construed to require any employer to offer an employee work hours if the employer would be required to compensate the employee at time -and -a -half or other premium rate under any law or collective bargaining agreement, nor to prohibit any employer from offering such work hours. Section 7. Retaliation Prohibited. 1. No employer or any other person shall interfere with, restrain, or deny the exercise of, or the attempt to exercise, any right protected under this chapter. 2. No employer or any other person shall take any adverse action against any person because the person has exercised in good faith the rights under this chapter. Such rights include but are not limited to the right to make inquiries about the rights protected under this chapter; the right to inform others about their rights under this chapter; the right to inform the person's employer, union, or similar organization, and/or the person's legal counsel or any other person about an alleged violation of this chapter; the right to bring a civil action for an alleged violation of this chapter; the right to testify in a proceeding under or related to this chapter, the right to refuse to participate in an activity that would result in a violation of city, state, or federal law; and the right to oppose any policy, practice, or act that is unlawful under this chapter. 3. For the purposes of this section, an adverse action means denying ajob or promotion, demoting, terminating, failing to rehire after a seasonal interruption of work, threatening, penalizing, retaliating, engaging in unfair immigration -related practices, filing a false report with a government agency, changing an employee's status to nonemployee, decreasing or declining to provide additional work hours when they otherwise would have been offered, scheduling an employee for hours outside of their availability, or otherwise discriminating against any person for any reason prohibited by this chapter. "Adverse action" for an employee may involve any aspect of employment, including pay, work hours, responsibilities, or other material change in the terms and conditions of employment. 4. No employer or any other person shall communicate to a person exercising rights protected under this chapter, directly or indirectly, the willingness to inform a government employee that the person is not lawfully in the United States, or to report, or to make an implied or express assertion of a willingness to report, suspected citizenship or immigration status of the person or a family member of the person to a federal, state, or local agency because the person has exercised a right under this chapter. 5. There shall be a rebuttable presumption of unlawful retaliation if an employer or any other person takes an adverse action against a person within 90 days of the person's exercise of any right protected in this chapter. However, in the case of seasonal work that ended before the close of the 90-day period, the presumption also applies if the employer fails to rehire a former employee at the next opportunity for work in the same position. The employer may rebut the presumption with clear and convincing evidence that the adverse action was taken for a permissible purpose. 6. Standard of Proof. Proof of retaliation under this chapter shall be sufficient upon a showing that an employer or any other person has taken an adverse action against a person and the person's exercise of rights protected in this chapter was a motivating factor in the adverse action, unless the employer can prove that the action would have been taken in the absence of such protected activity. 7. The protections afforded under this section shall apply to any person who mistakenly but in good faith alleges violations of this chapter. Section 8. Enforcement. 1. Any person or class of persons that suffers financial injury as a result of a violation of this chapter or is the subject of prohibited retaliation under this chapter, or any other individual or entity acting on their behalf, may bring a civil action in a court of competent jurisdiction against the employer or other person violating this chapter and, upon prevailing, shall be awarded reasonable attorney fees and costs and such legal or equitable relief as may be appropriate to remedy the violation including, without limitation, the payment of any unpaid wages plus interest due to the person and liquidated damages in an additional amount of up to twice the unpaid wages; compensatory damages; and a penalty payable to any aggrieved party of up to $5,000 if the aggrieved party was subject to prohibited retaliation. For the purposes of this section, an aggrieved party means an employee or other person who suffers tangible or intangible harm due to an employer or other person's violation of this chapter. Interest shall accrue from the date the unpaid wages were first due at the higher of twelve percent per annum or the maximum rate permitted under RCW 19.52.020. 2. For purposes of determining membership within a class of persons entitled to bring an action under this section, two or more employees are similarly situated if they: a. Are or were employed by the same employer or employers, whether concurrently or otherwise, at some point during the applicable statute of limitations period; b. Allege one or more violations that raise similar questions as to liability; and C. Seek similar forms of relief. d. Employees shall not be considered dissimilar solely because their claims seek damages that differ in amount, or heirjob titles or other means of classifying employees differ in ways that are unrelated to their claims. 3. Each covered employer shall retain records as required by RCW 49.46.070, as well as such information as the City may require to confirm compliance with this chapter. If an employer fails to retain such records, there shall be a presumption, rebuttable by clear and convincing evidence, that the employer violated this chapter for the periods and for each employee for whom records were not retained. 4. Employers shall permit authorized City representatives access to work sites and relevant records for the purpose of monitoring compliance with the chapter and investigating complaints of noncompliance, including production for inspection and copying of employment records. The City may designate representatives, including city contractors and representatives of unions or worker advocacy organizations, to access the worksite and relevant records. 5. Complaints that any provision of this chapter has been violated may also be presented to the City Attorney, who is hereby authorized to investigate and, if they deem appropriate, initiate legal or other action to remedy any violation of this chapter. 6. The City has the authority to issue administrative citations and to order injunctive relief including reinstatement, restitution, payment of back wages, or other forms of relief, 7. The City may, in the exercise of its authority and performance of its functions and services, agree by contract or otherwise to participate jointly or in cooperation with Washington State, King County, or any city, town, or other incorporated place, or subdivision thereof, or engage outside counsel, to enforce this chapter. 8. The remedies and penalties provided under this chapter are cumulative and are not intended to be exclusive of any other available remedies or penalties, including existing remedies for enforcement of Renton Municipal Code chapters. 9. The statute of limitations for any enforcement action shall be five (5) years. Section 9. A new section is added to Renton Municipal Code (RMC) Section 5-5-4 as follows: 1. The Finance Director may deny, suspend, or revoke any license under this chapter for violation of this ordinance. 2. The Finance Director must deny, suspend, or revoke any license under this chapter for repeated intentional violations of this ordinance. 3. Any action by the Finance Director under this section shall be subject to the procedures and requirements of RMC subsection 5-5-3.E, as well as other due process rights that a court may require. Section 10. Definitions. For the purposes of this chapter, the following terms shall have the following meanings: "City" means the City of Renton. "Covered employer" means an employer that either (1) employs at least 15 employees regardless of where those employees are employed, or (2) has annual gross revenue over $2 million. "Effective date" is the effective date of this ordinance. "Employee" is defined as set forth in RCW 49.46.010. An employer bears the burden of proof that the individual is, as a matter of economic reality, in business for oneself rather than dependent upon the alleged employer. "Employer" is defined as set forth in RCW 49.46.010. "Employer classification" includes the determination of whether an employer is a covered employer and whether a covered employer is a large employer. "Franchise" means an agreement, express or implied, oral or written by which: 1. A person is granted the right to engage in the business of offering, selling, or distributing goods or services under a marketing plan prescribed or suggested in substantial part by the grantor or its affiliate; 2. The operation of the business is substantially associated with a trademark, service mark, trade name, advertising, or other commercial symbol; designating, owned by, or licensed by the grantor or its affiliate; and 3. The person pays, agrees to pay, or is required to pay, directly or indirectly, a franchise fee. The term, "franchise fee" is meant to be construed broadly to include any instance in which the grantor or its affiliate derives income or profit from a person who enters into a franchise agreement with the grantor. "How worked within the City" is to be interpreted according to its ordinary meaning, including all hours worked within the geographic boundaries of the City, excluding time spent in the City solely for the purpose of traveling through the City from a point of origin outside the City to a destination outside the City, with no employment -related or commercial stops in the City except for refueling or the employee's personal meals or errands. "Large Employer" means all employers that employ more than 500 employees, regardless of where those employees are employed, and all franchisees associated with a franchisor or a network of franchises with franchisees that employ more than 500 employees in aggregate. "Other covered employer" means a covered employer that does not qualify as a large employer. "Service charge" is defined as set forth in RCW 49.46.160(2)(c). "Tips" means a verifiable sum to be presented by a customer as a gift or gratuity in recognition of some service performed for the customer by the employee receiving the tip. "Wage" is defined as set forth in RCW 49.46.010. Section 11. Other Legal Requirements. This ordinance shall not be construed to preempt, limit, or otherwise affect the applicability of any other law, regulation, requirement, policy, or standard that provides for greater wages or compensation; and nothing in this ordinance shall be interpreted or applied so as to create any power or duty in conflict with federal or state law. Section 12. Rulemaking. Within 180 days after the effective date, the City shall adopt rules and procedures to implement and ensure compliance with this chapter, which shall require employers to maintain adequate records and to annually certify compliance with this chapter. The City shall seek feedback from worker organizations and covered employers before finalizing the rules and procedures. Section 13. Constitutional Subject. For constitutional purposes, this measure's subject "concerns labor standards for certain employers." See Filo Foods, LLC v. City of SeaTac, 183 Wash. 2d 770, 783, 357 P.3d 1040, 1047 (2015) (upholding this statement of subject for an initiative that set a minimum wage and addressed employees' access to hours). Section 14. Codification. All sections of this ordinance except section 9 shall be codified in a new chapter of the Renton Municipal Code. Section 15. Election date. In the event that the election on this measure takes place later than November 7, 2023, the Finance Department must establish and publish the initial minimum wage within 30 days of the effective date, Section 16. Severability. The provisions of this ordinance are declared to be separate and severable. If any clause, sentence, paragraph, subdivision, section, subsection, or portion of this ordinance, or the application thereof to any employer, employee, or circumstance, is held to be invalid, it shall not affect the validity of the remainder of this ordinance, or the validity of its application to other persons or circumstances. Name Of Canvasser: Date Canvassed: Canvasser Email and Phone Number: Raising The Minimum Wage In Renton INITIATIVE PETITION FOR SUBMISSION TO THE RENTON CITY COUNCIL TO: The City Council of the City of Renton: We, the undersigned registered voters of the City of Renton, State of Washington, residing at the addresses set forth opposite our respective names, being equal to fifteen percent (15%) of the total number of names of persons listed as registered voters within the City on the day of the last preceding City general election, respectfully request that the following ordinance be enacted by the City Council or, if not so enacted, be submitted to a vote of the residents of the City. The title of the said ordinance is as follows: ORDINANCE CONCERNING LABOR STANDARDS FOR CERTAIN EMPLOYEES A full, true and correct copy of the ordinance is attached to this Petition. Each of us for himself or herself says: I have personally signed this petition; I am a registered voter of the City of Renton, State of Washington; and my residence is correctly stated. Signature Printed Name Street and Number s1i0 ter Printed Name 1234 Anywhere St. 1 2. 3. Mlis City Phone Number Renton 206-555-1234 Renton ' Email maria@something.org Date 4/10/2023 D Y)k � 2� Renton i—r7 ("Z� IA'A �//o /'. "n /� �,� , rP //1' n Li/lam nl. Renton �kC� tkGy 'A��'3aRenton 4 tom, 1� l' P l.�v-lah �GaPY� �DA �OF / /�0�rf78 �'1�e, 114t A �, Renton ��� � - s/a y 5. �% n 6.,/��W�G�y%� . " l/Y1 �Ou,�f���/ Renton Renton Renton 8. Vetch tCF l z ��TC, r a Ru - UOR rnnr)yat o\iP TA a4?4 )01 2S3 37Co HG G 7 9. G�/Lr� � CDrt�� /�c��ial� �108 )ytonr0e ��e a/6 a�1 �01 Renton ssh,L/ 10. �+� �J �,,Ir)v�, cJc �50 •J a My-+� P�O� rvc- �`� Renton Warning Every person who signs this petition with any other than his or her true name, or who knowingly signs more than one of these petitions, or signs a petition seek- ing an election when he or she is not a legal voter, or signs a petition when he or she is otherwise not qualified to sign, or who makes herein any false statement, shall be guilty of a misdemeanor. AN ORDINANCE concerning labor standards for certain employees. Section 1. Findings. 1. The people of the City of Renton hereby adopt this citizen initiative addressing labor standards for certain employees, for the purpose of ensuring that, to the extent reasonably practicable, people employed in Renton have good wages and access to sufficient hours of work. 2. The City of Renton is one of the largestjob centers in Washington State, with thousands of shoppers and workers visiting daily to participate in the local economy. Renton is home to The Landing shopping center, the historic Downtown Urban Center, as well as retail and commercial office and warehouse districts around the Rainier/Grady Way Junction. The City is a net importer ofjobs, with nearly 60,000 employed workers. Renton has a wide may of both long established and new and evolving business sectors. Retail businesses, restaurants and bars, auto sales, hospitality, healthcare, and office workers are well represented. 3. The statewide minimum wage is not sufficient to afford rising rents and costs of living in Renton. According to the National Low Income Housing Coalition's Out of Reach 2022 report, a worker making Washington's minimum wage would have to work 72 hours each week (up from 70 hours each week in 2021) to afford a modest one -bedroom rental home at Fair Market Rent. 4. When working families am insufficient income due to low wages and involuntary under -employment, they struggle to pay for basic necessities like health care, child care, and groceries, and they are more likely to be evicted and become homeless. 5. Nearby King County cities of SeaTac, Seattle, and Tukwila enacted higher minimum wages in 2013, 2014, and 2022 respectively, but until now Renton has not followed suit. 6. Children growing up in poverty experience insecurity with housing, nutrition, and health care while enduring other hardships that prevent their ability to learn in school. Full time working parents must be able to reasonably provide for their family to ensure access to the opportunities and promise of public education. Section 2. Intent. It is the intent of the people to establish fair labor standards and protect the rights of workers by: (1) ensuring that the vast majority of employees in the City of Renton receive a minimum wage comparable to employees in the nearby cities of Tukwila, SeaTac, and Seattle; (2) requiring covered employers to offer additional hours of work to qualified part-time employees before hiring new employees to fill those hours; and (3) adopting enforcement requirements. Section 3. Large Employers Shall Pay Minimum Wages Comparable to Those in Nearby Cities. 1. Effective July 1, 2024, every large employer shall pay to each employee an hourly wage of not less than the 2023 new minimum wage rate in the City of Tukwila, established by City of Tukwila Initiative Measure No. 1, approved by voters in November 2022, adjusted for 2024 by the annual rate of inflation. 2. On January 1, 2025, and on each January 1 thereafter, the hourly minimum wage shall increase by the annual rate of inflation to maintain employee purchasing power. 3. By December 31, 2023, and by October 15 of each year thereafter, the Finance Department shall establish and publish the applicable hourly minimum wage for the following year using the annual rate of inflation. 4. For purposes of this chapter, the annual rate of inflation means 100 percent of the annual average growth rate of the bi-monthly Seattle -Tacoma -Bellevue Area Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers, termed CPI-W, for the 12-month period ending in August, provided that the percentage increase shall not be less than zero. 5. An employer must pay to its employees: a. All tips and gratuities; and b. All service charges as defined under RCW 49.46.160 except those that, pursuant to RCW 49.46.160, are itemized as not being payable to the employee or employees servicing the customer. Tips and service charges paid to an employee are in addition to, and may not count towards, the employee's hourly minimum wage. Section 4. Other Covered Employers Shall Have a Multiyear Phase -In Period. Other covered employers shall phase in the new minimum wage, as follows: 1. Effective July 1, 2024, other covered employers shall pay employees not less than the hourly minimum wage established under Section 3 minus Two Dollars ($2) per hour. 2. Effective July 1, 2025, other covered employers shall pay employees not less than the hourly minimum wage established under Section 3 minus One Dollar ($1) per hour. 3. Effective July 1, 2026, and thereafter, all covered employers shall pay employees not less than the hourly minimum wage established under Section 3. Section 5. Coverage and Employer Classifications. I. Covered employers must pay employees at least the minimum wage established by this chapter for each hour worked within the City. 2. Employer classification for the current calendar year will be calculated based upon the average number of employees during all weeks in the previous calendar year in which the employer had at least one employee. For employers that did not have any employees during the previous calendar year, classification will be based upon the average number of employees during the most recent three months of the current year. In this determination, all employees will be counted, regardless of their location, and including employees who worked in full-time employment, part-time employment, joint employment, temporary employment, or through the services of a temporary services or staffing agency or similar entity. 3. Employer classification for the current calendar year will be calculated based upon the gross revenue for the previous year. For employers that did not have gross revenue during the previous calendar year, annual gross revenue will be calculated from the gross revenue during the most recent three months of the current year. 4. For the purposes of employer classification, separate entities will be considered a single employer if they form an integrated enterprise or they are underjoint control by one of those entities or a separate entity. The factors to consider in making this assessment include, but are not limited to: a. Degree of interrelation between the operations of multiple entities; b. Degree to which the entities share common management; C. Centralized control of labor relations; and d. Degree of common ownership or financial control over the entities. Section 6. Part -Time Employees Shall Have FairAccess to Additional Hours. 1. Before hiring additional employees or subcontractors, including hiving through the use of temporary services or staffing agencies, covered employers must offer additional hours of work to existing employees who, in the employer's good faith and reasonablejudgment, have the skills and experience to perform the work, and shall use a reasonable, transparent, and nondiscriminatory process to distribute the hours of work among those existing employees. 2. This section shall not be construed to require any employer to offer an employee work hours if the employer would be required to compensate the employee at time -and -a -half or other premium rate under any law or collective bargaining agreement, nor to prohibit any employer from offering such work hours. Section 7. Retaliation Prohibited. 1. No employer or any other person shall interfere with, restrain, or deny the exercise of, or the attempt to exercise, any right protected under this chapter. 2. No employer or any other person shall take any adverse action against any person because the person has exercised in good faith the rights under this chapter. Such rights include but are not limited to the right to make inquiries about the rights protected under this chapter; the right to inform others about their rights under this chapter; the right to inform the person's employer, union, or similar organization, and/or the person's legal counsel or any other person about an alleged violation of this chapter, the right to bring a civil action for an alleged violation of this chapter; the right to testify in a proceeding under or related to this chapter; the right to refuse to participate in an activity that would result in a violation of city, state, or federal law; and the right to oppose any policy, practice, or act that is unlawful under this chapter. 3. For the purposes of this section, an adverse action means denying ajob or promotion, demoting, terminating, failing to rehire after a seasonal interruption of work, threatening, penalizing, retaliating, engaging in unfair immigration -related practices, filing a false report with a government agency, changing an employee's status to nonemployee, decreasing or declining to provide additional work hours when they otherwise would have been offered, scheduling an employee for hours outside of their availability, or otherwise discriminating against any person for any reason prohibited by this chapter. "Adverse action" for an employee may involve any aspect of employment, including pay, work hours, responsibilities, or other material change in the terms and conditions of employment. 4. No employer or any other person shall communicate to a person exercising rights protected under this chapter, directly or indirectly, the willingness to inform a government employee that the person is not lawfully in the United States, or to report, or to make an implied or express assertion of a willingness to report, suspected citizenship or immigration status of the person or a family member of the person to a federal, state, or local agency because the person has exercised a right under this chapter. 5. There shall be a rebuttable presumption of unlawful retaliation if an employer or any other person takes an adverse action against a person within 90 days of the person's exercise of any right protected in this chapter. However, in the case of seasonal work that ended before the close of the 90-day period, the presumption also applies if the employer fails to rehire a former employee at the next opportunity for work in the same position. The employer may rebut the presumption with clear and convincing evidence that the adverse action was taken for a permissible purpose. 6. Standard of Proof. Proof of retaliation under this chapter shall be sufficient upon a showing that an employer or any other person has taken an adverse action against a person and the permits exercise of rights protected in this chapter was a motivating factor in the adverse action, unless the employer can prove that the action would have been taken in the absence of such protected activity, 7. The protections afforded under this section shall apply to any person who mistakenly but in good faith alleges violations of this chapter. Section 8. Enforcement. 1. Any person or class of persons that suffers financial injury as a result of a violation of this chapter or is the subject of prohibited retaliation under this chapter, or any other individual or entity acting on their behalf, may bring a civil action in a court of competent jurisdiction against the employer or other person violating this chapter and, upon prevailing, shall be awarded reasonable attorney fees and costs and such legal or equitable relief as may be appropriate to remedy the violation including, without limitation, the payment of any unpaid wages plus interest due to the person and liquidated damages in an additional amount of up to twice the unpaid wages; compensatory damages; and a penalty payable to any aggrieved party of up to $5,000 if the aggrieved party was subject to prohibited retaliation. For the purposes of this section, an aggrieved party means an employee or other person who suffers tangible or intangible harm due to an employer or other person's violation of this chapter. Interest shall accrue from the date the unpaid wages were first due at the higher of twelve percent per annum or the maximum rate permitted under RCW 19.52.020. 2. For purposes of determining membership within a class of persons entitled to bring an action under this section, two or more employees are similarly situated if they: a. Are or were employed by the same employer or employers, whether concurrently or otherwise, at some point during the applicable statute of limitations period; b. Allege one or more violations that raise similar questions as to liability; and C. Seek similar forms of relief. d. Employees shall not be considered dissimilar solely because their claims seek damages that differ in amount, or theirjob titles or other means of classifying employees differ in ways that are unrelated to their claims. 3. Each covered employer shall retain records as required by RCW 49.46.070, as well as such information as the City may require to confirm compliance with this chapter. If an employer fails to retain such records, there shall be a presumption, rebuttable by clear and convincing evidence, that the employer violated this chapter for the periods and for each employee for whom records were not retained. 4. Employers shall permit authorized City representatives access to work sites and relevant records for the purpose of monitoring compliance with the chapter and investigating complaints of noncompliance, including production for inspection and copying of employment records. The City may designate representatives, including city contractors and representatives of unions or worker advocacy organizations, to access the worksite and relevant records. 5. Complaints that any provision of this chapter has been violated may also be presented to the City Attorney, who is hereby authorized to investigate and, if they deem appropriate, initiate legal or other action to remedy any violation of this chapter. 6. The City has the authority to issue administrative citations and to order injunctive relief including reinstatement, restitution, payment of back wages, or other forms of relief. 7. The City may, in the exercise of its authority and performance of its functions and services, agree by contract or otherwise to participate jointly or in cooperation with Washington State, King County, or any city, town, or other incorporated place, or subdivision thereof, or engage outside counsel, to enforce this chapter. 8. The remedies and penalties provided under this chapter are cumulative and are not intended to be exclusive of any other available remedies or penalties, including existing remedies for enforcement of Renton Municipal Code chapters. 9. The statute of limitations for any enforcement action shall be five (5) years. Section 9. A new section is added to Renton Municipal Code (RMC) Section 5-5-4 as follows: 1. The Finance Director may deny, suspend, or revoke any license under this chapter for violation of this ordinance. 2. The Finance Director must deny, suspend, or revoke any license under this chapter for repeated intentional violations of this ordinance. 3. Any action by the Finance Director under this section shall be subject to the procedures and requirements of RMC subsection 5-5-3.E, as well as other due process rights that a court may require. Section 10. Definitions. For the purposes of this chapter, the following terms shall have the following meanings: "City" means the City of Renton. "Covered employer" means an employer that either (1) employs at least 15 employees regardless of where those employees are employed, or (2) has annual gross revenue over $2 million. "Effective date" is the effective date of this ordinance. "Employee" is defined as set forth in RCW 49.46.010. An employer bears the burden of proof that the individual is, as a matter of economic reality, in business for oneself rather than dependent upon the alleged employer. "Employer" is defined as set forth in RCW 49.46.010. "Employer classification" includes the determination of whether an employer is a covered employer and whether a covered employer is a large employer. "Franchise" means an agreement, express or implied, oral or written by which: 1. A person is granted the right to engage in the business of offering, selling, or distributing goods or services under a marketing plan prescribed or suggested in substantial part by the grantor or its affiliate; 2. The operation of the business is substantially associated with a trademark, service mark, trade. time, advertising, or other commercial symbol; designating, owned by, or licensed by the grantor or its affiliate; and 3. The person pays, agrees to pay, or is required to pay, directly or indirectly, a franchise fee. The term, "franchise fee" is meant to be construed broadly to include any instance in which the grantor or its affiliate derives income or profit from a person who enters into a franchise agreement with the grantor. "Hour worked within the City" is to be interpreted according to its ordinary meaning, including all hours worked within the geographic boundaries of the City, excluding time spent in the City solely for the purpose of traveling through the City from a point of origin outside the City to a destination outside the City, with no employment -related or commercial stops in the City except for refueling or the employee's personal meals or errands. "Large Employer" means all employers that employ more than 500 employees, regardless of where those employees are employed, and all franchisees associated with a franchisor or a network of franchises with franchisees that employ more than 500 employees in aggregate. "Other covered employer" means a covered employer that does not qualify as a large employer. "Service charge" is defined as set forth in RCW 49.46.160(2)(c). "Tips" means a verifiable sum to be presented by a customer as a gift or gratuity in recognition of some service performed for the customer by the employee receiving the tip. "Wage" is defined as set forth in RCW 49.46.010. Section 11. Other Legal Requirements. This ordinance shall not be construed to preempt, limit, or otherwise affect the applicability of any other law, regulation, requirement, policy, or standard that provides for greater wages or compensation; and nothing in this ordinance shall be interpreted or applied so as to create any power or duty in conflict with federal or state law. Section 12. Rulemaking. Within 180 days after the effective date, the City shall adopt rules and procedures to implement and ensure compliance with this chapter, which shall require employers to maintain adequate records and to annually certify compliance with this chapter. The City shall seek feedback from worker organizations and covered employers before finalizing the rules and procedures. Section 13. Constitutional Subject. For constitutional purposes, this measure's subject "concerns labor standards for certain employers." See File Foods, LLC v. City of SeaTac, 183 Wash. 2d 770, 783, 357 P.3d 1040, 1047 (2015) (upholding this statement of subject for an initiative that set a minimum wage and addressed employees' access to hours). Section 14. Codification. All sections of this ordinance except section 9 shall be codified in a new chapter of the Renton Municipal Code. Section 15. Election date. In the event that the election on this measure takes place later than November 7, 2023, the Finance Department must establish and publish the initial minimum wage within 30 days of the effective date. Section 16. Severability. The provisions of this ordinance are declared to be separate and severable. If any clause, sentence, paragraph, subdivision, section, subsection, or portion of this ordinance, or the application thereof to any employer, employee, or circumstance, is held to be invalid, it shall not affect the validity of the remainder of this ordinance, or the validity of its application to other persons or circumstances. Name Of Canvasser: Date Canvassed: Canvasser Email and Phone Number: Raising The Minimum Wage In Renton INITIATIVE PETITION FOR SUBMISSION TO THE RENTON CITY COUNCIL TO: The City Council of the City of Renton: ® GCC. 933-M We, the undersigned registered voters of the City of Renton, State of Washington, residing at the addresses set forth opposite our respective names, being equal to fifteen percent (15%) of the total number of names of persons listed as registered voters within the City on the day of the last preceding City general election, respectfully request that the following ordinance be enacted by the City Council or, if not so enacted, be submitted to a vote of the residents of the City. The title of the said ordinance is as follows: ORDINANCE CONCERNING LABOR STANDARDS FOR CERTAIN EMPLOYEES A full, true and correct copy of the ordinance is attached to this Petition. Each of us for himself or herself says: I have personally signed this petition; I am a registered voter of the City of Renton, State of Washington; and my residence is correctly stated. Signature Printed Name Street and Number City Phone Number Email Date S4ftA&'!/oft Printed Name 1234 Anywhere St. Renton 206-555-1234 maria@something.org 4/10/2023 1. Renton V 2. \' 7J�1 A &0 Renton l k2anw�l �r�U e-wt,,u . c 3. Renton D �a0 01l q L5�(�o415�I�`f e Gj l ja,/ . Cah Renton 4. i Renton ell2! h&J �Gt lsh�t�GiiCv �1t2i�k LOA wl5%� �l � ScRenton 6. 5�� q3 7 99i5 7 s. 9. Z5o -7 NC 5+- 1<36c( EQ.V 40 n InJo. 9605"�O_ y(J �f�I \r.l T1 )4M ` 0 r—J} I Se 4 )'_�-h Renton Renton Renton Renton J Z4 Warning Every person who signs this petition with any other than his or her true name, or who knowingly signs more than one of these petitions, or signs a petition seek- ing an election when he or she is not a legal voter, or signs a petition when he or she is otherwise not qualified to sign, or who makes herein any false statement, shall be guilty of a misdemeanor. AN ORDINANCE concerning labor standards for certain employees. Section 1. Findings. I. The people of the City of Renton hereby adopt this citizen initiative addressing labor standards for certain employees, for the purpose of ensuring that, to the extent reasonably practicable, people employed in Renton have good wages and access to sufficient hours of work. 2. The City of Renton is one of the largest job centers in Washington State, with thousands of shoppers and workers visiting daily to participate in the local economy. Renton is home to The Landing shopping center, the historic Downtown Urban Center, as well as retail and commercial office and warehouse districts around the Rainier/Grady Way Junction. The City is a net importer ofjobs, with nearly 60,000 employed workers. Renton has a wide array of both tong established and new and evolving business sectors. Retail businesses, restaurants and bars, auto sales, hospitality, healthcare, and office workers are well represented. 3. The statewide minimum wage is not sufficient to afford rising rents and costs of living in Renton. According to the National Low Income Housing Coalition's Out of Reach 2022 report, a worker making Washington's minimum wage would have to work 72 hours each week (up from 70 hours each week in 2021) to afford a modest one -bedroom rental home at Fair Market Rent. 4. When working families earn insufficient income due to low wages and involuntary under -employment, they struggle to pay for basic necessities like health cue, child care, and groceries, and they are more likely to be evicted and become homeless. 5. Nearby King County cities of SeaTac, Seattle, and Tukwila enacted higher minimum wages in 2013, 2014, and 2022 respectively, but until now Renton has not followed suit. 6. Children growing up in poverty experience insecurity with housing, nutrition, and health care while enduring other hardships that prevent their ability to learn in school. Full time working parents must be able to reasonably provide for their family to ensure access to the opportunities and promise of public education. Section 2. Intent. It is the intent of the people to establish fair labor standards and protect the rights of workers by: (1) ensuring that the vast majority of employees in the City of Renton receive a minimum wage comparable to employees in the nearby cities of Tukwila, SeaTac, and Seattle; (2) requiring covered employers to offer additional hours of work to qualified part-time employees before hiring new employees to fill those hours; and (3) adopting enforcement requirements. Section 3. Large Employers Shall Pay Minimum Wages Comparable to Those in Nearby Cities. L Effective July 1, 2024, every large employer shall pay to each employee an hourly wage of not less than the 2023 new minimum wage rate in the City of Tukwila, established by City of Tukwila Initiative Measure No. 1, approved by voters in November 2022, adjusted for 2024 by the annual rate of inflation. 2. On January 1, 2025, and on each January 1 thereafter, the hourly minimum wage shall increase by the annual rate of inflation to maintain employee purchasing power. 3. By December 31, 2023, and by October 15 of each year thereafter, the Finance Department shall establish and publish the applicable hourly minimum wage for the following year using the annual rate of inflation. 4. For purposes of this chapter, the annual rate of inflation means 100 percent of the annual average growth rate of the bi-monthly Seattle -Tacoma -Bellevue Area Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers, termed CPI-W, for the 12-month period ending in August, provided that the percentage increase shall not be less than zero. 5. An employer must pay to its employees: a. All tips and gratuities; and b. All service charges as defined under RCW 49.46.160 except those that, pursuant to RCW 49.46.160, are itemized as not being payable to the employee or employees servicing the customer. Tips and service charges paid to an employee are in addition to, and may not count towards, the employee's hourly minimum wage. Section 4. Other Covered Employers Shall Have a Multiyear Phase -In Period. Other covered employers shall phase in the new minimum wage, as follows: 1. Effective July 1, 2024, other covered employers shall pay employees not less than the hourly minimum wage established under Section 3 minus Two Dollars ($2) per hour. 2. Effective July 1, 2025, other covered employers shall pay employees not less than the hourly minimum wage established under Section 3 minus One Dollar ($1) per hour. 3. Effective July 1, 2026, and thereafter, all covered employers shall pay employees not less than the hourly minimum wage established under Section 3. Section 5. Coverage and Employer Classifications. 1. Covered employers must pay employees at least the minimum wage established by this chapter for each hour worked within the City. 2. Employer classification for the current calendar year will be calculated based upon the average number of employees during all weeks in the previous calendar year in which the employer had at least one employee. For employers that did not have any employees during the previous calendar year, classification will be based upon the average number of employees during the most recent three months of the current year. In this determination, all employees will be counted, regardless of their location, and including employees who worked in full-time employment, part-time employment, joint employment, temporary employment, or through the services of a temporary services or staffing agency or similar entity. 3. Employer classification for the current calendar year will be calculated based upon the gross revenue for the previous year. For employers that did not have gross revenue timing the previous calendar year, annual gross revenue will be calculated from the gross revenue during the most recent three months of the current year. 4. For the purposes of employer classification, separate entities will be considered a single employer if they form an integrated enterprise or they are underjoint control by one of those entities or a separate entity. The factors to consider in making this assessment include, but are not limited to: a. Degree of interrelation between the operations of multiple entities; b. Degree to which the entities share common management; C. Centralized control of labor relations; and d. Degree of common ownership or financial control over the entities. Section 6. Part -Time Employees Shall Have Fair Access to Additional Hours. 1. Before hiring additional employees or subcontractors, including hiring through the use of temporary services or staffing agencies, covered employers must offer additional hours of work to existing employees who, in the employer's good faith and reasonable judgment, have the skills and experience to perform the work, and shall use a reasonable, transparent, and nondiscriminatory process to distribute the hours of work among those existing employees. 2. This section shall not be construed to require any employer to offer an employee work hours if the employer would be required to compensate the employee at time -and -a -half or other premium rate under any law or collective bargaining agreement, nor to prohibit any employer from offering such work hours. Section 7. Retaliation Prohibited. 1. No employer or any other person shall interfere with, restrain, or deny the exercise of, or the attempt to exercise, any right protected under this chapter. 2. No employer or any other person shall take any adverse action against any person because the person has exercised in good faith the rights under this chapter. Such rights include but are not limited to the right to make inquiries about the rights protected under this chapter; the right to inform others about their rights under this chapter; the right to inform the person's employer, union, or similar organization, and/or the person's legal counsel or any other person about an alleged violation of this chapter; the right to bring a civil action for an alleged violation of this chapter; the right to testify in a proceeding under or related to this chapter; the right to refuse to participate in an activity that would result in a violation of city, state, or federal law; and the right to oppose any policy, practice, or act that is unlawful under this chapter. 3. For the purposes of this section, an adverse action means denying ajob or promotion, demoting, terminating, failing to rehire after a seasonal interruption of work, threatening, penalizing, retaliating, engaging in unfair immigration -related practices, filing a false report with a government agency, changing an employee's status to nonemployee, decreasing or declining to provide additional work hours when they otherwise would have been offered, scheduling an employee for hours outside of their availability, or otherwise discriminating against any person for any reason prohibited by this chapter. "Adverse action" for an employee may involve any aspect of employment, including pay, work hours, responsibilities, or other material change in the terms and conditions of employment. 4. No employer or any other person shall communicate to a person exercising rights protected under this chapter, directly or indirectly, the willingness to inform a government employee that the person is not lawfully in the United States, or to report, or to make an implied or express assertion of a willingness to report, suspected citizenship or immigration status of the person or a family member of the person to a federal, state, or local agency because the person has exercised a right under this chapter. 5. There shall be a rebuttable presumption of unlawful retaliation if an employer or any other person takes an adverse action against a person within 90 days of the person's exercise of any right protected in this chapter. However, in the case of seasonal work that ended before the close of the 90-day period, the presumption also applies if the employer fails to rehire a former employee at the next opportunity for work in the same position. The employer may rebut the presumption with clear and convincing evidence that the adverse action was taken for a permissible purpose. 6. Standard of Proof. Proof of retaliation under this chapter shall be sufficient upon a showing that an employer or any other person has taken an adverse action against a person and the person's exercise of rights protected in this chapter was a motivating factor in the adverse action, unless the employer can prove that the action would have been taken in the absence of such protected activity. 7. The protections afforded under this section shall apply to any person who mistakenly but in good faith alleges violations of this chapter. Section 8. Enforcement. 1. Any person or class of persons that suffers financial injury as a result of a violation of this chapter or is the subject of prohibited retaliation under this chapter, or any other individual or entity acting on their behalf, may bring a civil action in a court of competent jurisdiction against the employer or other person violating this chapter and, upon prevailing, shall be awarded reasonable attorney fees and costs and such legal or equitable relief as may be appropriate to remedy the violation including, without limitation, the payment of any unpaid wages plus interest due to the person and liquidated damages in an additional amount of up to twice the unpaid wages; compensatory damages; and a penalty payable to any aggrieved party of up to $5,000 if the aggrieved party was subject to prohibited retaliation. For the purposes of this section, an aggrieved party means an employee or other person who suffers tangible or intangible harm due to an employer or other person's violation of this chapter. Interest shall accrue from the date the unpaid wages were first due at the higher of twelve percent per arum or the maximum rate permitted under RCW 19.52.020. 2. For purposes of determining membership within a class of persons entitled to bring an action under this section, two or more employees are similarly situated if they: a, Are or were employed by the same employer or employers, whether concurrently or otherwise, at some point during the applicable statute of limitations period; b. Allege one or more violations that raise similar questions as to liability; and C. Seek similar forms of relief. d. Employees shall not be considered dissimilar solely because their claims seek damages that differ in amount, or their job titles or other means of classifying employees differ in ways that are unrelated to their claims. 3. Each covered employer shall retain records as required by RCW 49.46.070, as well as such information as the City may require to confirm compliance with this chapter. If an employer fails to retain such records, there shall be a presumption, rebuttable by clear and convincing evidence, that the employer violated this chapter for the periods and for each employee for whom records were not retained. 4. Employers shall permit authorized City representatives access to work sites and relevant records for the purpose of monitoring compliance with the chapter and investigating complaints of noncompliance, including production for inspection and copying of employment records. The City may designate representatives, including city contractors and representatives of unions or worker advocacy organizations, to access the worksite and relevant records. 5. Complaints that any provision of this chapter has been violated may also be presented to the City Attorney, who is hereby authorized to investigate and, if they deem appropriate, initiate legal or other action to remedy any violation of this chapter. 6. The City has the authority to issue administrative citations and to order injunctive relief including reinstatement, restitution, payment of back wages, or other forms of relief. 7. The City may, in the exercise of its authority and performance of its functions and services, agree by contract or otherwise to participate jointly or in cooperation with Washington State, King County, or any city, town, or other incorporated place, or subdivision thereof, or engage outside counsel, to enforce this chapter. 8. The remedies and penalties provided under this chapter are cumulative and are not intended to be exclusive of any other available remedies or penalties, including existing remedies for enforcement of Renton Municipal Code chapters. 9. The statute of limitations for any enforcement action shall be five (5) years. Section 9. A new section is added to Renton Municipal Code (RMC) Section 5-5-4 as follows: 1. The Finance Director may deny, suspend, or revoke any license under this chapter for violation of this ordinance. 2. The Finance Director must deny, suspend, or revoke any license under this chapter for repeated intentional violations of this ordinance. 3. Any action by the Finance Director under this section shall be subject to the procedures and requirements of RMC subsection 5-5-3.E, as well as other due process rights that a court may require. Section 10. Definitions. For the purposes of this chapter, the following terms shall have the following meanings: "City" means the City of Renton. "Covered employer" means an employer that either (1) employs at least 15 employees regardless of where those employees are employed, or (2) has =us] gross revenue over $2 million. "Effective date" is the effective date of this ordinance. "Employee" is defined as set forth in RCW 49.46.010. An employer bears the burden of proof that the individual is, as a matter of economic reality, in business for oneself rather than dependent upon the alleged employer. "Employer" is defined as set forth in RCW 49.46.010. "Employer classification" includes the determination of whether an employer is a covered employer and whether a covered employer is a large employer. "Franchise" means an agreement, express or implied, oral or written by which: 1. A person is granted the right to engage in the business of offering, selling, or distributing goods or services under a marketing plan prescribed or suggested in substantial part by the grantor or its affiliate; 2. The operation of the business is substantially associated with a trademark, service mark, trade time, advertising, or other commercial symbol; designating, owned by, or licensed by the grantor or its affiliate; and 3. The person pays, agrees to pay, or is required to pay, directly or indirectly, a franchise fee. The term, "franchise fee" is meant to be construed broadly to include any instance in which the grantor or its affiliate derives income or profit from a person who enters into a franchise agreement with the grantor. "Hour worked within the City" is to be interpreted according to its ordinary meaning, including all hours worked within the geographic boundaries of the City, excluding time spent in the City solely for the purpose of traveling through the City from a point of origin outside the City to a destination outside the City, with no employment -related or commercial stops in the City except for refueling or the employee's personal meals or errands. "Large Employer" means all employers that employ more than 500 employees, regardless of where those employees are employed, and all franchisees associated with a franchisor or a network of franchises with franchisees that employ more than 500 employees in aggregate. "Other covered employer" means a covered employer that does not qualify as a large employer. "Service charge" is defined as set forth in RCW 49.46.160(2)(c). "Tips" means a verifiable sum to be presented by a customer as a gift or gratuity in recognition of some service performed for the customer by the employee receiving the tip. "Wage" is defined as set forth in RCW 49.46.010. Section 11. Other Legal Requirements. This ordinance shall not be construed to preempt, limit, or otherwise affect the applicability of any other law, regulation, requirement, policy, or standard that provides for greater wages or compensation; and nothing in this ordinance shall be interpreted or applied so as to create any power or duty in conflict with federal or state law. Section 12. Rulemaking. Within 180 days after the effective date, the City shall adopt rules and procedures to implement and ensure compliance with this chapter, which shall require employers to maintain adequate records and to annually certify compliance with this chapter. The City shall seek feedback from worker organizations and covered employers before finalizing the rules and procedures. Section 13. Constitutional Subject. For constitutional purposes, this measure's subject "concerns labor standards for certain employers." See Filo Foods, LLC v. City of SeaTac, 183 Wash. 2d 770, 783, 357 P.3d 1040, 1047 (2015) (upholding this statement of subject for an initiative that set a minimum wage and addressed employees' access to hours). Section 14. Codification. All sections of this ordinance except section 9 shall be codified in a new chapter of the Renton Municipal Code. Section 15. Election date. In the event that the election on this measure takes place later than November 7, 2023, the Finance Department must establish and publish the initial minimum wage within 30 days of the effective date. Section 16. Severability. The provisions of this ordinance are declared to be separate and severable. If any clause, sentence, paragraph, subdivision, section, subsection, or portion of this ordinance, or the application thereof to any employer, employee, or circumstance, is held to be invalid, it shall not affect the validity of the remainder of this ordinance, or the validity of its application to other persons or circumstances. 410 Raising The Minimum Wage In Renton 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. s. 9.( 10. INITIATIVE PETITION FOR SUBMISSION TO THE RENTON CITY COUNCIL TO: The City Council of the City of Renton: ® 19cna: 933-M We, the undersigned registered voters of the City of Renton, State of Washington, residing at the addresses set forth opposite our respective names, being equal to fifteen percent (15%) of the total number of names of persons listed as registered voters within the City on the day of the last preceding City general election, respectfully request that the following ordinance be enacted by the City Council or, if not so enacted, be submitted to a vote of the residents of the City. The title of the said ordinance is as follows: ORDINANCE CONCERNING LABOR STANDARDS FOR CERTAIN EMPLOYEES A full, true and correct copy of the ordinance is attached to this Petition. Each of us for himself or herself says: I have personally signed this petition; I am a registered voter of the City of Renton, State of Washington; and my residence is correctly stated. reVIIIIII Printed Name Street and Numbe City IT` Phone Number Email Date 1 Sam* 1/orm Printed Name 1234 Anywhere St. Renton 206-555-12340 maria@something.org 4/10/2023 �\ \ C) _5 Renton\ �la� a r o Renton 44 ua MA Renton CA 0 Z ? l�rct �il �� I S ov�.5 �I S Renton Zk Z3 ilt �3 Y�l ti ww �\�l Renton 36( s �.. Vllcalf.� C&21 5 3- J'6L JoSnUa L. �m�dn a� WhI�UwY Ve S' Renton 714 ll�', jahc4a, lnj, 5eoma1j o(>ft J2,Za23 SIC �IG� y Renton �fJTlfl� C-�i��r2adL, H\� 1�4 �k o��t L\vQ--S Renton S�Z/Z3 1-40ANG + N Cin * ( � 'I L)� +Lv y-4 Ave S„ Renton S )2 / 2.3 Renton ;�Z/ 23 Warning Every person who signs this petition with any other than his or her true name, or who knowingly signs more than one of these petitions, or signs a petition seek- ing an election when he or she is not a legal voter, or signs a petition when he or she is otherwise not qualified to sign, or who makes herein any false statement, shall be guilty of a misdemeanor. AN ORDINANCE concerning labor standards for certain employees. Section 1. Findings. I. The people of the City of Renton hereby adopt this citizen initiative addressing labor standards for certain employees, for the purpose of ensuring that, to the extent reasonably practicable, people employed in Renton have good wages and access to sufficient hours of work. 2. The City of Renton is one of the largest job centers in Washington State, with thousands of shoppers and workers visiting daily to participate in the local economy. Renton is home to The Landing shopping center, the historic Downtown Urban Center, as well as retail and commercial office and warehouse districts around the Rainier/Grady Way Junction. The City is a net importer ofjobs, with nearly 60,000 employed workers. Renton has a wide array of both long established and new and evolving business sectors. Retail businesses, restaurants and bars, auto sales, hospitality, healthcare, and office workers are well represented. 3. The statewide minimum wage is not sufficient to afford rising rents and costs of living in Renton. According to the National Low Income Housing Coalition's Out of Reach 2022 report, a worker making Washington's minimum wage would have to work 72 hours each week (up from 70 hours each week in 2021) to afford a modest one -bedroom rental home at Fair Market Rent. 4. When working families earn insufficient income due to low wages and involuntary under -employment, they struggle to pay for basic necessities like health care, child care, and groceries, and they we more likely to be evicted and become homeless. 5. Nearby King County cities of SeaTac, Seattle, and Tukwila enacted higher minimum wages in 2013, 2014, and 2022 respectively, but until now Renton has not followed suit. 6. Children growing up in poverty experience insecurity with housing, nutrition, and health care while enduring other hardships that prevent their ability to learn in school. Full time working parents must be able to reasonably provide for their family to ensure access to the opportunities and promise of public education. Section 2. Intent. It is the intent of the people to establish fair labor standards and protect the rights of workers by: (1) ensuring that the vast majority of employees in the City of Renton receive a minimum wage comparable to employees in the nearby cities of Tukwila, SeaTac, and Seattle; (2) requiring covered employers to offer additional hours of work to qualified part-time employees before hiring new employees to fill those hours; and (3) adopting enforcement requirements. Section 3. Large Employers Shall Pay Minimum Wages Comparable to Those in Nearby Cities. 1. Effective July 1, 2024, every large employer shall pay to each employee an hourly wage of not less than the 2023 new minimum wage rate in the City of Tukwila, established by City of Tukwila Initiative Measure No. 1, approved by voters in November 2022, adjusted for 2024 by the annual rate of inflation. 2. On January 1, 2025, and on each January 1 thereafter, the hourly minimum wage shall increase by the annual rate of inflation to maintain employee purchasing power. 3. By December 31, 2023, and by October 15 of each year thereafter, the Finance Department shall establish and publish the applicable hourly minimum wage for the following year using the annual rate of inflation. 4. For purposes of this chapter, the annual rate of inflation means 100 percent of the annual average growth rate of the bi-monthly Seattle -Tacoma -Bellevue Area Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers, termed CPI-W, for the 12-month period ending in August, provided that the percentage increase shall not be less than zero. 5. An employer must pay to its employees: a. All tips and gratuities; and b. All service charges as defined under RCW 49.46.160 except those that, pursuant to RCW 49.46.160, are itemized as not being payable to the employee or employees servicing the customer. Tips and service charges paid to an employee are in addition to, and may not count towards, the employee's hourly minimum wage. Section 4. Other Covered Employers Shall Have a Multiyear Phase -In Period. Other covered employers shall phase in the new minimum wage, as follows: 1. Effective July 1, 2024, other covered employers shall pay employees not less than the hourly minimum wage established under Section 3 minus Two Dollars ($2) per hour. 2. Effective July 1, 2025, other covered employers shall pay employees not less than the hourly minimum wage established under Section 3 minus One Dollar ($1) per hour. 3. Effective July 1, 2026, and thereafter, all covered employers shall pay employees not less than the hourly minimum wage established under Section 3. Section S. Coverage and Employer Classifications. 1. Covered employers must pay employees at least the minimum wage established by this chapter for each hour worked within the City. 2. Employer classification for the current calendar year will be calculated based upon the average number of employees during all weeks in the previous calendar year in which the employer had at least one employee. For employers that did not have any employees during the. previous calendar year, classification will be based upon the average number of employees during the most recent three months of the current year. In this determination, all employees will be counted, regardless of their location, and including employees who worked in full-time employment, part-time employment, joint employment, temporary employment, or through the services of a temporary services or staffing agency or similar entity. 3. Employer classification for the current calendar year will be calculated based upon the gross revenue for the previous year. For employers that did not have gross revenue during the previous calendar year, annual gross revenue will be calculated from the gross revenue during the most recent three months of the current year. 4. For the purposes of employer classification, separate entities will be considered a single employer if they form an integrated enterprise or they are under joint control by one of those entities or a separate entity. The factors to consider in making this assessment include, but are not limited to: a. Degree of interrelation between the operations of multiple entities; b. Degree to which the entities share common management; c. Centralized control of labor relations; and d. Degree of common ownership or financial control over the entities. Section 6. Part -Time Employees Shall Have Fair Access to Additional Hours. 1. Before hiring additional employees or subcontractors, including hiring through the use of temporary services or staffing agencies, covered employers must offer additional hours of work to existing employees who, in the employer's good faith and reasonable judgment, have the skills and experience to perform the work, and shall use a reasonable, transparent, and nondiscriminatory process to distribute the hours of work among those existing employees. 2. This section shall not be construed to require any employer to offer an employee work hours if the employer would be required to compensate the employee at time -and -a -half or other premium rate under any law or collective bargaining agreement, nor to prohibit any employer from offering such work hours. Section 7. Retaliation Prohibited. 1. No employer or any other person shall interfere with, restrain, or deny the exercise of, or the attempt to exercise, any right protected under this chapter, 2. No employer or any other person shall take any adverse action against any person because the person has exercised in good faith the rights under this chapter. Such rights include but are not limited to the right to make inquiries about the rights protected under this chapter; the right to inform others about their rights under this chapter; the right to inform the person's employer, union, or similar organization, and/or the person's legal counsel or any other person about an alleged violation of this chapter; the right to bring a civil action for an alleged violation of this chapter; the right to testify in a proceeding under or related to this chapter; the right to refuse to participate in an activity that would result in a violation of city, state, or federal law; and the right to oppose any policy, practice, or act that is unlawful under this chapter. 3. For the purposes of this section, an adverse action means denying a job or promotion, demoting, terminating, failing to rehire after a seasonal interruption of work, threatening, penalizing, retaliating, engaging in unfair immigration -related practices, filing a false report with a government agency, changing an employee's status to nonemployee, decreasing or declining to provide additional work hours when they otherwise would have been offered, scheduling an employee for hours outside of their availability, or otherwise discriminating against any person for any reason prohibited by this chapter. "Adverse action" for an employee may involve any aspect of employment, including pay, work hours, responsibilities, or other material change in the terms and conditions of employment. 4. No employer or any other person shall communicate to a person exercising rights protected under this chapter, directly or indirectly, the willingness to inform a government employee that the person is not lawfully in the United States, or to report, or to make an implied or express assertion of a willingness to report, suspected citizenship or immigration status of the person or a family member of the person to a federal, state, or local agency because the person has exercised a right under this chapter. 5. There shall be a rebuttable presumption of unlawful retaliation if an employer or any other person takes an adverse action against a person within 90 days of the person's exercise of any right protected in this chapter. However, in the case of seasonal work that ended before the close of the 90-day period, the presumption also applies if the employer fails to rehire a former employee at the next opportunity for work in the same position. The employer may rebut the presumption with clear and convincing evidence that the adverse action was taken for a permissible purpose. 6. Standard of Proof. Proof of retaliation under this chapter shall be sufficient upon a showing that an employer or any other person has taken an adverse action against a person and the person's exercise of rights protected in this chapter was a motivating factor in the adverse action, unless the employer can prove that the action would have been taken in the absence of such protected activity. 7. The protections afforded under this section shall apply to any person who mistakenly but in good faith alleges violations of this chapter. Section 8. Enforcement. 1. Any person or class of persons that suffers financial injury as a result of a violation of this chapter or is the subject of prohibited retaliation under this chapter, or any other individual or entity acting on their behalf, may bring a civil action in a court of competent jurisdiction against the employer or other person violating this chapter and, upon prevailing, shall be awarded reasonable attorney fees and costs and such legal or equitable relief as may be appropriate to remedy the violation including, without limitation, the payment of any unpaid wages plus interest due to the person and liquidated damages in an additional amount of up to twice the unpaid wages; compensatory damages; and a penalty payable to any aggrieved party of up to $5,000 if the aggrieved party was subject to prohibited retaliation. For the purposes of this section, an aggrieved party means an employee or other person who suffers tangible or intangible harm due to an employer or other person's violation of this chapter. Interest shall accrue from the date the unpaid wages were first due at the higher of twelve percent per annum or the maximum rate permitted under RCW 19.52.020. 2. For purposes of determining membership within a class of persons entitled to bring an action under this section, two or more employees are similarly situated if they: a. Are or were employed by the same employer or employers, whether concurrently or otherwise, at some point during the applicable statute of limitations period; b. Allege one or more violations that raise similar questions as to liability; and C. Seek similar forms of relief d. Employees shall not be considered dissimilar solely because their claims seek damages that differ in amount, or theirjob titles or other means of classifying employees differ in ways that are unrelated to their claims. 3. Each covered employer shall retain records as required by RCW 49.46.070, as well as such information as the City may require to confirm compliance with this chapter. If an employer fails to retain such records, there shall be a presumption, rebuttable by clew and convincing evidence, that the employer violated this chapter for the periods and for each employee for whom records were not retained. 4. Employers shall permit authorized City representatives access to work sites and relevant records for the purpose of monitoring compliance with the chapter and investigating complaints of noncompliance, including production for inspection and copying of employment records. The City may designate representatives, including city contractors and representatives of unions or worker advocacy organizations, to access the worksite and relevant records. 5. Complaints that any provision of this chapter has been violated may also be presented to the City Attorney, who is hereby authorized to investigate and, if they deem appropriate, initiate legal or other action to remedy any violation of this chapter. 6. The City has the authority to issue administrative citations and to order injunctive relief including reinstatement, restitution, payment of back wages, or other forms of relief. 7. The City may, in the exercise of its authority and performance of its functions and services, agree by contract or otherwise to participate jointly or in cooperation with Washington State, King County, or any city, town, or other incorporated place, or subdivision thereof, or engage outside counsel, to enforce this chapter. 8. The remedies and penalties provided under this chapter are cumulative and are not intended to be exclusive of any other available remedies or penalties, including existing remedies for enforcement of Renton Municipal Code chapters. 9. The statute of limitations for any enforcement action shall be five (5) years. Section 9. A new section is added to Renton Municipal Code (RMC) Section 5-5-4 as follows: 1. The Finance Director may deny, suspend, or revoke any license under this chapter for violation of this ordinance. 2. The Finance Director must deny, suspend, or revoke any license under this chapter for repeated intentional violations of this ordinance. 3. Any action by the Finance Director under this section shall be subject to the procedures and requirements of RMC subsection 5-5-3.E, as well as other due process rights that a court may require. Section 10. Definitions. For the purposes of this chapter, the following terms shall have the following meanings: "City" means the City of Renton. "Covered employer" means an employer that either (1) employs at least 15 employees regardless of where those employees are employed, or (2) has annual gross revenue over $2 million. "Effective date" is the effective date of this ordinance. "Employee" is defined as set forth in RCW 49.46.010. An employer bears the burden of proof that the individual is, as a matter of economic reality, in business for oneself rather than dependent upon the alleged employer. "Employer" is defined as set forth in RCW 49.46.010. "Employer classification" includes the determination of whether an employer is a covered employer and whether a covered employer is a large employer. "Franchise" means an agreement, express or implied, oral or written by which: 1. A person is granted the right to engage in the business of offering, selling, or distributing goods or services under a marketing plan prescribed or suggested in substantial part by the grantor or its affiliate; 2. The operation of the business is substantially associated with a trademark, service mark, trade time, advertising, or other commercial symbol; designating, owned by, or licensed by the grantor or its affiliate; and 3. The person pays, agrees to pay, or is required to pay, directly or indirectly, a franchise fee. The term, "franchise fee" is meant to be construed broadly to include any instance in which the grantor or its affiliate derives income or profit from a person who enters into a franchise agreement with the grantor. "Hour worked within the City" is to be interpreted according to its ordinary meaning, including all hours worked within the geographic boundaries of the City, excluding time spent in the City solely for the purpose of traveling through the City from a point of origin outside the City to a destination outside the City, with no employment -related or commercial stops in the City except for refueling or the employee's personal meals or errands. "Large Employer" means all employers that employ more than 500 employees, regardless of where those employees are employed, and all franchisees associated with a franchisor or a network of franchises with franchisees that employ more than 500 employees in aggregate. "Other covered employer" means a covered employer that does not qualify as a large employer. "Service charge" is defined as set forth in RCW 49.46.160(2)(c). "Tips" means a verifiable sum to be presented by a customer as a gift or gratuity in recognition of some service performed for the customer by the employee receiving the tip. "Wage" is defined as set forth in RCW 49.46.010. Section 11. Other Legal Requirements. This ordinance shall not be construed to preempt, limit, or otherwise affect the applicability of any other law, regulation, requirement, policy, or standard that provides for greater wages or compensation; and nothing in this ordinance shall be interpreted or applied so as to create any power or duty in conflict with federal or state law. Section 12. Rulemaking. Within 180 days after the effective date, the City shall adopt rules and procedures to implement and ensure compliance with this chapter, which shall require employers to maintain adequate records and to annually certify compliance with this chapter. The City shall seek feedback from worker organizations and covered employers before finalizing the rules and procedures. Section 13. Constitutional Subject. For constitutional purposes, this measure's subject "concerns labor standards for certain employers." See Filo Foods, LLC v. City of SeaTac, 183 Wash. 2d 770, 783, 357 P.3d 1040, 1047 (2015) (upholding this statement of subject for an initiative that set a minimum wage and addressed employees' access to hours). Section 14. Codification. All sections of this ordinance except section 9 shall be codified in a new chapter of the Renton Municipal Code. Section 15. Election date. In the event that the election on this measure takes place later than November 7, 2023, the Finance Department must establish and publish the'initial minimum wage within 30 days of the effective date. Section 16. Severability. The provisions of this ordinance are declared to be separate and severable. If any clause, sentence, paragraph, subdivision, section, subsection, or portion of this ordinance, or the application thereof to any employer, employee, or circumstance, is held to be invalid, it shall not affect the validity of the remainder of this ordinance, or the validity of its application to other persons or circumstances. Raising The Minimum Wage In Renton INITIATIVE PETITION FOR SUBMISSION TO THE RENTON CITY COUNCIL TO: The City Council of the City of Renton: We, the undersigned registered voters of the City of Renton, State of Washington, residing at the addresses set forth opposite our respective names, being equal to fifteen percent (15%) of the total number of names of persons listed as registered voters within the City on the day of the last preceding City general election, respectfully request that the following ordinance be enacted by the City Council or, if not so enacted, be submitted to a vote of the residents of the City. The title of the said ordinance is as follows: ORDINANCE CONCERNING LABOR STANDARDS FOR CERTAIN EMPLOYEES A full, true and correct copy of the ordinance is attached to this Petition. Each of us for himself or herself says: I have personally signed this petition; I am a registered voter of the City of Renton, State of Washington; and my residence is correctly stated. Printed Name Printed Name Street and Number 1234 Anywhere St. City Phone Number Renton 206-555-1234 Renton ,�eh & U ur 50'0 Monroe, AJ6 �e 4q2_ Renton AN ,iA V\IY�� W WM`'V-e- NLP, iyVenton 13 c �%/q lo'Ga vkn CO )�rjWr% Nallim I so 63Renton . D�nton Email maria@something.org 5DD hnovIOe-aUeNE a1 Renton -7(R �UD �vnap I -f � �) Renton Renton b So �-` �� C �VG 'T-90 Renton r / CT Date 4/10/2023 5-2)-z.a 5-21-2�23 CS'ZI Z3 s/�1fz� � brows cgcj / z3 Warning Every person who signs this petition with any other than his or her true name, or who knowingly signs more than one of these petitions, or signs a petition seek- ing an election when he or she is not a legal voter, or signs a petition when he or she is otherwise not qualified to sign, or who makes herein any false statement, shall be guilty of a misdemeanor. AN ORDINANCE concerning labor standards for certain employees. Section 1. Findings. 1. The people of the City of Renton hereby adopt this citizen initiative addressing labor standards for certain employees, for the purpose of ensuring that, to the extent reasonably practicable, people employed in Renton have good wages and access to sufficient hours of work. 2. The City of Renton is one of the largest job centers in Washington State, with thousands of shoppers and workers visiting daily to participate in the local economy. Renton is home to The Landing shopping center, the historic Downtown Urban Center, as well as retail and commercial office and warehouse districts around the Rainier/Grady Way Junction. The City is a net importer ofjobs, with nearly 60,000 employed workers. Renton has a wide may of both long established and new and evolving business sectors. Retail businesses, restaurants and bars, auto sales, hospitality, healthcare, and office workers are well represented. 3. The statewide minimum wage is not sufficient to afford rising rents and costs of living in Renton. According to the National Low Income Housing Coalition's Out of Reach 2022 report, a worker making Washington's minimum wage would have to work 72 hours each week (up from 70 hours each week in 2021) to afford a modest one -bedroom rental home at Fair Market Rent. 4. When working families earn insufficient income due to low wages and involuntary under -employment, they struggle to pay for basic necessities like health care, child care, and groceries, and they are more likely to be evicted and become homeless. 5. Nearby King County cities of SeaTac, Seattle, and Tukwila enacted higher minimum wages in 2013, 2014, and 2022 respectively, but until now Renton has not followed suit. 6. Children growing up in poverty experience insecurity with housing, nutrition, and health cue while enduring other hardships that prevent their ability to learn in school. Full time working parents must be able to reasonably provide for their family to ensure access to the opportunities and promise of public education. Section 2. Intent. It is the intent of the people to establish fair labor standards and protect the rights of workers by: (1) ensuring that the vast majority of employees in the City of Renton receive a minimum wage comparable to employees in the nearby cities of Tukwila, SeaTac, and Seattle; (2) requiring covered employers to offer additional hours of work to qualified part-time employees before hiring new employees to fill those hours; and (3) adopting enforcement requirements. Section 3. Large Employers Shall Pay Minimum Wages Comparable to Those in Nearby Cities. 1. Effective July 1, 2024, every large employer shall pay to each employee an hourly wage of not less than the 2023 new minimum wage rate in the City of Tukwila, established by City of Tukwila Initiative Measure No. 1, approved by voters in November 2022, adjusted for 2024 by the annual rate of inflation, 2. On January 1, 2025, and on each January 1 thereafter, the hourly minimum wage shall increase by the annual rate of inflation to maintain employee purchasing power. 3. By December 31, 2023, and by October 15 of each year thereafter, the Finance Department shall establish and publish the applicable hourly minimum wage for the following year using the annual rate of inflation. 4. For purposes of this chapter, the annual rate of inflation means 100 percent of the annual average growth rate of the bi-monthly Seattle -Tacoma -Bellevue Area Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers, termed CPI-W, for the 12-month period ending in August, provided that the percentage increase shall not be less than zero. 5. An employer must pay to its employees: a. All tips and gratuities; and b. All service charges as defined under RCW 49.46.160 except those that, pursuant to RCW 49.46.160, are itemized as not being payable to the employee or employees servicing the customer. Tips and service charges paid to an employee are in addition to, and may not count towards, the employee's hourly minimum wage. Section 4. Other Covered Employers Shall Have a Multiyear Phase -In Period. Other covered employers shall phase in the new minimum wage, as follows: 1. Effective July 1, 2024, other covered employers shall pay employees not less than the hourly minimum wage established under Section 3 minus Two Dollars ($2) per hour. 2. Effective July 1, 2025, other covered employers shall pay employees not less than the hourly minimum wage established under Section 3 minus One Dollar ($1) per hour. 3. Effective July 1, 2026, and thereafter, all covered employers shall pay employees not less than the hourly minimum wage established under Section 3. Section 5. Coverage and Employer Classifications. 1. Covered employers must pay employees at least the minimum wage established by this chapter for each hour worked within the City. 2. Employer classification for the current calendar year will be calculated based upon the average number of employees during all weeks in the previous calendar year in which the employer had at least one employee. For employers that did not have any employees during the previous calendar year, classification will be based upon the average number of employees during the most recent three months of the current year. In this determination, all employees will be counted, regardless of their location, and including employees who worked in full-time employment, part-time employment, joint employment, temporary employment, or through the services of a temporary services or staffing agency or similar entity. 3. Employer classification for the current calendar year will be calculated based upon the gross revenue for the previous year. For employers that did not have gross revenue during the previous calendar year, annual gross revenue will be calculated from the gross revenue during the most recent three months of the current year. 4. For the purposes of employer classification, separate entities will be considered a single employer if they form an integrated enterprise or they are underjoint control by one of those entities or a separate entity. The factors to consider in making this assessment include, but are not limited to: a. Degree of interrelation between the operations of multiple entities; b. Degree to which the entities share common management; C. Centralized control of labor relations; and d. Degree of common ownership or financial control over the entities. Section 6. Part -Time Employees Shall Have Fair Access to Additional Hours. 1. Before hiring additional employees or subcontractors, including hiring through the use of temporary services or staffing agencies, covered employers must offer additional hours of work to existing employees who, in the employer's good faith and reasonable judgment, have the skills and experience to perform the work, and shall use a reasonable, transparent, and nondiscriminatory process to distribute the hours of work among those existing employees. 2. This section shall not be construed to require any employer to offer an employee work hours if the employer would be required to compensate the employee at time -and -a -half or other premium rate under any law or collective bargaining agreement, nor to prohibit any employer from offering such work hours. Section 7. Retaliation Prohibited. 1. No employer or any other person shall interfere with, restrain, or deny the exercise of, or the attempt to exercise, any right protected under this chapter. 2. No employer or any other person shall take any adverse action against any person because the person has exercised in good faith the rights under this chapter. Such rights include but are not limited to the right to make inquiries about the rights protected under this chapter; the right to inform others about their rights under this chapter; the right to inform the person's employer, union, or similar organization, and/or the person's legal counsel or any other person about an alleged violation of this chapter; the right to bring a civil action for an alleged violation of this chapter; the right to testify in a proceeding under or related to this chapter; the right to refuse to participate in an activity that would result in a violation of city, state, or federal law; and the right to oppose any policy, practice, or act that is unlawful under this chapter. 3. For the purposes of this section, an adverse action means denying ajob or promotion, demoting, terminating, failing to rehire after a seasonal interruption of work, threatening, penalizing, retaliating, engaging in unfair immigration -related practices, filing a false report with a government agency, changing an employee's status to nonemployee, decreasing or declining to provide additional work hours when they otherwise would have been offered, scheduling an employee for hours outside of their availability, or otherwise discriminating against any person for any reason prohibited by this chapter. "Adverse action" for an employee may involve any aspect of employment, including pay, work hours, responsibilities, or other material change in the terns and conditions of employment. 4. No employer or any other person shall communicate to a person exercising rights protected under this chapter, directly or indirectly, the willingness to inform a government employee that the person is not lawfully in the United States, or to report, or to make an implied or express assertion of a willingness to report, suspected citizenship or immigration status of the person or a family member of the person to a federal, state, or local agency because the person has exercised a right under this chapter. 5. There shall be a rebuttable presumption of unlawful retaliation if an employer or any other person takes an adverse action against a person within 90 days of the person's exercise of any right protected in this chapter. However, in the case of seasonal work that ended before the close of the 90-day period, the presumption also applies if the employer fails to rehire a former employee at the next opportunity for work in the same position. The employer may rebut the presumption with clear and convincing evidence that the adverse action was taken for a permissible purpose. 6. Standard of Proof. Proof of retaliation under this chapter shall be sufficient upon a showing that an employer or any other person has taken an adverse action against a person and the person's exercise of rights protected in this chapter was a motivating factor in the adverse action, unless the employer can prove that the action would have been taken in the absence of such protected activity. 7. The protections afforded under this section shall apply to any person who mistakenly but in good faith alleges violations of this chapter. Section 8. Enforcement. 1. Any person or class of persons that suffers financial injury as a result of a violation of this chapter or is the subject of prohibited retaliation under this chapter, or any other individual or entity acting on their behalf, may bring a civil action in a court of competent jurisdiction against the employer or other person violating this chapter and, upon prevailing, shall be awarded reasonable attorney fees and costs and such legal or equitable relief as may be appropriate to remedy the violation including, without limitation, the payment of any unpaid wages plus interest due to the person and liquidated damages in an additional amount of up to twice the unpaid wages; compensatory damages; and a penalty payable to any aggrieved party of up to $5,000 if the aggrieved party was subject to prohibited retaliation. For the purposes of this section, an aggrieved party means an employee or other person who suffers tangible or intangible harp due to an employer or other person's violation of this chapter. Interest shall accrue from the date the unpaid wages were first due at the higher of twelve percent per annum or the maximum rate permitted under RCW 19.52.020. 2. For purposes of determining membership within a class of persons entitled to bring an action under this section, two or more employees are similarly situated if they: a. Are or were employed by the same employer or employers, whether concurrently or otherwise, at some point during the applicable statute of limitations period; b. Allege one or more violations that raise similar questions as to liability; and C. Seek similar forms of relief. d. Employees shall not be considered dissimilar solely because their claims seek damages that differ in amount, or their job titles or other means of classifying employees differ in ways that are unrelated to their claims. 3. Each covered employer shall retain records as required by RCW 49.46.070, as well as such information as the City may require to confirm compliance with this chapter. If an employer fails to retain such records, there shall be a presumption, rebuttable by clear and convincing evidence, that the employer violated this chapter for the periods and for each employee for whom records were not retained. 4. Employers shall permit authorized City representatives access to work sites and relevant records for the purpose of monitoring compliance with the chapter and investigating complaints of noncompliance, including production for inspection and copying of employment records. The City may designate representatives, including city contractors and representatives of unions or worker advocacy organizations, to access the worksite and relevant records. 5. Complaints that any provision of this chapter has been violated may also be presented to the City Attorney, who is hereby authorized to investigate and, if they deem appropriate, initiate legal or other action to remedy any violation of this chapter. 6. The City has the authority to issue administrative citations and to order injunctive relief including reinstatement, restitution, payment of back wages, or other forms of relief. 7. The City may, in the exercise of its authority and performance of its functions and services, agree by contract or otherwise to participate jointly or in cooperation with Washington State, King County, or any city, town, or other incorporated place, or subdivision thereof, or engage outside counsel, to enforce this chapter. 8. The remedies and penalties provided under this chapter are cumulative and are not intended to be exclusive of any other available remedies or penalties, including existing remedies for enforcement of Renton Municipal Code chapters. 9. The statute of limitations for any enforcement action shall be five (5) years. Section 9. A new section is added to Renton Municipal Code (RMC) Section 5-5-4 as follows: 1. The Finance Director may deny, suspend, or revoke any license under this chapter for violation of this ordinance. 2. The Finance Director must deny, suspend, or revoke any license under this chapter for repeated intentional violations of this ordinance. 3. Any action by the Finance Director under this section shall be subject to the procedures and requirements of RMC subsection 5-5-3.E, as well as other due process rights that a court may require. Section 10. Definitions. For the purposes of this chapter, the following terms shall have the following meanings: "City" means the City of Renton. "Covered employer" means an employer that either (1) employs at least 15 employees regardless of where those employees are employed, or (2) has annual gross revenue over $2 million. "Effective date" is the effective date of this ordinance. "Employee" is defined as set forth in RCW 49.46.010. An employer bears the burden of proof that the individual is, as a matter of economic reality, in business for oneself rather than dependent upon the alleged employer. "Employer" is defined as set forth in RCW 49.46.010. "Employer classification" includes the determination of whether an employer is a covered employer and whether a covered employer is a large employer. "Franchise" means an agreement, express or implied, oral or written by which: 1. A person is granted the right to engage in the business of offering, selling, or distributing goods or services under a marketing plan prescribed or suggested in substantial part by the grantor or its affiliate; 2. The operation of the business is substantially associated with a trademark, service mark, trade name, advertising, or other commercial symbol; designating, owned by, or licensed by the grantor or its affiliate; and 3. The person pays, agrees to pay, or is required to pay, directly or indirectly, a franchise fee. The term, "franchise fee" is meant to be construed broadly to include any instance in which the grantor or its affiliate derives income or profit from a person who enters into a franchise agreement with the grantor. "Hour worked within the City" is to be interpreted according to its ordinary meaning, including all hours worked within the geographic boundaries of the City, excluding time spent in the City solely for the purpose of traveling through the City from a point of origin outside the City to a destination outside the City, with no employment -related or commercial stops in the City except for refueling or the employee's personal meals or errands. "Large Employer" means all employers that employ more than 500 employees, regardless of where those employees are employed, and all franchisees associated with a franchisor or a network of franchises with franchisees that employ more than 500 employees in aggregate. "Other covered employer" means a covered employer that does not qualify as a large employer. "Service charge" is defined as set forth in RCW 49.46.160(2)(c). "Tips" means a verifiable sum to be presented by a customer as a gift or gratuity in recognition of some service performed for the customer by the employee receiving the tip. "Wage" is defined as set forth in RCW 49.46.010. Section 11. Other Legal Requirements. This ordinance shall not be construed to preempt, limit, or otherwise affect the applicability of any other law, regulation, requirement, policy, or standard that provides for greater wages or compensation; and nothing in this ordinance shall be interpreted or applied so as to create any power or duty in conflict with federal or state law. Section 12. Rulemaking. Within 180 days after the effective date, the City shall adopt rules and procedures to implement and ensure compliance with this chapter, which shall require employers to maintain adequate records and to annually certify compliance with this chapter. The City shall seek feedback from worker organizations and covered employers before finalizing the rules and procedures. Section 13. Constitutional Subject. For constitutional purposes, this measure's subject "concerns labor standards for certain employers." See File Foods, LLC v. City of SeaTac, 183 Wash. 2d 770, 783, 357 P.3d 1040, 1047 (2015) (upholding this statement of subject for an initiative that set a minimum wage and addressed employees' access to hours). Section 14. Codification. All sections of this ordinance except section 9 shall be codified in a new chapter of the Renton Municipal Code. Section 15. Election date. In the event that the election on this measure takes place later than November 7, 2023, the Finance Department must establish and publish the initial minimum wage within 30 days of the effective date. Section 16. Severability. The provisions of this ordinance are declared to be separate and severable. If any clause, sentence, paragraph, subdivision, section, subsection, or portion of this ordinance, or the application thereof to any employer, employee, or circumstance, is held to be invalid, it shall not affect the validity of the remainder of this ordinance, or the validity of its application to other persons or circumstances. Name Of Canvasser: Date Canvassed: Canvasser Email and Phone Number: 1.` 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 40 Raising The Minimum Wage In Renton INITIATIVE PETITION FOR SUBMISSION TO THE RENTON CITY COUNCIL TO: The City Council of the City of Renton: We, the undersigned registered voters of the City of Renton, State of Washington, residing at the addresses set forth opposite our respective names, being equal to fifteen percent (15%) of the total number of names of persons listed as registered voters within the City on the day of the last preceding City general election, respectfully request that the following ordinance be enacted by the City Council or, if not so enacted, be submitted to a vote of the residents of the City. The title of the said ordinance is as follows: ORDINANCE CONCERNING LABOR STANDARDS FOR CERTAIN EMPLOYEES A full, true and correct copy of the ordinance is attached to this Petition. Each of us for himself or herself says: I have personally signed this petition; I am a registered voter of the City of Renton, State of Washington; and my residence is correctly stated. Signature Printed Name Street and Number City Phone Number Email Date s %a4 Printed Name 1234 Anywhere St. Renton 206-555-1234 maria@something.org 4/10/2023 L"�Z Renton Z�Co) 5�>\ q32 ✓utr �a2 eve s� �z /1 /oli lIG�1 l7 � �I11 NE -t-31Z Renton /U�` 40AZZ� 71'�va l,rgA'1 t!�v3 Renton 3Z`15 C j.,L4�ia/rSl JjGI �422 Kehroe A, Nt= -p--SaZ Renton Z-Z tag _ 4/vL3 m kj" N\ ) M. Renton r�� l � `(a,4c , Renton L—CA-( o 1 L, Popee, ql 33 Ne g7 f � Ar7.217, Renton -I �- 1 (l � 900 `'( j(, c6r SAN /z 3 sslzy/z7 Renton MfSSIPOinr i10 LOOA G�� 1 .y TkK d.��� d 10� �l l �l� / �u r` ) i Renton D11.0 �� iv 5 l Z—} Renton Warning Every person who signs this petition with any other than his or her true name, or who knowingly signs more than one of these petitions, or signs a petition seek- ing an election when he or she is not a legal voter, or signs a petition when he or she is otherwise not qualified to sign, or who makes herein any false statement, shall be guilty of a misdemeanor. AN ORDINANCE concerning labor standards for certain employees. Section 1. Findings. 1. The people of the City of Renton hereby adopt this citizen initiative addressing labor standards for certain employees, for the purpose of ensuring that, to the extent reasonably practicable, people employed in Renton have good wages and access to sufficient hours of work. 2. The City of Renton is one of the largestjob centers in Washington State, with thousands of shoppers and workers visiting daily to participate in the local economy. Renton is home to The Landing shopping center, the historic Downtown Urban Center, as well as retail and commercial office and warehouse districts around the Rainier/Grady Way Junction. The City is a net importer ofjobs, with nearly 60,000 employed workers. Renton has a wide array of both long established and new and evolving business sectors. Retail businesses, restaurants and bars, auto sales, hospitality, healthcare, and office workers are well represented. 3. The statewide minimum wage is not sufficient to afford rising rents and costs of living in Renton. According to the National Low Income Housing Coalition's Out of Reach 2022 report, a worker making Washington's minimum wage would have to work 72 hours each week (up from 70 hours each week in 2021) to afford a modest one -bedroom rental home at Fair Market Rent. 4. When working families earn insufficient income due to low wages and involuntary under -employment, they struggle to pay for basic necessities like health care, child care, and groceries, and they are more likely to be evicted and become homeless. 5. Nearby King County cities of SeaTac, Seattle, and Tukwila enacted higher minimum wages in 2013, 2014, and 2022 respectively, but until now Renton has not followed suit. 6. Children growing up in poverty experience insecurity with housing, nutrition, and health care while enduring other hardships that prevent their ability to learn in school. Full time working parents must be able to reasonably provide for their family to ensure access to the opportunities and promise of public education. Section 2. Intent. It is the intent of the people to establish fair labor standards and protect the rights of workers by: (1) ensuring that the vast majority of employees in the City of Renton receive a minimum wage comparable to employees in the nearby cities of Tukwila, SeaTac, and Seattle; (2) requiring covered employers to offer additional hours of work to qualified part-time employees before hiring new employees to fill those hours; and (3) adopting enforcement requirements. Section 3. Large Employers Shall Pay Minimum Wages Comparable to Those in Nearby Cities. 1. Effective July 1, 2024, every large employer shall pay to each employee an hourly wage of not less than the 2023 new minimum wage rate in the City of Tukwila, established by City of Tukwila Initiative Measure No. 1, approved by voters in November 2022, adjusted for 2024 by the annual rate of inflation. 2. On January 1, 2025, and on each January I thereafter, the hourly minimum wage shall increase by the annual rate of inflation to maintain employee purchasing power. 3. By December 31, 2023, and by October 15 of each year thereafter, the Finance Department shall establish and publish the applicable hourly minimum wage for the following year using the annual rate of inflation. 4. For purposes of this chapter, the annual rate of inflation means 100 percent of the annual average growth rate of the bi-monthly Seattle -Tacoma -Bellevue Area Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers, termed CPI-W, for the 12-month period ending in August, provided that the percentage increase shall not be less than zero. 5. An employer must pay to its employees: a. All tips and gratuities; and b. All service charges as defined under RCW 49.46.160 except those that, pursuant to RCW 49,46.160, are itemized as not being payable to the employee or employees servicing the customer. Tips and service charges paid to an employee are in addition to, and may not count towards, the employee's hourly minimum wage. Section 4. Other Covered Employers Shall Have a Multiyear Phase -In Period. Other covered employers shall phase in the new minimum wage, as follows: 1. Effective July 1, 2024, other covered employers shall pay employees not less than the hourly minimum wage established under Section 3 minus Two Dollars ($2) per hour. 2. Effective July 1, 2025, other covered employers shall pay employees not less than the hourly minimum wage established under Section 3 minus One Dollar ($1) per hour. 3. Effective July 1, 2026, and thereafter, all covered employers shall pay employees not less than the hourly minimum wage established under Section 3. Section 5. Coverage and Employer Classifications. 1. Covered employers must pay employees at least the minimum wage established by this chapter for each hour worked within the City. 2. Employer classification for the current calendar year will be calculated based upon the average number of employees during all weeks in the previous calendar year in which the employer had at least one employee. For employers that did not have any employees during the previous calendar year, classification will be based upon the average number of employees during the most recent three months of the current year. In this determination, all employees will be counted, regardless of their location, and including employees who worked in full-time employment, part-time employment, joint employment, temporary employment, or through the services of a temporary services or staffing agency or similar entity. 3. Employer classification for the current calendar year will be calculated based upon the gross revenue for the previous year. For employers that did not have gross revenue during the previous calendar year, annual gross revenue will be calculated from the gross revenue during the most recent three months of the current year. 4. For the purposes of employer classification, separate entities will be considered a single employer if they form an integrated enterprise or they are under joint control by one of those entities or a separate entity. The factors to consider in making this assessment include, but are not limited to: a. Degree of interrelation between the operations of multiple entities; b. Degree to which the entities share common management; c. Centralized control of labor relations; and d. Degree of common ownership or financial control over the entities. Section 6. Part -Time Employees Shall Have Fair Access to Additional Hours. 1. Before hiring additional employees or subcontractors, including hiring through the use of temporary services or staffing agencies, covered employers must offer additional hours of work to existing employees who, in the employer's good faith and reasonable judgment, have the skills and experience to perform the work, and shall use a reasonable, transparent, and nondiscriminatory process to distribute the hours of work among those existing employees. 2. This section shall not be construed to require any employer to offer an employee work hours if the employer would be required to compensate the employee at time -and -a -half or other premium rate under any law or collective bargaining agreement, nor to prohibit any employer from offering such work hours. Section 7. Retaliation Prohibited. 1. No employer or any other person shall interfere with, restrain, or deny the exercise of, or the attempt to exercise, any right protected under this chapter. 2. No employer or any other person shall take any adverse action against any person because the person has exercised in good faith the rights under this chapter. Such rights include but are not limited to the right to make inquiries about the rights protected under this chapter; the right to inform others about their rights under this chapter; the right to inform the person's employer, union, or similar organization, and/or the person's legal counsel or any other person about an alleged violation of this chapter; the right to bring a civil action for an alleged violation of this chapter; the right to testify in a proceeding under or related to this chapter; the right to refuse to participate in an activity that would result in a violation of city, state, or federal law; and the right to oppose any policy, practice, or act that is unlawful under this chapter. 3. For the purposes of this section, an adverse action means denying a job or promotion, demoting, terminating, failing to rehire after a seasonal interruption of work, threatening, penalizing, retaliating, engaging in unfair immigration -related practices, filing a false report with a government agency, changing an employee's status to nonemployee, decreasing or declining to provide additional work hours when they otherwise would have been offered, scheduling an employee for hours outside of their availability, or otherwise discriminating against any person for any reason prohibited by this chapter. "Adverse action" for an employee may involve any aspect of employment, including pay, work hours, responsibilities, or other material change in the terms and conditions of employment. 4. No employer or any other person shall communicate to a person exercising rights protected under this chapter, directly or indirectly, the willingness to inform a government employee that the person is not lawfully in the United States, or to report, or to make an implied or express assertion of a willingness to report, suspected citizenship or immigration status of the person or a family member of the person to a federal, state, or local agency because the person has exercised a right under this chapter. 5. There shall be a rebuttable presumption of unlawful retaliation if an employer or any other person takes an adverse action against a person within 90 days of the person's exercise of any right protected in this chapter. However, in the case of seasonal work that ended before the close of the 90-day period, the presumption also applies if the employer fails to rehire a former employee at the next opportunity for work in the same position. The employer may rebut the presumption with clear and convincing evidence that the adverse action was taken for a permissible purpose. 6. Standard of Proof. Proof of retaliation under this chapter shall be sufficient upon a showing that an employer or any other person has taken an adverse action against a person and the person's exercise of rights protected in this chapter was a motivating factor in the adverse action, unless the employer can prove that the action would have been taken in the absence of such protected activity. 7. The protections afforded under this section shall apply to any person who mistakenly but in good faith alleges violations of this chapter. Section S. Enforcement. 1. Any person or class of persons that suffers financial injury as a result of a violation of this chapter or is the subject of prohibited retaliation under this chapter, or any other individual or entity acting on their behalf, may bring a civil action in a court of competent jurisdiction against the employer or other person violating this chapter and, upon prevailing, shall be awarded reasonable attorney fees and costs and such le al or equitable relief as may be appropriate to remedy the violation including, without limitation, the payment of any unpaid wages plus interest due to the person and liquidated damages in an additional amount of up to twice the unpaid wages; compensatory damages; and a penalty payable to any aggrieved party of up to $5,000 if the aggrieved party was subject to prohibited retaliation. For the purposes of this section, an aggrieved party means an employee or other person who suffers tangible or intangible harm due to an employer or other person's violation of this chapter. Interest shall accrue from the date the unpaid wages were first due at the higher of twelve percent per annum or the maximum rate permitted under RCW 19.52.020. 2. For purposes of determining membership within a class of persons entitled to bring an action under this section, two or more employees are similarly situated if they: a. Are or were employed by the same employer or employers, whether concurrently or otherwise,at some point during the applicable statute of limitations period; b. Allege one or more violations that raise similar questions as to liability; and c. Seek similar forms of relief. d. Employees shall not be considered dissimilar solely because their claims seek damages that differ in amoum, or theirjob titles or other means of classifying employees differ in ways that are unrelated to their claims. 3. Each covered employer shall retain records as required by RCW 49.46.070, as well as such information as the City may require to confirm compliance with this chapter. If an employer fails to retain such records, there shell be a presumption, rebuttable by clear and convincing evidence, that the employer violated this chapter for the periods and for each employee for whom records were not retained. 4. Employers shall permit authorized City representatives access to work sites and relevant records for the purpose of monitoring compliance with the chapter and investigating complaints of noncompliance, including production for inspection and copying of employment records. The City may designate representatives, including city contractors and representatives of unions or worker advocacy organizations, to access the worksite and relevant records. 5. Complaints that any provision of this chapter has been violated may also be presented to the City Attomey, who is hereby authorized to investigate and, if they deem appropriate, initiate legal or other action to remedy any violation of this chapter. 6. The City has the authority to issue administrative citations and to order injunctive relief including reinstatement, restitution, payment of back wages, or other forms of relief. 7. The City may, in the exercise of its authority and performance of its functions and services, agree by contract or otherwise to participate jointly or in cooperation with Washington State, King County, or any city, town, or other incorporated place, or subdivision thereof, or engage outside counsel, to enforce this chapter. 8. The remedies and penalties provided under this chapter are cumulative and are not intended to be exclusive of any other available remedies or penalties, including existing remedies for enforcement of Renton Municipal Code chapters. 9. The statute of limitations for any enforcement action shall be five (5) years. Section 9. A new section is added to Renton Municipal Code (RMC) Section 5-5-4 as follows: 1. The Finance Director may deny, suspend, or revoke any license under this chapter for violation of this ordinance. 2. The Finance Director must deny, suspend, or revoke any license under this chapter for repeated intentional violations of this ordinance. 3. Any action by the Finance Director under this section shall be subject to the procedures and requirements of RMC subsection 5-5-3.E, as well as other due process rights that a court may require. Section 10. Definitions. For the purposes of this chapter, the following terms shall have the following meanings: "City" means the City of Renton. "Covered employer" means an employer that either (1) employs at least 15 employees regardless of where those employees are employed, or (2) has annual gross revenue over $2 million. "Effective date" is the effective date of this ordinance. "Employee" is defined as set forth in RCW 49.46.010. An employer bears the burden of proof that the individual is, as a matter of economic reality, in business for oneself rather than dependent upon the alleged employer. "Employer" is defined as set forth in RCW 49.46.010. "Employer classification" includes the determination of whether an employer is a covered employer and whether a covered employer is a large employer. "Franchise" means an agreement, express or implied, oral or written by which: 1. A person is granted the right to engage in the business of offering, selling, or distributing goods or services under a marketing plan prescribed or suggested in substantial part by the grantor or its affiliate; 2. The operation of the business is substantially associated with a trademark, service mark, trade name, advertising, or other commercial symbol; designating, owned by, or licensed by the grantor or its affiliate; and 3. The person pays, agrees to pay, or is required to pay, directly or indirectly, a franchise fee. The term, "franchise fee" is meant to be construed broadly to include any instance in which the grantor or its affiliate derives income or profit from a person who enters into a franchise agreement with the grantor. "Hour worked within the City" is to be interpreted according to its ordinary meaning, including all hours worked within the geographic boundaries of the City, excluding time spent in the City solely for the purpose of traveling through the City from a point of origin outside the City to a destination outside the City, with no employment -related or commercial stops in the City except for refueling or the employee's personal meals or errands. "Large Employer" means all employers that employ more than 500 employees, regardless of where those employees are employed, and all franchisees associated with a franchisor or a network of franchises with franchisees that employ more than 500 employees in aggregate. "Other covered employer" means a covered employer that does not qualify as a large employer. "Service charge" is defined as set forth in RCW 49.46.160(2)(c). "Tips" means a verifiable sum to be presented by a customer as a gift or gratuity in recognition of some service performed for the customer by the employee receiving the tip. "Wage" is defined as set forth in RCW 49.46.010. Section 11. Other Legal Requirements. This ordinance shall not be construed to preempt, limit, or otherwise affect the applicability of any other law, regulation, requirement, policy, or standard that provides for greater wages or compensation; and nothing in this ordinance shall be interpreted or applied so as to create any power or duty in conflict with federal or state law. Section 12. Rulemaking. Within 180 days after the effective date, the. City shall adopt rules and procedures to implement and ensure compliance with this chapter, which shall require employers to maintain adequate records and to annually certify compliance with this chapter. The City shall seek feedback from worker organizations and covered employers before finalizing the rules and procedures. Section 13. Constitutional Subject. For constitutional purposes, this measure's subject `concerns labor standards for certain employers." See Filo Foods, LLC v. City of SeaTac, 183 Wash. 2d 770, 783, 357 P.3d 1040, 1047 (2015) (upholding this statement of subject for an initiative that set a minimum wage and addressed employees' access to hours). Section 14. Codification. All sections of this ordinance except section 9 shall be codified in a new chapter of the Renton Municipal Code. Section 15. Election date. In the event that the election on this measure takes place later than November 7, 2023, the Finance Department must establish and publish the initial minimum wage within 30 days of the effective date. Section 16. Severability. The provisions of this ordinance are declared to be separate and severable. If any clause, sentence, paragraph, subdivision, section, subsection, or portion of this ordinance, or the application thereof to any employer, employee, or circumstance, is held to be invalid, it shall not affect the validity of the remainder of this ordinance, or the validity of its application to other persons or circumstances. Name Of Canvasser: Date Canvassed: Canvasser Email and Phone Number: Raising The Minimum Wage In Renton INITIATIVE PETITION FOR SUBMISSION TO THE RENTON CITY COUNCIL TO: The City Council of the City of Renton: p i O.E. 933-M We, the undersigned registered voters of the City of Renton, State of Washington, residing at the addresses set forth opposite our respective names, being equal to fifteen percent (15%) of the total number of names of persons listed as registered voters within the City on the day of the last preceding City general election, respectfully request that the following ordinance be enacted by the City Council or, if not so enacted, be submitted to a vote of the residents of the City. The title of the said ordinance is as follows: ORDINANCE CONCERNING LABOR STANDARDS FOR CERTAIN EMPLOYEES A full, true and correct copy of the ordinance is attached to this Petition. Each of us for himself or herself says: I have personally signed this petition; I am a registered voter of the City of Renton, State of Washington; and my residence is correctly stated. Signature Printed Name Street and Number City Phone Number Email Date ,Sa"OQe`Uarm Printed Name 1234 Anywhere St. Renton 206-555-1234 maria@something.org 4/10/2023 n 1. A10J 6 me `� ` �7f`�10�, , f�isT C_I� Renton 7 S 7JS 7` ,7, 2. Ll �1 , �y{� 414+ I I rI �L �o � Renton / ( � lib ��1jo2� '/0 3. A�' ,`I(v �' r s. M �Y1VrS� 1 9.� �- 10. VA� Z7- �i! Renton aC Renton i\j� qtt, 5� a sl 111.23 /13M At `A'A /3 Renton Renton \ `J a Renton ,�cicr Renton WES`�-`���� Renton 1 a �� - 57 S� oe—� Renton )- C (�-3z ( J I2V / ZI J2 Warning Every person who signs this petition with any other than his or her true name, or who knowingly signs more than one of these petitions, or signs a petition seek- ing an election when he or she is not a legal voter, or signs a petition when he or she is otherwise not qualified to sign, or who makes herein any false statement, shall be guilty of a misdemeanor. AN ORDINANCE concerning labor standards for certain employees. Section 1. Findings. 1. The people of the City of Renton hereby adopt this citizen initiative addressing labor standards for certain employees, for the purpose of ensuring that, to the extent reasonably practicable, people employed in Renton have good wages and access to sufficient hours of work. 2. The City of Renton is one of the largestjob centers in Washington State, with thousands of shoppers and workers visiting daily to participate in the local economy. Renton is home to The Landing shopping center, the historic Downtown Urban Center, as well as retail and commercial office and warehouse districts around the Rainier/Grady Way Junction. The City is a net importer ofjobs, with nearly 60,000 employed workers. Renton has a wide may of both long established and new and evolving business sectors. Retail businesses, restaurants and bars, auto sales, hospitality, bealthcare, and office workers are well represented. 3. The statewide minimum wage is not sufficient to afford rising rents and costs of living in Renton. According to the National Low Income Housing Coalition's Out of Reach 2022 report, a worker making Washington's minimum wage would have to work 72 hours each week (up from 70 hours each week in 2021) to afford a modest one -bedroom rental home at Fair Market Rent. 4. When working families earn insufficient income due to low wages and involuntary under -employment, they struggle to pay for basic necessities like health care, child care, and groceries, and they we more likely to be evicted and become homeless. 5. Nearby King County cities of SeaTac, Seattle, and Tukwila enacted higher minimum wages in 2013, 2014, and 2022 respectively, but until now Renton has not followed suit. 6. Children growing up in poverty experience insecurity with housing, nutrition, and health care while enduring other hardships that prevent their ability to learn in school. Full time working parents must be able to reasonably provide for their family to ensure access to the opportunities and promise of public education. Section 2. Intent. It is the intent of the people to establish fair labor standards and protect the rights of workers by: (1) ensuring that the vast majority of employees in the City of Renton receive a minimum wage comparable to employees in the nearby cities of Tukwila, SeaTac, and Seattle; (2) requiring covered employers to offer additional hours of work to qualified part-time employees before hiring new employees to fill those hours; and (3) adopting enforcement requirements. Section 3. Large Employers Shall Pay Minimum Wages Comparable to Those in Nearby Cities. 1. Effective July 1, 2024, every large employer shall pay to each employee an hourly wage of not less than the 2023 new minimum wage rate in the City of Tukwila, established by City of Tukwila Initiative Measure No. 1, approved by voters in November 2022, adjusted for 2024 by the annual rate of inflation. 2. On January 1, 2025, and on each January 1 thereafter, the hourly minimum wage shall increase by the annual rate of inflation to maintain employee purchasing power. 3. By December 31, 2023, and by October 15 of each year thereafter, the Finance Department shall establish and publish the applicable hourly minimum wage for the following year using the annual rate of inflation. 4. For purposes of this chapter, the annual rate of inflation means 100 percent of the annual average growth rate of the bi-monthly Seattle -Tacoma -Bellevue Area Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers, termed CPI-W, for the 12-month period ending in August, provided that the percentage increase shall not be less than zero. 5. An employer must pay to its employees: a. All tips and gratuities; and b. All service charges as defined under RCW 49.46.160 except those that, pursuant to RCW 49.46.160, are itemized as not being payable to the employee or employees servicing the customer. Tips and service charges paid to an employee are in addition to, and may not count towards, the employee's hourly minimum wage. Section 4. Other Covered Employers Shall Have a Multiyear Phase -In Period. Other covered employers shall phase in the new minimum wage, as follows: 1. Effective July 1, 2024, other covered employers shall pay employees not less than the hourly minimum wage established under Section 3 minus Two Delius ($2) per hour. 2. Effective July 1, 2025, other covered employers shall pay employees not less than the hourly minimum wage established under Section 3 minus One Dollar ($1) per hour. 3. Effective July 1, 2026, and thereafter, all covered employers shall pay employees not less than the hourly minimum wage established under Section 3. Section 5. Coverage and Employer Classifications. 1. Covered employers must pay employees at least the minimum wage established by this chapter for each hour worked within the City. 2. Employer classification for the current calendar year will be calculated based upon the average number of employees during all weeks in the previous calendar year in which the employer had at least one employee. For employers that did not have any employees during the previous calendar year, classification will be based upon the average number of employees during the most recent three months of the current year. In this determination, all employees will be counted, regardless of their location, and including employees who worked in full-time employment, part-time employment, joint employment, temporary employment, or through the services of a temporary services or staffing agency or similar entity. 3. Employer classification for the current calendar year will be calculated based upon the gross revenue for the previous year. For employers that did not have gross revenue during the previous calendar year, annual gross revenue will be calculated from the gross revenue during the most recent three months of the current year. 4. For the purposes of employer classification, separate entities will be considered a single employer if they form an integrated enterprise or they are underjoint control by one of those entities or a separate entity. The factors to consider in making this assessment include, but are not limited to: a. Degree of interrelation between the operations of multiple entities; b. Degree to which the entities share common management; C. Centralized control of labor relations; and d. Degree of common ownership or financial control over the entities. Section 6. Part -Time Employees Shall Have Fair Access to Additional Hours. 1. Before hiring additional employees or subcontractors, including hiring through the use of temporary services or staffing agencies, covered employers must offer additional hours of work to existing employees who, in the employer's good faith and reasonable judgment, have the skills and experience to perform the work, and shall use a reasonable, transparent, and nondiscriminatory process to distribute the hours of work among those existing employees. 2. This section shall not be construed to require any employer to offer an employee work hours if the employer would be required to compensate the employee at time -and -a -half or other premium rate under any law or collective bargaining agreement, nor to prohibit any employer from offering such work hours. Section 7. Retaliation Prohibited. 1. No employer or any other person shall interfere with, restrain, or deny the exercise of, or the attempt to exercise, any right protected under this chapter. 2. No employer or any other person shall take any adverse action against any person because the person has exercised in good faith the rights under this chapter. Such rights include but are not limited to the right to make inquiries about the rights protected under this chapter; the right to inform others about their rights under this chapter; the right to inform the person's employer, union, or similar organization, and/or the person's legal counsel or any other person about an alleged violation of this chapter; the right to bring a civil action for an alleged violation of this chapter; the right to testify in a proceeding under or related to this chapter; the right to refuse to participate in an activity that would result in a violation of city, state, or federal law; and the right to oppose any policy, practice, or act that is unlawful under this chapter. 3. For the purposes of this section, an adverse action means denying ajob or promotion, demoting, terminating, failing to rehire after a seasonal interruption of work, threatening, penalizing, retaliating, engaging in unfair immigration -related practices, filing a false report with a government agency, changing an employee's status to nonemployee, decreasing or declining to provide additional work hours when they otherwise would have been offered, scheduling an employee for hours outside of their availability, or otherwise discriminating against any person for any reason prohibited by this chapter. "Adverse action" for an employee may involve any aspect of employment, including pay, work hours, responsibilities, or other material change in the terms and conditions of employment. 4. No employer or any other person shall communicate to a person exercising rights protected under this chapter, directly or indirectly, the willingness to inform a government employee that the person is not lawfully in the United States, or to report, or to make an implied or express assertion of a willingness to report, suspected citizenship or immigration status of the person or a family member of the person to a federal, state, or local agency because the person has exercised a right under this chapter. 5. There shall be a rebuttable presumption of unlawful retaliation if an employer or any other person takes an adverse action against a person within 90 days of the person's exercise of any right protected in this chapter. However, in the case of seasonal work that ended before the close of the 90-day period, the presumption also applies if the employer fails to rehire a former employee at the next opportunity for work in the same position. The employer may rebut the presumption with clear and convincing evidence that the adverse action was taken for a permissible purpose. 6. Standard of Proof. Proof of retaliation under this chapter shall be sufficient upon a showing that an employer or any other person has taken an adverse action against a person and the person's exercise of rights protected in this chapter was a motivating factor in the adverse action, unless the employer can prove that the action would have been taken in the absence of such protected activity. 7. The protections afforded under this section shall apply to any person who mistakenly but in good faith alleges violations of this chapter. Section 8. Enforcement. 1. Any person or class of persons that suffers financial injury as a result of a violation of this chapter or is the subject of prohibited retaliation under this chapter, or any other individual or entity acting on their behalf, may bring a civil action in a court of competent jurisdiction against the employer or other person violating this chapter and, upon prevailing, shall be awarded reasonable attorney fees and costs and such legal or equitable relief as may be appropriate to remedy the violation including, without limitation, the payment of any unpaid wages plus interest due to the person and liquidated damages in an additional amount of up to twice the unpaid wages; compensatory damages; and a penalty payable to any aggrieved party of up to $5,000 if the aggrieved party was subject to prohibited retaliation. For the purposes of this section, an aggrieved party means an employee or other person who suffers tangible or intangible harm due to an employer or other person's violation of this chapter. Interest shall accrue from the date the unpaid wages were first due at the higher of twelve percent per woman or the maximum rate permitted under RCW 19.52.020. 2. For purposes of determining membership within a class of persons entitled to bring an action under this section, two or more employees are similarly situated if they: a. Are or were employed by the same employer or employers, whether concurrently or otherwise, at some point during the applicable statute of limitations period; b. Allege one or more violations that raise similar questions as to liability; and C. Seek similar forms of relief. d. Employees shall not be considered dissimilar solely because their claims seek damages that differ in amount, or their job titles or other means of classifying employees differ in ways that we unrelated to their claims. 3. Each covered employer shall retain records as required by RCW 49.46.070, as well as such information as the City may require to confirm compliance with this chapter. If an employer fails to retain such records, there shall be a presumption, rebuttable by clear and convincing evidence, that the employer violated this chapter for the periods and for each employee for whom records were not retained. 4. Employers shall permit authorized City representatives access to work sites and relevant records for the purpose of monitoring compliance with the chapter and investigating complaints of noncompliance, including production for inspection and copying of employment records. The City may designate representatives, including city contractors and representatives of unions or worker advocacy organizations, to access the worksite and relevant records. 5. Complaints that any provision of this chapter has been violated may also be presented to the City Attorney, who is hereby authorized to investigate and, if they deem appropriate, initiate legal or other action to remedy any violation of this chapter. 6. The City has the authority to issue administrative citations and to order injunctive relief including reinstatement, restitution, payment of back wages, or other forms of relief. 7. The City may, in the exercise of its authority and performance of its functions and services, agree by contract or otherwise to participate jointly or in cooperation with Washington State, King County, or any city, town, or other incorporated place, or subdivision thereof, or engage outside counsel, to enforce this chapter. 8. The remedies and penalties provided trader this chapter are cumulative and are not intended to be exclusive of any other available remedies or penalties, including existing remedies for enforcement of Renton Municipal Code chapters. 9. The statute of limitations for any enforcement action shall be five (5) years. Section 9. A new section is added to Renton Municipal Code (RMC) Section 5-5-4 as follows: 1. The Finance Director may deny, suspend, or revoke any license under this chapter for violation of this ordinance. 2. The Finance Director must deny, suspend, or revoke any license under this chapter for repeated intentional violations of this ordinance. 3. Any action by the Finance Director under this section shall be subject to the procedures and requirements o£RMC subsection 5-5-3.E, as well as other due process rights that a court may require. Section 10. Definitions. For the purposes of this chapter, the following terms shall have the following meanings: "City" means the City of Renton. "Covered employer" means an employer that either (1) employs at least 15 employees regardless of where those employees are employed, or (2) has annual gross revenue over $2 million, "Effective date" is the effective date of this ordinance. "Employee" is defined as set forth in RCW 49.46.010. An employer bears the burden of proof that the individual is, as a matter of economic reality, in business for oneself rather than dependent upon the alleged employer. "Employer" is defined as set forth in RCW 49.46.010. "Employer classification" includes the determination of whether an employer is a covered employer and whether a covered employer is a large employer. "Franchise" means an agreement, express or implied, oral or written by which: 1. A person is granted the right to engage in the business of offering, selling, or distributing goods or services under a marketing plan prescribed or suggested in substantial part by the grantor or its affiliate; 2. The operation of the business is substantially associated with a trademark, service mark, trade time, advertising, or other commercial symbol; designating, owned by, or licensed by the grantor or its affiliate; and 3. The person pays, agrees to pay, or is required to pay, directly or indirectly, a franchise fee. The term, "franchise fee" is meant to be construed broadly to include any instance in which the grantor or its affiliate derives income or profit from a person who enters into a franchise agreement with the grantor. "Hour worked within the City" is to be interpreted according to its ordinary meaning, including all hours worked within the geographic boundaries of the City, excluding time spent in the City solely for the purpose of traveling through the City from a point of origin outside the City to a destination outside the City, with no employment -related or commercial stops in the City except for refueling or the employee's personal meals or errands. "Large Employer" means all employers that employ more than 500 employees, regardless of where those employees are employed, and all franchisees associated with a franchisor or a network of franchises with franchisees that employ more than 500 employees in aggregate. "Other covered employer" means a covered employer that does not qualify as a large employer. "Service charge" is defined as set forth in RCW 49.46.160(2)(c). "Tips" means a verifiable sum to be presented by a customer as a gift or gratuity in recognition of some service performed for the customer by the employee receiving the tip. "Wage" is defined as set forth in RCW 49.46.010. Section 11. Other Legal Requirements. This ordinance shall not be construed to preempt, limit, or otherwise affect the applicability of any other law, regulation, requirement, policy, or standard that provides for greater wages or compensation; and nothing in this ordinance shall be interpreted or applied so as to create any power or duty in conflict with federal or state law. Section 12. Rulemaking. Within 180 days after the effective date, the City shall adopt rules and procedures to implement and ensure compliance with this chapter, which shall require employers to maintain adequate records and to annually certify compliance with this chapter. The City shall seek feedback from worker organizations and covered employers before finalizing the rules and procedures. Section 13. Constitutional Subject. For constitutional purposes, this measure's subject "concerns labor standards for certain employers" See Filo Foods, LLC v. City of SeaTac, 183 Wash. 2d 770, 783, 357 P.3d 1040, 1047 (2015) (upholding this statement of subject for an initiative that set a minimum wage and addressed employees' access to hours). Section 14. Codification. All sections of this ordinance except section 9 shall be codified in a new chapter of the Renton Municipal Code. Section 15. Election date. In the event that the election on this measure takes place later than November 7, 2023, the Finance Department must establish and publish the initial minimum wage within 30 days of the effective date. Section 16. Severability. The provisions of this ordinance are declared to be separate and severable. If any clause, sentence, paragraph, subdivision, section, subsection, or portion of this ordinance, or the application thereof to any employer, employee, or circumstance, is held to be invalid, it shall not affect the validity of the remainder of this ordinance, or the validity of its application to other persons or circumstances. Name Of Canvasser: Date Canvassed: Email and Phone Number: Raising The Minimum Wage In Renton INITIATIVE PETITION FOR SUBMISSION TO THE RENTON CITY COUNCIL TO: The City Council of the City of Renton: p 10.5 BT- 933-M We, the undersigned registered voters of the City of Renton, State of Washington, residing at the addresses set forth opposite our respective names, being equal to fifteen percent (15%) of the total number of names of persons listed as registered voters within the City on the day of the last preceding City general election, respectfully request that the following ordinance be enacted by the City Council or, if not so enacted, be submitted to a vote of the residents of the City. The title of the said ordinance is as follows: ORDINANCE CONCERNING LABOR STANDARDS FOR CERTAIN EMPLOYEES A full, true and correct copy of the ordinance is attached to this Petition. Each of us for himself or herself says: I have personally signed this petition; I am a registered voter of the City of Renton, State of Washington; and my residence is correctly stated. Signature Printed Name Street and Number City Phone Number Email Date s `rot Printed Name 1234 Anywhere St. Renton 206-555-1234 maria@something.org 4/10/2023 1. Renton 2. /�L��"— �G �!/a�s��w �f�5 S� /3�/�`S Renton �/�s -�Z(- �YF7 S �� 3. a 1p Renton 2 D �r�J81 q-b,/ -�J 4. �j6o NW Co � �t7�I Renton z06 �b3 lo�vS` Li �arl uh ��r Renton 5. �o � C Renton 6. J 1' 7. 1) r4 \l) Renton 18. vqt1fk Renton l 3 le �Y`� S 9. 32t; i��;/IiG� / �ir� �6 �y2^"' J: Renton ZL,(c e.. 10. I /� ✓' i- k�� l At-,71Y ,41 l_ ,L Renton Warning Every person who signs this petition with any other than his or her true name, or who knowingly signs more than one of these petitions, or signs a petition seek- ing an election when he or she is not a legal voter, or signs a petition when he or she is otherwise not qualified to sign, or who makes herein any false statement, shall be guilty of a misdemeanor. AN ORDINANCE concerning labor standards for certain employees. Section 1. Findings. 1, The people of the City of Renton hereby adopt this citizen initiative addressing labor standards for certain employees, for the purpose of ensuring that, to the extent reasonably practicable, people employed in Renton have good wages and access to sufficient hours of work. 2. The City of Renton is one of the largest job centers in Washington State, with thousands of shoppers and workers visiting daily to participate in the local economy. Renton is home to The Landing shopping center, the historic Downtown Urban Center, as well as retail and commercial office and warehouse districts around the Rainier/Grady Way Junction. The City is a net importer ofjobs, with nearly 60,000 employed workers. Renton has a wide may of both long established and new and evolving business sectors. Retail businesses, restaurants and bars, auto sales, hospitality, healthcare, and office workers we well represented. 3. The statewide minimum wage is not sufficient to afford rising rents and costs of living in Renton. According to the National Low Income Housing Coalition's Out of Reach 2022 report, a worker making Washington's minimum wage would have to work 72 hours each week (up from 70 hours each week in 2021) to afford a modest one -bedroom rental home at Fair Market Rent. 4. When working families earn insufficient income due to low wages and involuntary under -employment, they straggle to pay for basic necessities like health care, child cue, and groceries, and they are more likely to be evicted and become homeless. 5. Nearby King County cities of SeaTaq Seattle, and Tukwila enacted higher minimum wages in 2013, 2014, and 2022 respectively, but until now Renton has not followed suit. 6. Children growing up in poverty experience insecurity with housing, nutrition, and health care while enduring other hardships that prevent their ability to learn in school. Full time working parents must be able to reasonably provide for their family to ensure access to the opportunities and promise of public education. Section 2. Intent. It is the intent of the people to establish fair labor standards and protect the rights of workers by: (1) ensuring that the vast majority of employees in the City of Renton receive a minimum wage comparable to employees in the nearby cities of Tukwila, SeaTac, and Seattle; (2) requiring covered employers to offer additional hours of work to qualified part-time employees before hiring new employees to fill those hours; and (3) adopting enforcement requirements. Section 3. Large Employers Shall Pay Minimum Wages Comparable to Those in Nearby Cities. 1. Effective July 1, 2024, every large employer shall pay to each employee an hourly wage of not less than the 2023 new minimum wage rate in the City of Tukwila, established by City of Tukwila Initiative Measure No. 1, approved by voters in November 2022, adjusted for 2024 by the annual rate of inflation. 2. On January 1, 2025, and on each January 1 thereafter, the hourly minimum wage shall increase by the annual rate of inflation to maintain employee purchasing power. 3. By December 31, 2023, and by October 15 of each year thereafter, the Finance Department shall establish and publish the applicable hourly minimum wage for the following yew using the annual rate of inflation. 4. For purposes of this chapter, the annual rate of inflation means 100 percent of the annual average growth rate of the bi-monthly Seattle -Tacoma -Bellevue Area Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers, termed CPI-W, for the 12-month period ending in August, provided that the percentage increase shall not be less than zero. 5. An employer must pay to its employees: a. All tips and gratuities; and b. All service charges as defined under RCW 49.46.160 except those that, pursuant to RCW 49.46.160, we itemized as not being payable to the employee or employees servicing the customer. Tips and service charges paid to an employee are in addition to, and may not count towards, the employee's hourly minimum wage. Section 4. Other Covered Employers Shall Have a Multiyear Phase -In Period. Other covered employers shall phase in the new minimum wage, as follows: 1. Effective July 1, 2024, other covered employers shall pay employees not less than the hourly minimum wage established under Section 3 minus Two Dollars ($2) per hour, 2. Effective July 1, 2025, other covered employers shall pay employees not less than the hourly minimum wage established under Section 3 minus One Dollar ($1) per hour. 3. Effective July 1, 2026, and thereafter, all covered employers shall pay employees not less than the hourly minimum wage established under Section 3. Section 5. Coverage and Employer Classifications. 1. Covered employers must pay employees at least the minimum wage established by this chapter for each hour worked within the City. 2. Employer classification for the current calendar year will be calculated based upon the average number of employees during all weeks in the previous calendar year in which the employer had at least one employee. For employers that did not have any employees during the previous calendar year, classification will be based upon the average number of employees during the most recent three months of the current year. In this determination, all employees will be counted, regardless of their location, and including employees who worked in full-time employment, part-time employment, joint employment, temporary employment, or through the services of a temporary services or staffing agency or similar entity. 3. Employer classification for the current calendar yew will be calculated based upon the gross revenue for the previous year. For employers that did not have gross revenue during the previous calendar year, annual gross revenue will be calculated from the gross revenue during the most recent three months of the current year. 4. For the purposes of employer classification, separate entities will be considered a single employer if they form an integrated enterprise or they are underjoint control by one of those entities or a separate entity. The factors to consider in making this assessment include, but are not limited to: a. Degree of interrelation between the operations of multiple entities; b. Degree to which the entities share common management; C. Centralized control of labor relations; and d. Degree of common ownership or financial control over the entities. Section 6. Part -Time Employees Shall Have Fair Access to Additional Hours. 1. Before hiring additional employees or subcontractors, including hiring through the use of temporary services or staffing agencies, covered employers must offer additional hours of work to existing employees who, in the employer's good faith and reasonable judgment, have the skills and experience to perform the work, and shall use a reasonable, transparent, and nondiscriminatory process to distribute the hours of work among those existing employees. 2. This section shall not be construed to require any employer to offer an employee work hours if the employer would be required to compensate the employee at time -and -a -half or other premium rate under any law or collective bargaining agreement, nor to prohibit any employer from offering such work hours. Section 7. Retaliation Prohibited. 1. No employer or any other person shall interfere with, restrain, or deny the exercise of, or the attempt to exercise, any right protected under this chapter. 2. No employer or any other person shall take any adverse action against any person because the person has exercised in good faith the rights under this chapter. Such rights include but we not limited to the right to make inquiries about the rights protected under this chapter; the right to inform others about their rights under this chapter; the right to inform the person's employer, union, or similar organization, and/or the person's legal counsel or any other person about an alleged violation of this chapter; the right to bring a civil action for an alleged violation of this chapter; the right to testify in a proceeding under or related to this chapter, the right to refuse to participate in an activity that would result in a violation of city, state, or federal law; and the right to oppose any policy, practice, or act that is unlawful under this chapter. 3. For the purposes of this section, an adverse action means denying a job or promotion, demoting, terminating, failing to rehire after a seasonal interruption of work, threatening, penalizing, retaliating, engaging in unfair immigration -related practices, filing a false report with a government agency, changing an employee's status to nonemployee, decreasing or declining to provide additional work hours when they otherwise would have been offered, scheduling an employee For hours outside of their availability, or otherwise discriminating against any person for any reason prohibited by this chapter. "Adverse action" for an employee may involve any aspect of employment, including pay, work hours, responsibilities, or other material change in the terms and conditions of employment. 4. No employer or any other person shall communicate to a person exercising rights protected under this chapter, directly or indirectly, the willingness to inform a government employee that the person is not lawfully in the United States, or to report, or to make an implied or express assertion of a willingness to report, suspected citizenship or immigration status of the person or a family member of the person to a federal, state, or local agency because the person has exercised a right under this chapter. 5. There shall be a rebuttable presumption of unlawful retaliation if an employer or any other person takes an adverse action against a person within 90 days of the person's exercise of any right protected in this chapter. However, in the case of seasonal work that ended before the close of the 90-day period, the presumption also applies if the employer fails to rehire a former employee at the next opportunity for work in the same position. The employer may rebut the presumption with clear and convincing evidence that the adverse action was taken for a permissible purpose. 6. Standard of Proof. Proof of retaliation under this chapter shall be sufficient upon a showing that an employer or any other person has taken an adverse action against a person and the person's exercise of rights protected in this chapter was a motivating factor in the adverse action, unless the employer can prove that the action would have been taken in the absence of such protected activity. 7. The protections afforded under this section shall apply to any person who mistakenly but in good faith alleges violations of this chapter. Section 8. Enforcement. 1. Any person or class of persons that suffers financial injury as a result of a violation of this chapter or is the subject of prohibited retaliation under this chapter, or any other individual or entity acting on their behalf, may bring a civil action in a court of competent jurisdiction against the employer or other person violating this chapter and, upon prevailing, shall be awarded reasonable attorney fees and costs and such legal or equitable relief as may be appropriate to remedy the violation including, without limitation, the payment of any unpaid wages plus interest due to the person and liquidated damages in an additional amount of up to twice the unpaid wages; compensatory damages; and a penalty payable to any aggrieved party of up to $5,000 if the aggrieved party was subject to prohibited retaliation. For the purposes of this section, an aggrieved party means an employee or other person who suffers tangible or intangible harm due to an employer or other person's violation of this chapter. Interest shall accrue from the date the unpaid wages were fast due at the higher of twelve percent per antrum or the maximum rate permitted under RCW 19.52.020. 2. For purposes of determining membership within a class of persons entitled to bring an action under this section, two or more employees are similarly situated if they: a. Are or were employed by the same employer or employers, whether concurrently or otherwise, at some point during the applicable statute of limitations period; b. Allege one or more violations that raise similar questions as to liability; and C. Seek similar forms of relief. d. Employees shall not be considered dissimilar solely because their claims seek damages that differ in meant, or theirjob titles or other means of classifying employees differ in ways that are unrelated to their claims. 3. Each covered employer shall retain records as required by RCW 49.46.070, as well as such information as the City may require to confirm compliance with this chapter. If an employer fails to retain such records, there shall be a presumption, rebuttable by clear and convincing evidence, that the employer violated this chapter for the periods and for each employee for whom records were not retained. 4. Employers shall permit authorized City representatives access to work sites and relevant records for the purpose of monitoring compliance with the chapter and investigating complaints of noncompliance, including production for inspection and copying of employment records. The City may designate representatives, including city contractors and representatives of unions or worker advocacy organizations, to access the worksite and relevant records. 5. Complaints that any provision of this chapter has been violated may also be presented to the City Attorney, who is hereby authorized to investigate and, if they deem appropriate, initiate legal or other action to remedy any violation of this chapter. 6. The City has the authority to issue administrative citations and to order injunctive relief including reinstatement, restitution, payment of back wages, or other forms of relief. 7. The City may, in the exercise of its authority and performance of its functions and services, agree by contract or otherwise to participate jointly or in cooperation with Washington State, King County, or any city, town, or other incorporated place, or subdivision thereof, or engage outside counsel, to enforce this chapter. 8. The remedies and penalties provided under this chapter are cumulative and are not intended to be exclusive of any other available remedies or penalties, including existing remedies for enforcement of Renton Municipal Code chapters. 9. The statute of limitations for any enforcement action shall be five (5) years. Section 9. A new section is added to Renton Municipal Code (RMC) Section 5-5-4 as follows: 1. The Finance Director may deny, suspend, or revoke any license under this chapter for violation of this ordinance. 2. The Finance Director must deny, suspend, or revoke any license under this chapter for repeated intentional violations of this ordinance. 3. Any action by the Finance Director under this section shall be subject to the procedures and requirements of RMC subsection 5-5-3.E, as well as other due process rights that a court may require. Section 10. Definitions. For the purposes of this chapter, the following terms shall have the following meanings: "City" means the City of Renton. "Covered employer" means an employer that either (1) employs at least 15 employees regardless of where those employees are employed, or (2) has annual gross revenue over $2 million. "Effective date" is the effective date of this ordinance. "Employee" is defined as set forth in RCW 49.46.010. An employer bears the burden of proof that the individual is, as a matter of economic reality, in business for oneself rather than dependent upon the alleged employer. "Employer" is defined as set forth in RCW 49.46.010. "Employer classification" includes the determination of whether an employer is a covered employer and whether a covered employer is a large employer. "Franchise" means an agreement, express or implied, oral or written by which: L A person is granted the right to engage in the business of offering, selling, or distributing goods or services under a marketing plan prescribed or suggested in substantial part by the grantor or its affiliate; 2. The operation of the business is substantially associated with a trademark, service mark, trade time, advertising, or other commercial symbol; designating, owned by, or licensed by the grantor or its affiliate; and 3. The person pays, agrees to pay, or is required to pay, directly or indirectly, a franchise fee. The term, "franchise fee" is meant to be construed broadly to include any instance in which the grantor or its affiliate derives income or profit from a person who enters into a franchise agreement with the grantor. "Hour worked within the City" is to be interpreted according to its ordinary meaning, including all hours worked within the geographic boundaries of the City, excluding time spent in the City solely for the purpose of traveling through the City from a point of origin outside the City to a destination outside the City, with no employment -related or commercial stops in the City except for refueling or the employee's personal meals or errands. "Large Employer" means all employers that employ more than 500 employees, regardless of where those employees are employed, and all franchisees associated with a franchisor or a network of franchises with franchisees that employ more than 500 employees in aggregate. "Other covered employer" means a covered employer that does not qualify as a large employer. "Service charge" is defined as set forth in RCW 49.46.160(2)(c). "Tips" means a verifiable sum to be presented by a customer as a gift or gratuity in recognition of some service performed for the customer by the employee receiving the tip. "Wage" is defined as set forth in RCW 49.46.010. Section 11. Other Legal Requirements. This ordinance shall not be construed to preempt, limit, or otherwise affect the applicability of any other law, regulation, requirement, policy, or standard that provides for greater wages or compensation; and nothing in this ordinance shall be interpreted or applied so as to create any power or duty in conflict with federal or state law. Section 12. Rulemaking. Within 180 days after the effective date, the City shall adopt mles and procedures to implement and ensue compliance with this chapter, which shall require employers to maintain adequate records and to annually certify compliance with this chapter. The City shall seek feedback from worker organizations and covered employers before finalizing the rules and procedures. Section 13. Constitutional Subject. For constitutional purposes, this measure's subject "concems labor standards for certain employers." See File Foods, LLC v. City of SeaTaq 183 Wash. 2d 770, 783, 357 P.3d 1040, 1047 (2015) (upholding this statement of subject for an initiative that set a minimum wage and addressed employees' access to hours). Section 14. Codification. All sections of this ordinance except section 9 shall be codified in a new chapter of the Renton Municipal Code. Section 15. Election date. In the event that the election on this measure takes place later than November 7, 2023, the Finance Department must establish and publish the initial minimum wage within 30 days of the effective date. Section 16. Severability. The provisions of this ordinance me declared to be separate and severable. If any clause, sentence, paragraph, subdivision, section, subsection, or portion of this ordinance, or the application thereof to any employer, employee, or circumstance, is held to be invalid, it shall not affect the validity of the remainder of this ordinance, or the validity of its application to other persons or circumstances. Raising The Minimum Wage In Renton M 7. 8. 9. 10. INITIATIVE PETITION FOR SUBMISSION TO THE RENTON CITY COUNCIL TO: The City Council of the City of Renton: ® GCC/IBO 933-M We, the undersigned registered voters of the City of Renton, State of Washington, residing at the addresses set forth opposite our respective names, being equal to fifteen percent (15%) of the total number of names of persons listed as registered voters within the City on the day of the last preceding City general election, respectfully request that the following ordinance be enacted by the City Council or, if not so enacted, be submitted to a vote of the residents of the City. The title of the said ordinance is as follows: ORDINANCE CONCERNING LABOR STANDARDS FOR CERTAIN EMPLOYEES A full, true and correct copy of the ordinance is attached to this Petition. Each of us for himself or herself says: I have personally signed this petition; I am a registered voter of the City of Renton, State of Washington; and my residence is correctly stated. Signature Printed Name Street and Number City Phone Number Email Date Printed Name 1234 Anywhere St. Renton 206-555-1234 maria@something.org 4/10/2023 N�j V �fe�e/us �If� !./ Renton �5S � � 1 C �qP� f-V/-�' �{w.��/CA�'v .D/1 /2 fbCi.uey— Tt 4u& Va.r VI �� ��`f► `ice Ja,d. i V l4 s-r l Renton�'��� Renton 7 Renton Renton I } 11 Za-'a m3-M\%C 51 .. Renton -I _ r Renton �Na VI m6 f- //()?/' 'PL Renton D (0)S(S-5PJ. -335-5� PVTS0gT6 fX a3-7GI-0i Renton IF6 ,3og -3e3y 141 (,, r ;5/ crit �%aI IZ3 Renton ZS/l.-5 Warning Every person who signs this petition with any other than his or her true name, or who knowingly signs more than one of these petitions, or signs a petition seek- ing an election when he or she is not a legal voter, or signs a petition when he or she is otherwise not qualified to sign, or who makes herein any false statement, shall be guilty of a misdemeanor. AN ORDINANCE concerning labor standards for certain employees. Section 1. Findings. 1. The people of the City of Renton hereby adopt this citizen initiative addressing labor standards for certain employees, for the purpose of ensuring that, to the extent reasonably practicable, people employed in Renton have good wages and access to sufficient hours of work. 2. The City of Renton is one of the largest job centers in Washington State, with thousands of shoppers and workers visiting daily to participate in the local economy. Renton is home to The Landing shopping center, the historic Downtown Urban Center, as well as retail and commercial office and warehouse districts around the Rainier/Grady Way Junction. The City is a net importer ofjobs, with nearly 60,000 employed workers. Renton has a wide array of both long established and new and evolving business sectors. Retail businesses, restaurants and bars, auto sales, hospitality, healthcare, and office workers are well represented. 3. The statewide minimum wage is not sufficient to afford rising rents and costs of living in Renton. According to the National Low Income Housing Coalition's Out of Reach 2022 report, a worker making Washington's minimum wage would have to work 72 hours each week (up from 70 hours each week in 2021) to afford a modest one -bedroom rental home at Fair Market Rent. 4. When working families eam insufficient income due to low wages and involuntary under -employment, they struggle to pay for basic necessities like health care, child cue, and groceries, and they are more likely to be evicted and become homeless. 5. Nearby King County cities of SeaTac, Seattle, and Tukwila enacted higher minimum wages in 2013, 2014, and 2022 respectively, but until now Renton has not followed suit. 6. Children growing up in poverty experience insecurity with housing, nutrition, and health care while enduring other hardships that prevent their ability to learn in school, Full time working parents must be able to reasonably provide for their family to ensure access to the opportunities and promise of public education. Section 2. Intent. It is the intent of the people to establish fair labor standards and protect the rights of workers by: (1) ensuring that the vast majority of employees in the City of Renton receive a minimum wage comparable to employees in the nearby cities of Tukwila, SeaTac, and Seattle; (2) requiring covered employers to offer additional hours of work to qualified part-time employees before hiring new employees to fill those hours; and (3) adopting enforcement requirements. Section 3. Large Employers Shall Pay Minimum Wages Comparable to Those in Nearby Cities. 1. Effective July 1, 2024, every large employer shall pay to each employee an hourly wage of not less than the 2023 new minimum wage rate in the City of Tukwila, established by City of Tukwila Initiative Measure No. 1, approved by voters in November 2022, adjusted for 2024 by the annual rate of inflation. 2. On January 1, 2025, and on each January 1 thereafter, the hourly minimum wage shall increase by the annual rate of inflation to maintain employee purchasing power. 3. By December 31, 2023, and by October 15 of each year thereafter, the Finance Department shall establish and publish the applicable hourly minimum wage for the following year using the annual rate of inflation. 4. For purposes of this chapter, the annual rate of inflation means 100 percent of the annual average growth rate of the bi-monthly Seattle -Tacoma -Bellevue Area Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers, termed CPI-W, for the 12-month period ending in August, provided that the percentage increase shall not be less than zero. 5. An employer must pay to its employees: a. All tips and gratuities; and b. All service charges as defined under RCW 49.46.160 except those that, pursuant to RCW 49.46.160, are itemized as not being payable to the employee or employees servicing the customer. Tips and service charges paid to an employee are in addition to, and may not count towards, the employee's hourly minimum wage. Section 4. Other Covered Employers Shall Have a Multiyear Phase -In Period. Other covered employers shall phase in the new minimum wage, as follows: 1. Effective July 1, 2024, other covered employers shall pay employees not less than the hourly minimum wage established under Section 3 minus Two Dollars ($2) per hour. 2. Effective July 1, 2025, other covered employers shall pay employees not less than the hourly minimum wage established under Section 3 minus One Dollar ($1) per hour. 3. Effective July 1, 2026, and thereafter, all covered employers shall pay employees not less than the hourly minimum wage established under Section 3. Section 5. Coverage and Employer Classifications. 1. Covered employers must pay employees at least the minimum wage established by this chapter for each hour worked within the City. 2. Employer classification for the current calendar year will be calculated based upon the average number of employees during all weeks in the previous calendar year in which the employer had at least one employee. For employers that did not have any employees during the previous calendar year, classification will be based upon the average number of employees during the most recent three months of the current year. In this determination, all employees will be counted, regardless of their location, and including employees who worked in full-time employment, part-time employment, joint employment, temporary employment, or through the services of a temporary services or staffing agency or similar entity. 3. Employer classification for the current calendar year will be calculated based upon the gross revenue for the previous year, For employers that did not have gross revenue during the previous calendar year, annual gross revenue will be calculated from the gross revenue during the most recent three months of the current year. 4. For the purposes of employer classification, separate entities will be considered a single employer if they form an integrated enterprise or they are under joint control by one of those entities or a separate entity. The factors to consider in making this assessment include, but are not limited to: a. Degree of interrelation between the operations of multiple entities; b. Degree to which the entities share common management; C. Centralized control of labor relations; and d. Degree of common ownership or financial control over the entities. Section 6. Part -Time Employees Shall Have Fair Access to Additional Hours. 1. Before hiring additional employees or subcontractors, including hiring through the use of temporary services or staffing agencies, covered employers must offer additional hours of work to existing employees who, in the employer's good faith and reasonable judgment, have the skills and experience to perform the work, and shall use a reasonable, transparent, and nondiscriminatory process to distribute the hours of work among those existing employees. 2. This section shall not be construed to require any employer to offer an employee work hours if the employer would be required to compensate the employee at time-and-a-halfor other premium rate under any law or collective bargaining agreement, nor to prohibit any employer from offering such work hours. Section 7. Retaliation Prohibited. I. No employer or any other person shall interfere with, restrain, or deny the exercise of, or the attempt to exercise, any right protected under this chapter. 2. No employer or any other person shall take any adverse action against any person because the person has exercised in good faith the rights under this chapter. Such rights include but are not limited to the right to make inquiries about the rights protected under this chapter; the right to inform others about their rights under this chapter; the right to inform the person's employer, union, or similar organization, and/or the person's legal counsel or any other person about an alleged violation of this chapter; the right to bring a civil action for an alleged violation of this chapter; the right to testify in a proceeding under or related to this chapter; the right to refuse to participate in an activity that would result in a violation of city, state, or federal law; and the right to oppose any policy, practice, or act that is unlawful under this chapter. 3. For the purposes of this section, an adverse action means denying ajob or promotion, demoting, terminating, failing to rehire after a seasonal interruption of work, threatening, penalizing, retaliating, engaging in unfair immigration -related practices, filing a false report with a government agency, changing an employee's status to nonemployee, decreasing or declining to provide additional work hours when they otherwise would have been offered, scheduling an employee for hours outside of their availability, or otherwise discriminating against any person for any reason prohibited by this chapter. "Adverse action" for an employee may involve any aspect of employment, including pay, work hours, responsibilities, or other material change in the terms and conditions of employment. 4. No employer or any other person shall communicate to a person exercising rights protected under this chapter, directly or indirectly, the willingness to inform a government employee that the person is not lawfully in the United States, or to report, or to make an implied or express assertion of a willingness to report, suspected citizenship or immigration status of the person or a family member of the person to a federal, state, or local agency because the person has exercised a right under this chapter. 5. There shall be a rebuttable presumption of unlawful retaliation if an employer or any other person takes an adverse action against a person within 90 days of the person's exercise of any right protected in this chapter. However, in the case of seasonal work that ended before the close of the 90-day period, the presumption also applies if the employer fails to rehire a former employee at the next opportunity for work in the same position. The employer may rebut the presumption with clear and convincing evidence that the adverse action was taken for a permissible purpose. 6. Standard of Proof. Proof of retaliation under this chapter shall be sufficient upon a showing that an employer or any other person has taken an adverse action against a person and the person's exercise of rights protected in this chapter was a motivating factor in the adverse action, unless the employer can prove that the action would have been taken in the absence of such protected activity. 7. The protections afforded under this section shall apply to any person who mistakenly but in good faith alleges violations of this chapter. Section 8. Enforcement. 1. Any person or class of persons that suffers financial injury as a result of a violation of this chapter or is the subject of prohibited retaliation under this chapter, or any other individual or entity acting on their behalf, may bring a civil action in a court of competent jurisdiction against the employer or other person violating this chapter and, upon prevailing, shall be awarded reasonable attorney fees and costs and such legal or equitable relief as may be appropriate to remedy the violation including, without limitation, the payment of any unpaid wages plus interest due to the person and liquidated damages in an additional amount of up to twice the unpaid wages; compensatory damages; and a penalty payable to any aggrieved party of up to $5,000 if the aggrieved party was subject to prohibited retaliation. For the purposes of this section, an aggrieved party means an employee or other person who suffers tangible or intangible harm due to an employer or other person's violation of this chapter. Interest shall accrue from the date the unpaid wages were first due at the higher of twelve percent per annum or the maximum rate permitted under RCW 19.52.020. 2. For purposes of determining membership within a class of persons entitled to bring an action under this section, two or more employees are similarly situated if they: a. Are or were employed by the same employer or employers, whether concurrently or otherwise, at some point timing the applicable statute of limitations period; b. Allege one or more violations that raise similar questions as to liability; and C. Seek similar forms of relief. d. Employees shall not be considered dissimilar solely because their claims seek damages that differ in amount, or theirjob titles or other means of classifying employees differ in ways that are unrelated to their claims. 3. Each covered employer shall retain records as required by RCW 49.46.070, as well as such information as the City may require to confirm compliance with this chapter. If an employer fails to retain such records, there shall be a presumption, rebuttable by clear and convincing evidence, that the employer violated this chapter for the periods and for each employee for whom records were not retained. 4. Employers shall permit authorized City representatives access to work sites and relevant records for the purpose of monitoring compliance with the chapter and investigating complaints of noncompliance, including production for inspection and copying of employment records. The City may designate representatives, including city contractors and representatives of unions or worker advocacy organizations, to access the worksite and relevant records. 5. Complaints that any provision of this chapter has been violated may also be presented to the City Attorney, who is hereby authorized to investigate and, if they deem appropriate, initiate legal or other action to remedy any violation of this chapter. 6. The City has the authority to issue administrative citations and to order injunctive relief including reinstatement, restitution, payment of back wages, or other forms of relief. 7. The City may, in the exercise of its authority and performance of its functions and services, agree by contract or otherwise to participate jointly or in cooperation with Washington State, King County, or any city, town, or other incorporated place, or subdivision thereof, or engage outside counsel, to enforce this chapter. 8. The remedies and penalties provided under this chapter are cumulative and are not intended to be exclusive of any other available remedies or penalties, including existing remedies for enforcement of Renton Municipal Code chapters. 9. The statute of limitations for any enforcement action shall be five (5) years. Section 9. A new section is added to Renton Municipal Code (RMC) Section 5-5-4 as follows: 1. The Finance Director may deny, suspend, or revoke any license under this chapter for violation of this ordinance. 2. The Finance Director must deny, suspend, or revoke any license under this chapter for repeated intentional violations of this ordinance. 3. Any action by the Finance Director under this section shall be subject to the procedures and requirements of RMC subsection 5-5-3.E, as well as other due process rights that a court may require. Section 10. Definitions. For the purposes of this chapter, the following terms shall have the following meanings: "City" means the City of Renton. "Covered employer" means an employer that either (1) employs at least 15 employees regardless of where those employees are employed, or (2) has annual gross revenue over $2 million. "Effective date" is the effective date of this ordinance. "Employee" is defined as set forth in RCW 49.46.010. An employer bears the burden of proof that the individual is, as a matter of economic reality, in business for oneself rather than dependent upon the alleged employer, "Employer" is defined as set forth in RCW 49.46.010. "Employer classification" includes the determination of whether an employer is a covered employer and whether a covered employer is a large employer. "Franchise" means an agreement, express or implied, oral or written by which: 1. A person is granted the right to engage in the business of offering, selling, or distributing goods or services under a marketing plan prescribed or suggested in substantial part by the grantor or its affiliate; 2. The operation of the business is substantially associated with a trademark, service mark, trade name, advertising, or other commercial symbol; designating, owned by, or licensed by the grantor or its affiliate; and 3. The person pays, agrees to pay, or is required Wpay, directly or indirectly, a franchise fee. The term, "franchise fee" is meant to be construed broadly to include any instance in which the grantor or its affiliate derives income or profit from a person who enters into a franchise agreement with the grantor. "Hour worked within the City" is to be interpreted according to its ordinary meaning, including all hours worked within the geographic boundaries of the City, excluding time spent in the City solely for the purpose of traveling through the City from a point of origin outside the City to a destination outside the City, with no employment -related or commercial stops in the City except for refueling or the employee's personal meals or errands. "Large Employer" means all employers that employ more than 500 employees, regardless of where those employees are employed, and all franchisees associated with a franchisor or a network of franchises with franchisees that employ more than 500 employees in aggregate. "Other covered employer" means a covered employer that does not qualify as a large employer. "Service charge" is defined as set forth in RCW 49.46.160(2)(c). "Tips" means a verifiable sum to be presented by a customer as a gift or gratuity in recognition of some service performed for the customer by the employee receiving the tip. "Wage" is defined as set forth in RCW 49.46.010. Section 11. Other Legal Requirements. This ordinance shall not be construed to preempt, limit, or otherwise affect the applicability of any other law, regulation, requirement, policy, or standard that provides for greater wages or compensation; and nothing in this ordinance shall be interpreted or applied so as to create any power or duty in conflict with federal or state law. Section 12. Rulemaking. Within 180 days after the effective date, the City shall adopt rules and procedures to implement and ensure compliance with this chapter, which shall require employers to maintain adequate records and to annually certify compliance with this chapter. The City shall seek feedback from worker organizations and covered employers before finalizing the rules and procedures. Section 13. Constitutional Subject. For constitutional purposes, this measure's subject "concerns labor standards for certain employers." See Filo Foods, LLC v. City of SeaTac, 183 Wash. 2d 770, 783, 357 P.3d 1040, 1047 (2015) (upholding this statement of subject for an initiative that set a minimum wage and addressed employees' access to hours). Section 14. Codification. All sections of this ordinance except section 9 shall be codified in a new chapter of the Renton Municipal Code. Section 15. Election date. In the event that the election on this measure takes place later than November 7, 2023, the Finance Department must establish and publish the initial minimum wage within 30 days of the effective date. Section 16. Severability. The provisions of this ordinance are declared to be separate and severable. If my clause, sentence, paragraph, subdivision, section, subsection, or portion of this ordinance, or the application thereof to any employer, employee, or circumstance, is held to be invalid, it shall not affect the validity of the remainder of this ordinance, or the validity of its application to other persons or circumstances. Name Of Canvasser: Date Canvassed: Email and Phone Number: 4111 Raising The Minimum Wage In Renton INITIATIVE PETITION FOR SUBMISSION TO THE RENTON CITY COUNCIL TO: The City Council of the City of Renton: p OUR, ccner 933-M We, the undersigned registered voters of the City of Renton, State of Washington, residing at the addresses set forth opposite our respective names, being equal to fifteen percent (15%) of the total number of names of persons 1 listed as registered voters within the City on the day of the last preceding City general election, respectfully request that the following ordinance be enacted by the City Council or, if not so enacted, be submitted to a vote of the residents of the City. The title of the said ordinance is as follows: ORDINANCE CONCERNING LABOR STANDARDS FOR CERTAIN EMPLOYEES A full, true and correct copy of the ordinance is attached to this Petition. Each of us for himself or herself says: I have personally signed this petition; I am a registered voter of the City of Renton, State of Washington; and my residence is correctly stated. signature Printed Name Street and Number a, ° city Phone Number Email Date 5`U Printed Name 1234 Anywhere St. Renton 206-555-1234 maria@something.org 4/10/2023 7057 055 Nh la`{ { f �yl� 3-� Renton 4-a-j X 2. V � �-� �,r"�J�—/ Renton Lf- 3 3. �Lv / 1(/� Pre�� / SS F�2�h S �G Renton fo-A 4.V 1 6 \ d'( 4`�� L� Y. s, RentonQis oC� C VY�iRenton s. 1 �� j` l �5 ap Iv �5 - fl15� �i ek (Mllr'o2J Renton 6. 1,©�l5 l.✓�JU7L� �Z3� �L ��23 7. �f� Renton 2S �, ,� , .�%J o�.t�Si� Foci �S�\�2 iCr\S J Renton 8. Vt J" ItiL G �(oC<� IC 9. C�'; ^!� G l 1 J � ` t l W ez'Ls 14l) Renton Z lo. Renton Warning Every person who signs this petition with any other than his or her true name, or who knowingly signs more than one of these petitions, or signs a petition seek- ing an election when he or she is not a legal voter, or signs a petition when he or she is otherwise not qualified to sign, or who makes herein any false statement, shall be guilty of a misdemeanor. AN ORDINANCE concerning labor standards for certain employees. Section 1. Findings. 1. The people of the City of Renton hereby adopt this citizen initiative addressing labor standards for certain employees, for the purpose of ensuring that, to the extent reasonably practicable, people employed in Renton have good wages and access to sufficient hours of work. 2. The City of Renton is one of the largestjob centers in Washington State, with thousands of shoppers and workers visiting daily to participate in the local economy. Renton is home to The Landing shopping center, the historic Downtown Urban Center, as well as retail and commercial office and warehouse districts around the Rainier/Grady Way Junction. The City is a net importer ofjobs, with nearly 60,000 employed workers. Renton has a wide array of both long established and new and evolving business sectors. Retail businesses, restaurants and bars, auto sales, hospitality, healthcare, and office workers are well represented. 3. The statewide minimum wage is not sufficient to afford rising rents and costs of living in Renton. According to the National Low Income Housing Coalition's Out of Reach 2022 report, a worker making Washington's minimum wage would have to work 72 hours each week (up from 70 hours each week in 2021) to afford a modest one -bedroom rental home at Fair Market Rent. 4. When working families earn insufficient income due to low wages and involuntary under -employment, they struggle to pay for basic necessities like health care, child cue, and groceries, and they are more likely to be evicted and become homeless. 5. Nearby King County cities of SeaTac, Seattle, and Tukwila enacted higher minimum wages in 2013, 2014, and 2022 respectively, but until now Renton has not followed suit. 6. Children growing up in poverty experience insecurity with housing, nutrition, and health care while enduring other hardships that prevent their ability to learn in school. Full time working parents must be able to reasonably provide for their family to ensure access to the opportunities and promise of public education. Section 2. Intent. It is the intent of the people to establish fair labor standards and protect the rights of workers by: (1) ensuring that the vast majority of employees in the City of Renton receive a minimum wage comparable to employees in the nearby cities of Tukwila, SeaTac, and Seattle; (2) requiring covered employers to offer additional hours of work to qualified part-time employees before hiring new employees to fill those hours; and (3) adopting enforcement requirements. Section 3. Large Employers Shall Pay Minimum Wages Comparable to Those in Nearby Cities. 1. Effective July 1, 2024, every large employer shall pay to each employee an hourly wage of not less than the 2023 new minimum wage rate in the City of Tukwila, established by City of Tukwila Initiative Measure No. 1, approved by voters in November 2022, adjusted for 2024 by the annual rate of inflation. 2. On January 1, 2025, and on each January 1 thereafter, the hourly minimum wage shall increase by the annual rate of inflation to maintain employee purchasing power. 3. By December 31, 2023, and by October 15 of each year thereafter, the Finance Department shall establish and publish the applicable hourly minimum wage for the following year using the annual rate of inflation, 4. For purposes of this chapter, the annual rate of inflation means 100 percent of the annual average growth rate of the bi-monthly Seattle -Tacoma -Bellevue Area Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers, termed CPI-W, for the 12-month period ending in August, provided that the percentage increase shall not be less than zero. 5. An employer must pay to its employees: a. All tips and gratuities; and b. All service charges as defined under RCW 49.46.160 except those that, pursuant to RCW 49.46.160, are itemized as not being payable to the employee or employees servicing the customer. Tips and service charges paid to an employee are in addition to, and may not count towards, the employee's hourly minimum wage. Section 4. Other Covered Employers Shall Have a Multiyear Phase -In Period. Other covered employers shall phase in the new minimum wage, as follows: I. Effective July 1, 2024, other covered employers shall pay employees not less than the hourly minimum wage established under Section 3 minus Two Dollars ($2) per hour. 2. Effective July 1, 2025, other covered employers shall pay employees not less than the hourly minimum wage established under Section 3 minus One Dollar ($1) per hour. 3. Effective July 1, 2026, and thereafter, all covered employers shall pay employees not less than the hourly minimum wage established under Section 3. Section 5. Coverage and Employer Classifications. 1. Covered employers must pay employees at least the minimum wage established by this chapter for each hour worked within the City. 2. Employer classification for the current calendar yen will be calculated based upon the average number of employees during all weeks in the previous calendar year in which the employer had at least one employee. For employers that did not have any employees during the previous calendar year, classification will be based upon the average number of employees during the most recent three months of the current year. In this determination, all employees will be counted, regardless of their location, and including employees who worked in full-time employment, part-time employment, joint employment, temporary employment, or through the services of a temporary services or staffing agency or similar entity. 3. Employer classification for the current calendar year will be calculated based upon the gross revenue for the previous year. For employers that did not have gross revenue during the previous calendar yea, annual gross revenue will be calculated from the gross revenue during the most recent three months of the current year. 4. For the purposes of employer classification, separate entities will be considered a single employer if they form an integrated enterprise or they we underjoint control by one of those entities or a separate entity. The factors to consider in making this assessment include, but are not limited to: a. Degree of interrelation between the operations of multiple entities; b. Degree to which the entities share common management; C. Centralized control of labor relations; and d. Degree of common ownership or financial control over the entities. Section 6. Part -Time Employees Shall Have Fair Access to Additional Hours. 1. Before hiring additional employees or subcontractors, including hiring through the use of temporary services or staffing agencies, covered employers must offer additional hours of work to existing employees who, in the employer's good faith and reasonable judgment, have the skills and experience to perform the work, and shall use a reasonable, transparent, and nondiscriminatory process to distribute the hours of work among those existing employees. 2. This section shall not be construed to require any employer to offer an employee work hours if the employer would be required to compensate the employee at time -and -a -half or other premium rate under any law or collective bargaining agreement, nor to prohibit any employer from offering such work hours. Section 7. Retaliation Prohibited. 1. No employer or any other person shall interfere with, restrain, or deny the exercise of, or the attempt to exercise, any right protected under this chapter. 2. No employer or any other person shall take any adverse action against any person because the person has exercised in good faith the rights under this chapter. Such rights include but are not limited to the right to make inquiries about the rights protected under this chapter; the right to inform others about their rights under this chapter; the right to inform the person's employer, union, or similar organization, and/or the person's legal counsel or any other person about an alleged violation of this chapter; the right to bring a civil action for an alleged violation of this chapter; the right to testify in a proceeding under or related to this chapter, the right to refuse to participate in an activity that would result in a violation of city, state, or federal law; and the right to oppose any policy, practice, or act that is unlawful under this chapter, 3. For the purposes of this section, an adverse action means denying ajob or promotion, demoting, terminating, failing to rehire after a seasonal interruption of work, threatening, penalizing, retaliating, engaging in unfair immigration -related practices, filing a false report with a government agency, changing an employee's status to nonemployee, decreasing or declining to provide additional work hours when they otherwise would have been offered, scheduling an employee for hours outside of their availability, or otherwise discriminating against any person for any reason prohibited by this chapter. "Adverse action" for an employee may involve any aspect of employment, including pay, work hours, responsibilities, or other material change in the terns and conditions of employment. 4. No employer or any other person shall communicate to a person exercising rights protected under this chapter, directly or indirectly, the willingness to inform a government employee that the person is not lawfully in the United States, or to report, or to make an implied or express assertion of a willingness to report, suspected citizenship or immigration status of the person or a family member of the person to a federal, state, or local agency because the person has exercised a right under this chapter. 5. There shall be a rebuttable presumption of unlawful retaliation if an employer or any other person takes an adverse action against a person within 90 days of the person's exercise of any right protected in this chapter. However, in the case of seasonal work that ended before the close of the 90-day period, the presumption also applies if the employer fails to rehire a former employee at the next opportunity for work in the same position. The employer may rebut the presumption with clear, and convincing evidence that the adverse action was taken for a permissible purpose. 6. Standard of Proof. Proof of retaliation under this chapter shall be sufficient upon a showing that an employer or any other person has taken an adverse action against a person and the person's exercise of rights protected in this chapter was a motivating factor in the adverse action, unless the employer can prove that the action would have been taken in the absence of such protected activity. 7. The protections afforded under this section shall apply to any person who mistakenly but in good faith alleges violations of this chapter. Section 8. Enforcement. 1. Any person or class of persons that suffers financial injury as a result of a violation of this chapter or is the subject of prohibited retaliation under this chapter, or any other individual or entity acting on their behalf, may bring a civil action in a court of competent jurisdiction against the employer or other person violating this chapter and, upon prevailing, shall be awarded reasonable attorney fees and costs and such legal or equitable relief as may be appropriate to remedy the violation including, without limitation, the payment of any unpaid wages plus interest due to the person and liquidated damages in an additional amount of up to twice the unpaid wages; compensatory damages; and a penalty payable to any aggrieved party of up to $5,000 if the aggrieved party was subject to prohibited retaliation. For the purposes of this section, an aggrieved party means an employee or other person who suffers tangible or intangible harm due to an employer or other person's violation of this chapter. Interest shall accme from the date the unpaid wages were first due at the higher of twelve percent per armour or the maximum rate permitted under RCW 19.52.020. 2. For purposes of determining membership within a class of persons entitled to bring an action under this section, two or more employees are similarly situated if they: a. Are or were employed by the same employer or employers, whether concurrently or otherwise, at some point during the applicable statute of limitations period; b. Allege one or more violations that raise similar questions as to liability; and C. Seek similar forms of relief. d. Employees shall not be considered dissimilar solely because their claims seek damages that differ in meant, or their job titles or other means of classifying employees differ in ways that are unrelated to their claims. 3. Each covered employer shall retain records as required by RCW 49.46.070, as well as such information as the City may require to confirm compliance with this chapter. If an employer fails to retain such records, there shall be a presumption, rebuttable by clew and convincing evidence, that the employer violated this chapter for the periods and for each employee for whom records were not retained. 4. Employers shall permit authorized City representatives access to work sites and relevant records for the purpose of monitoring compliance with the chapter and investigating complaints of noncompliance, including production for inspection and copying of employment records. The City may designate representatives, including city contractors and representatives of unions or worker advocacy organizations, to access the worksite and relevant records. 5. Complaints that any provision of this chapter has been violated may also be presented to the City Attorney, who is hereby authorized to investigate and, if they deem appropriate, initiate legal or other action to remedy any violation of this chapter. 6. The City has the authority to issue administrative citations and to order injunctive relief including reinstatement, restitution, payment of back wages, or other forms of relief. 7. The City may, in the exercise of its authority and performance of its functions and services, agree by contract or otherwise to participate jointly or in cooperation with Washington State, King County, or any city, town, or other incorporated place, or subdivision thereof, or engage outside counsel, to enforce this chapter. 8. The remedies and penalties provided under this chapter are cumulative and are not intended to be exclusive of any other available remedies or penalties, including existing remedies for enforcement of Renton Municipal Code chapters. 9. The statute of limitations for any enforcement action shall be five (5) years. Section 9. A new section is added to Renton Municipal Code (RMC) Section 5-5-4 as follows: 1. The Finance Director may deny, suspend, or revoke any license under this chapter for violation of this ordinance. 2. The Finance Director must deny, suspend, or revoke any license under this chapter for repeated intentional violations of this ordinance. 3. Any action by the Finance Director under this section shall be subject to the procedures and requirements of RMC subsection 5-5-3.E, as well as other due process rights that a court may require. Section 10. Definitions. For the purposes of this chapter, the following terms shall have the following meanings: "City" means the City of Renton. "Covered employer" means an employer that either (1) employs at least 15 employees regardless of where those employees we employed, or (2) has annual gross revenue over $2 million. "Effective date" is the effective date of this ordinance. "Employee" is defined as set forth in RCW 49.46.010. An employer bears the burden of proof that the individual is, as a matter of economic reality, in business for oneself rather than dependent upon the alleged employer. "Employer" is defined as set forth in RCW 49.46.010. "Employer classification" includes the determination of whether an employer is a covered employer and whether a covered employer is a large employer. "Franchise" means an agreement, express or implied, oral or written by which: 1. A person is granted the right to engage in the business of offering, selling, or distributing goods or services under a marketing plan prescribed or suggested in substantial part by the grantor or its affiliate; 2. The operation of the business is substantially associated with a trademark, service mark, trade name, advertising, or other commercial symbol; designating, owned by, or licensed by the grantor or its affiliate; and 3. The person pays, agrees to pay, or is required to pay, directly or indirectly, a franchise fee. The tern, "franchise fee" is meant to be construed broadly to include any instance in which the grantor or its affiliate derives income or profit from a person who enters into a franchise agreement with the grantor. "Hour worked within the City" is to be interpreted according to its ordinary meaning, including all hours worked within the geographic boundaries of the City, excluding time spent in the City solely for the purpose of traveling through the City from a point of origin outside the City to a destination outside the City, with no employment -related or commercial stops in the City except for refueling or the employee's personal meals or errands. "Large Employer" means all employers that employ more than 500 employees, regardless of where those employees are employed, and all franchisees associated with a franchisor or a network of franchises with franchisees that employ more than 500 employees in aggregate. "Other covered employer" means a covered employer that does not qualify as a large employer. "Service charge" is defined as set forth in RCW 49.46.160(2)(c). "Tips" means a verifiable sum to be presented by a customer as a gift or gratuity in recognition of some service performed for the customer by the employee receiving the tip. "Wage" is defined as set forth in RCW 49.46.010. Section 11. Other Legal Requirements. This ordinance shall not be construed to preempt, limit, or otherwise affect the applicability of any other law, regulation, requirement, policy, or standard that provides for greater wages or compensation; and nothing in this ordinance shall be interpreted or applied so as to create any power or duty in conflict with federal or state law. Section 12. Rulemaking. Within 180 days after the effective date, the City shall adopt rules and procedures to implement and ensure compliance with this chapter, which shall require employers to maintain adequate records and to annually certify compliance with this chapter. The City shall seek feedback from worker organizations and covered employers before finalizing the rules and procedures. Section 13. Constitutional Subject. For constitutional purposes, this measure's subject "concerns labor standards for certain employers." See File Foods, LLC v. City of SeaTac, 183 Wash. 2d 770, 783, 357 RM 1040, 1047 (2015) (upholding this statement of subject for an initiative that set a minimum wage and addressed employees' access to hours). Section 14. Codification. All sections of this ordinance except section 9 shall be codified in a new chapter of the Renton Municipal Code. Section 15. Election date. In the event that the election on this measure takes place later than November 7, 2023, the Finance Department must establish and publish the initial minimum wage within 30 days of the effective date. Section 16. Severability. The provisions of this ordinance are declared to be separate and severable. If any clause, sentence, paragraph, subdivision, section, subsection, or portion of this ordinance, or the application thereof to any employer, employee, or circumstance, is held to be invalid, it shall not affect the validity of the remainder of this ordinance, or the validity of its application to other persons or circumstances. Name Of Canvasser: Dale Canvassed: Canvasser Email and Phone Number: Raising The Minimum Wage In Renton INITIATIVE PETITION FOR SUBMISSION TO THE RENTON CITY COUNCIL TO: The City Council of the City of Renton: ® 933-M ,eww.ex.m�^"O We, the undersigned registered voters of the City of Renton, State of Washington, residing at the addresses set forth opposite our respective names, being equal to fifteen percent (15%) of the total number of names of persons listed as registered voters within the City on the day of the last preceding City general election, respectfully request that the following ordinance be enacted by the City Council or, if not so enacted, be submitted to a vote of the residents of the City. The title of the said ordinance is as follows: ORDINANCE CONCERNING LABOR STANDARDS FOR CERTAIN EMPLOYEES A full, true and correct copy of the ordinance is attached to this Petition. Each of us for himself or herself says: I have personally signed this petition; I am a registered voter of the City of Renton, State of Washington; and my residence is correctly stated. Signature Printed Name Street and Number City Phone Number Email Date SaHr�3le`Uotac Printed Name 1234 Anywhere St. Renton 206-555-1234 maria@something.org 4/10/2023 �111�a� 1. j 5 �n Renton 2. IMJ' A) � Renton 3. ��g�c'C� CIS4iJ, 5N Renton 4. _ ri S u+�h ��2 t S,133���. Renton ��S py-SV 5. I Y`G<vt Renton 6• Renton �l9 z3 7. 6 RentonI 2 j J! �� d bj � oy� /E Renton 8. 1 9. C�r�lO� YW , �1,^ Renton p`3 10. • �9�� lG� P�� ��° T'IaDI��e-IN� Renton eyi7l�I�PbeA�3��1 a�G �,a�ic�+ l Warning Every person who signs this petition with any other than his or her true name, or who knowingly signs more than one of these petitions, or signs a petition seek- ing an election when he or she is not a legal voter, or signs a petition when he or she is otherwise not qualified to sign, or who makes herein any false statement, shall be guilty of a misdemeanor. AN ORDINANCE concerning labor standards for certain employees. Section 1. Findings. 1. The people of the City of Renton hereby adopt this citizen initiative addressing labor standards for certain employees, for the purpose of ensuring that, to the extent reasonably practicable, people employed in Renton have good wages and access to sufficient hours of work. 2. The City of Renton is one of the largest job centers in Washington State, with thousands of shoppers and workers visiting daily to participate in the local economy. Renton is home to The Landing shopping center, the historic Downtown Urban Center, as well as retail and commercial office and warehouse districts around the Rainier/Grady Way Junction. The City is a net importer ofjobs, with nearly 60,000 employed workers. Renton has a wide array of both long established and new and evolving business sectors. Retail businesses, restaurants and bars, auto sales, hospitality, healthcare, and office workers are well represented. 3. The statewide minimum wage is not sufficient to afford rising rents and costs of living in Renton. According to the National Low Income Housing Coalition's Out of Reach 2022 report, a worker making Washington's minimum wage would have to work 72 hours each week (up from 70 hours each week in 2021) to afford a modest one -bedroom rental home at Fair Market Rent. 4. When working families earn insufficient income due to low wages and involuntary under -employment, they straggle to pay for basic necessities like health care, child care, and groceries, and they are more likely to be evicted and become homeless. 5. Nearby King County cities of SeaTac, Seattle, and Tukwila enacted higher minimum wages in 2013, 2014, and 2022 respectively, but will now Renton has not followed suit. 6. Children growing up in poverty experience insecurity with housing, nutrition, and health cue while enduring other hardships that prevent their ability to team in school. Full time working parents must be able to reasonably provide for their family to ensure access to the opportunities and promise of public education. Section 2. Intent. It is the intent of the people to establish fair labor standards and protect the rights of workers by: (1) ensuring that the vast majority of employees in the City of Renton receive a minimum wage comparable to employees in the nearby cities of Tukwila, SeaTac, and Seattle; (2) requiring covered employers to offer additional hours of work to qualified part-time employees before hiring new employees to fill those hours; and (3) adopting enforcement requirements. Section 3. Large Employers Shall Pay Minimum Wages Comparable to Those in Nearby Cities. 1. Effective July 1, 2024, every large employer shall pay to each employee an hourly wage of not less than the 2023 new minimum wage rate in the City of Tukwila, established by City of Tukwila Initiative Measure No. 1, approved by voters in November 2022, adjusted for 2024 by the annual rate of inflation. 2. On January 1, 2025, and on each January 1 thereafter, the hourly minimum wage shall increase by the annual rate of inflation to maintain employee purchasing power. 3. By December 31, 2023, and by October 15 of each year thereafter, the Finance Department shall establish and publish the applicable hourly minimum wage for the following year using the annual rate of inflation. 4. For purposes of this chapter, the annual rate of inflation means 100 percent of the annual average growth rate of the bi-monthly Seattle -Tacoma -Bellevue Area Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers, termed CPI-W, for the 12-month period ending in August, provided that the percentage increase shall not be less than zero. 5. An employer must pay to its employees: a. All tips and gratuities; and b. All service charges as defined under RCW 49.46.160 except those that, pursuant to RCW 49.46.160, are itemized as not being payable to the employee or employees servicing the customer. Tips and service charges paid to an employee are in addition to, and may not count towards, the employee's hourly minimum wage. Section 4. Other Covered Employers Shall Have a Multiyear Phase -In Period. Other covered employers shall phase in the new minimum wage, as follows: 1. Effective July 1, 2024, other covered employers shall pay employees not less than the hourly minimum wage established under Section 3 minus Two Dollars ($2) per how. 2. Effective July 1, 2025, other covered employers shall pay employees not less than the hourly minimum wage established under Section 3 minus One Dollar ($1) per hour. 3. Effective July 1, 2026, and thereafter, all covered employers shall pay employees not less than the hourly minimum wage established under Section 3. Section 5. Coverage and Employer Classifications. 1. Covered employers must pay employees at least the minimum wage established by this chapter for each hour worked within the City. 2. Employer classification for the current calendar year will be calculated based upon the average number of employees during all weeks in the previous calendar year in which the employer had at least one employee. For employers that did not have any employees during the previous calendar yen, classification will be based upon the average number of employees during the most recent three months of the current year. In this determination, all employees will be counted, regardless of their location, and including employees who worked in full-time employment, part-time employment, joint employment, temporary employment, or through the services of a temporary services or staffing agency or similar entity. 3. Employer classification for the current calendar year will be calculated based upon the gross revenue for the previous year. For employers that did not have gross revenue awing the previous calendar year, annual gross revenue will be calculated from the gross revenue during the most recent three months of the current year. 4. For the purposes of employer classification, separate entities will be considered a single employer if they form an integrated enterprise or they me under joint control by one of those entities or a separate entity. The factors to consider in making this assessment include, but are not limited to: a. Degree of interrelation between the operations of multiple entities; b. Degree to which the entities share common management; C. Centralized control of labor relations; and d. Degree of common ownership or financial control over the entities. Section 6. Part -Time Employees Shall Have Fair Access to Additional Hours. I. Before hiving additional employees or subcontractors, including hiring through the use of temporary services or staffing agencies, covered employers must offer additional hours of work to existing employees who, in the employer's good faith and reasonable judgment, have the skills and experience to perform the work, and shall use a reasonable, transparent, and nondiscriminatory process to distribute the hours of work among those existing employees. 2. This section shall not be construed to require any employer to offer an employee work hours if the employer would be required to compensate the employee at time -and -a -half or other premium rate under any law or collective bargaining agreement, nor to prohibit any employer from offering such work hours. Section 7. Retaliation Prohibited. 1. No employer or any other person shall interfere with, restrain, or deny the exercise of, or the attempt to exercise, any right protected under this chapter. 2. No employer or any other person shall take any adverse action against any person because the person has exercised in good faith the rights under this chapter. Such rights include but are not limited to the right to make inquiries about the rights protected under this chapter; the right to inform others about their rights under this chapter; the right to inform the person's employer, union, or similar organization, and/or the person's legal counsel or any other person about an alleged violation of this chapter; the right to bring a civil action for an alleged violation of this chapter; the right to testify in a proceeding under or related to this chapter; the right to refuse to participate in an activity that would result in a violation of city, state, or federal law; and the right to oppose any policy, practice, or act that is unlawful under this chapter. 3. For the purposes of this section, an adverse action means denying ajob or promotion, demoting, terminating, failing to rehire after a seasonal interruption of work, threatening, penalizing, retaliating, engaging in unfair immigration -related practices, filing a false report with a government agency, changing an employee's status to nonemployee, decreasing or declining to provide additional work hours when they otherwise would have been offered, scheduling an employee for hours outside of their availability, or otherwise discriminating against any person for any reason prohibited by this chapter. "Adverse action" for an employee may involve any aspect of employment, including pay, work hours, responsibilities, or other material change in the terms and conditions of employment. 4. No employer or any other person shall communicate to a person exercising rights protected under this chapter, directly or indirectly, the willingness to inform a government employee that the person is not lawfully in the United States, or to report, or to make an implied or express assertion of a willingness to report, suspected citizenship or immigration status of person or a family member of the person to a federal, state, or local agency because the person has exercised a right under this chapter. 5. There shall be a rebuttable presumption of unlawful retaliation if an employer or any other person takes an adverse action against a person within 90 days of the person's exercise of any right protected in this chapter. However, in the case of seasonal work that ended before the close of the 90-day period, the presumption also applies if the employer fails to rehire a former employee at the next opportunity for work in the same position. The employer may rebut the presumption with clear and convincing evidence that the adverse action was taken for a permissible purpose. 6. Standard of Proof. Proof of retaliation under this chapter shall be sufficient upon a showing that an employer or any other person has taken an adverse action against a person and the person's exercise of rights protected in this chapter was a motivating factor in the adverse action, unless the employer can prove that the action would have been taken in the absence of such protected activity, 7. The protections afforded under this section shall apply to any person who mistakenly but in good faith alleges violations of this chapter. Section 8. Enforcement. 1. Any person or class of persons that suffers financial injury as a result of a violation of this chapter or is the subject of prohibited retaliation under this chapter, or any other individual or entity acting on their behalf, may bring a civil action in a court of competent jurisdiction against the employer or other person violating this chapter and, upon prevailing, shall be awarded reasonable attorney fees and costs and such legal or equitable relief as may be appropriate to remedy the violation including, without limitation, the payment of any unpaid wages plus interest due to the person and liquidated damages in an additional amount of up to twice the unpaid wages; compensatory damages; and a penalty payable to any aggrieved party of up to $5,000 if the aggrieved party was subject to prohibited retaliation. For the purposes of this section, an aggrieved party means an employee or other person who suffers tangible or intangible harm due to an employer or other person's violation of this chapter. Interest shall accrue from the date the unpaid wages were first due at the higher of twelve percent per womia or the maximum rate permitted under RCW 19.52.020. 2. For purposes of determining membership within a class of persons entitled to bring an action under this section, two or more employees are similarly situated if they: a. Are or were employed by the same employer or employers, whether concurrently or otherwise, at some point awing the applicable statute of limitations period; b. Allege one or more violations that raise similar questions as to liability; and C. Seek similar forms of relief. d. Employees shall not be considered dissimilar solely because their claims seek damages that differ in amount, or their job titles or other means of classifying employees differ in ways that are unrelated to their claims. 3. Each covered employer shall retain records as required by RCW 49.46.070, as well as such information as the City may require to confirm compliance with this chapter. If an employer fails to retain such records, there shall be a presumption, rebuttable by clear and convincing evidence, that the employer violated this chapter for the periods and for each employee for whom records were not retained. 4. Employers shall permit authorized City representatives access to work sites and relevant records for the purpose of monitoring compliance with the chapter and investigating complaints of noncompliance, including production for inspection and copying of employment records. The City may designate representatives, including city contractors and representatives of unions or worker advocacy organizations, to access the worksite and relevant records. 5. Complaints that any provision of this chapter has been violated may also be presented to the City Attorney, who is hereby authorized to investigate and, if they deem appropriate, initiate legal or other action to remedy any violation of this chapter. 6. The City has the authority to issue administrative citations and to order injunctive relief including reinstatement, restitution, payment of back wages, or other forms of relief. 7. The City may, in the exercise of its authority and performance of its functions and services, agree by contract or otherwise to participate jointly or in cooperation with Washington State, King County, or any city, town, or other incorporated place, or subdivision thereof, or engage outside counsel, to enforce this chapter. 8. The remedies and penalties provided under this chapter me cumulative and are not intended to be exclusive of any other available remedies or penalties, including existing remedies for enforcement of Renton Municipal Code chapters. 9. The statute of limitations for any enforcement action shall be five (5) years. Section 9. A new section is added to Renton Municipal Code (RMC) Section 5-5-4 as follows: 1. The Finance Director may deny, suspend, or revoke any license under this chapter for violation of this ordinance. 2. The Finance Director must deny, suspend, or revoke any license under this chapter for repeated intentional violations of this ordinance. 3. Any action by the Finance Director under this section shall be subject to the procedures and requirements of RMC subsection 5-5-3.E, as well as other due process rights that a court may require. Section 10. Definitions. For the purposes of this chapter, the following terms shall have the following meanings: "City" means the City of Renton. "Covered employer" means an employer that either (1) employs at least 15 employees regardless of where those employees are employed, or (2) has annual gross revenue over $2 million. "Effective date" is the effective date of this ordinance. "Employee" is defined as set forth in RCW 49.46.010. An employer bears the burden of proof that the individual is, as a matter of economic reality, in business for oneself rather than dependent upon the alleged employer. "Employer" is defined as set forth in RCW 49.46.010. "Employer classification" includes the determination of whether an employer is a covered employer and whether a covered employer is a large employer. "Franchise" means an agreement, express or implied, oral or written by which: 1. A person is granted the right to engage in the business of offering, selling, or distributing goods or services under a marketing plan prescribed or suggested in substantial part by the grantor or its affiliate; 2. The operation of the business is substantially associated with a trademark, service mark, trade time, advertising, or other commercial symbol; designating, owned by, or licensed by the grantor or its affiliate; and 3. The person pays, agrees to pay, or is required to pay, directly or indirectly, a franchise fee. The term, "franchise fee" is meant to be construed broadly to include any instance in which the grantor or its affiliate derives income or profit from a person who enters into a franchise agreement with the grantor. "Hour worked within the City" is to be interpreted according to its ordinary meaning, including all hours worked within the geographic boundaries of the City, excluding time spent in the City solely for the purpose of traveling through the City from a point of origin outside the City to a destination outside the City, with no employment -related or commercial stops in the City except for refueling or the employee's personal meals or errands. "Large Employer" means all employers that employ more than 500 employees, regardless of where those employees are employed, and all franchisees associated with a franchisor or a network of franchises with franchisees that employ more than 500 employees in aggregate. "Other covered employer" means a covered employer that does not qualify as a large employer. "Service charge" is defined as set forth in RCW 49.46.160(2)(c). "Tips" means a verifiable sum to be presented by a customer as a gift or gratuity in recognition of some service performed for the customer by the employee receiving the tip. "Wage" is defined as set forth in RCW 49.46.010. Section 11. Other Legal Requirements. This ordinance shall not be construed to preempt, limit, or otherwise affect the applicability of any other law, regulation, requirement, policy, or standard that provides for greater wages or compensation; and nothing in this ordinance shall be interpreted or applied so as to create any power or duty in conflict with federal or state law. Section 12. Rulemaking. Within 180 days after the effective date, the City shall adopt rules and procedures to implement and ensure compliance with this chapter, which shall require employers to maintain adequate records and to annually certify compliance with this chapter. The City shall seek feedback from worker organizations and covered employers before finalizing the rules and procedures. Section 13. Constitutional Subject. For constitutional purposes, this measure's subject "concerns labor standards for certain employers." See Filo Foods, LLC v. City of SeaTac, 183 Wash. 2d 770, 783, 357 RM 1040, 1047 (2015) (upholding this statement of subject for an initiative that set a minimum wage and addressed employees' access to hours). Section 14. Codification. All sections of this ordinance except section 9 shall be codified in a new chapter of the Renton Municipal Code. Section 15. Election date. In the event that the election on this measure takes place later than November 7, 2023, the Finance Department must establish and publish the initial minimum wage within 30 days of the effective date. Section 16. Severability. The provisions of this ordinance are declared to be separate and severable. If any clause, sentence, paragraph, subdivision, section, subsection, or portion of this ordinance, or the application thereof to any employer, employee, or circumstance, is held to be invalid, it shall not affect the validity of the remainder of this ordinance, or the validity of its application to other persons or circumstances. Raising The Minimum Wage In Renton 2 6. 7 9 a INITIATIVE PETITION FOR SUBMISSION TO THE RENTON CITY COUNCIL TO: The City Council of the City of Renton: ® 9e501 933-M We, the undersigned registered voters of the City of Renton, State of Washington, residing at the addresses set forth opposite our respective names, being equal to fifteen percent (15%) of the total number of names of persons listed as registered voters within the City on the day of the last preceding City general election, respectfully request that the following ordinance be enacted by the City Council or, if not so enacted, be submitted to a vote of the residents of the City. The title of the said ordinance is as follows: ORDINANCE CONCERNING LABOR STANDARDS FOR CERTAIN EMPLOYEES A full, true and correct copy of the ordinance is attached to this Petition. Each of us for himself or herself says: I have personally signed this petition; I am a registered voter of the City of Renton, State of Washington; and my residence is correctly stated. Signature %� }1a//-4/Z- Printed Name Printed Name Street and Number City Phone Number Email 1 1234 Anywhere St. Renton 206-555-1234 maria@something.org V ` m✓ 5 - wlG&- Renton 11 v1 VyyV jVvk- to'6 VA bwn PI 1\It Renton 42S 124-8(v-7 V1cW - (> Vr\ Date 4/10/2023 S)4!23 Warning Every person who signs this petition with any other than his or her true name, or who knowingly signs more than one of these petitions, or signs a petition seek- ing an election when he or she is not a legal voter, or signs a petition when he or she is otherwise not qualified to sign, or who makes herein any false statement, shall be guilty of a misdemeanor. AN ORDINANCE concerning labor standards for certain employees. Section 1. Findings. 1. The people of the City of Renton hereby adopt this citizen initiative addressing labor standards for certain employees, for the purpose of ensuring that, to the extent reasonably practicable, people employed in Renton have good wages and access to sufficient hours of work. 2. The City of Renton is one of the largest job centers in Washington State, with thousands of shoppers and workers visiting daily to participate in the local economy. Renton is home to The Landing shopping center, the historic Downtown Urban Center, as well as retail and commercial office and warehouse districts around the Rainier/Grady Way Junction. The City is a net importer ofjobs, with nearly 60,000 employed workers. Renton has a wide may of both long established and new and evolving business sectors. Retail businesses, restaurants and bus, auto sales, hospitality, healthcare, and office workers are well represented. 3. The statewide minimum wage is not sufficient to afford rising rents and costs of living in Renton. According to the National Low Income Housing Coalition's Out of Reach 2022 report, a worker making Washington's minimum wage would have to work 72 hours each week (up from 70 hours each week in 2021) to afford a modest one -bedroom rental home at Fair Market Rent. 4. When working families earn insufficient income due to low wages and involuntary under -employment, they struggle to pay for basic necessities like health care, child care, and groceries, and they are more likely to be evicted and become homeless. 5. Nearby King County cities of SeaTac, Seattle, and Tukwila enacted higher minimum wages in 2013, 2014, and 2022 respectively, but until now Renton has not followed suit. 6. Children growing up in poverty experience insecurity with housing, nutrition, and health care while enduring other hardships that prevent their ability to learn in school. Full time working parents must be able to reasonably provide for their family to ensure access to the opportunities and promise of public education. Section 2. Intent. It is the intent of the people to establish fair labor standards and protect the rights of workers by: (1) ensuring that the vast majority of employees in the City of Renton receive a minimum wage comparable to employees in the nearby cities of Tukwila, SeaTac, and Seattle; (2) requiring covered employers to offer additional hours of work to qualified part-time employees before hiring new employees to fill those hours; and (3) adopting enforcement requirements. Section 3. Large Employers Shall Pay Minimum Wages Comparable to Those in Nearby Cities. 1. Effective July 1, 2024, every large employer shall pay to each employee an hourly wage of not less than the 2023 new minimum wage rate in the City of Tukwila, established by City of Tukwila Initiative Measure No. 1, approved by voters in November 2022, adjusted for 2024 by the annual rate of inflation. 2. On January 1, 2025, and on each January 1 thereafter, the hourly minimum wage shall increase by the annual rate of inflation to maintain employee purchasing power. 3. By December 31, 2023, and by October 15 of each yew thereafter, the Finance Department shall establish and publish the applicable hourly minimum wage for the following yew using the annual rate of inflation. 4. For purposes of this chapter, the annual rate of inflation means 100 percent of the annual average growth rate of the bi-monthly Seattle -Tacoma -Bellevue Area Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers, termed CPI-W, for the 12-month period ending in August, provided that the percentage increase shall not be less than zero. 5. An employer must pay to its employees: a. All tips and gratuities; and b. All service charges as defined under RCW 49.46.160 except those that, pursuant to RCW 49.46.160, are itemized as not being payable to the employee or employees servicing the customer. Tips and service charges paid to an employee are in addition to, and may not count towards, the employee's hourly minimum wage. Section 4. Other Covered Employers Shall Have a Multiyear Phase -In Period. Other covered employers shall phase in the new minimum wage, as follows: 1. Effective July 1, 2024, other covered employers shall pay employees not less than the hourly minimum wage established under Section 3 minus Two Dollars ($2) per hour. 2. Effective July 1, 2025, other covered employers shall pay employees not less than the hourly minimum wage established under Section 3 minus One Dollar ($1) per hour. 3. Effective July 1, 2026, and thereafter, all covered employers shall pay employees not less than the hourly minimum wage established under Section 3. Section 5. Coverage and Employer Classifications. 1. Covered employers must pay employees at least the minimum wage established by this chapter for each hour worked within the City. 2. Employer classification for the current calendar yen will be calculated based upon the average number of employees during all weeks in the previous calendar yen in which the employer had at least one employee. For employers that did not have any employees during the previous calendar yen, classification will be based upon the average number of employees during the most recent three months of the current year. In this determination, all employees will be counted, regardless of their location, and including employees who worked in full-time employment, part-time employment, joint employment, temporary employment, or through the services of a temporary services or staffing agency or similar entity. 3. Employer classification for the current calendar year will be calculated based upon the gross revenue for the previous year. For employers that did not have gross revenue during the previous calendar year, annual gross revenue will be calculated from the gross revenue during the most recent three months of the current year. 4. For the purposes of employer classification, separate entities will be considered a single employer if they form an integrated enterprise or they are under joint control by one of those entities or a separate entity. The factors to consider in making this assessment include, but are not limited to: a. Degree of interrelation between the operations of multiple entities; b. Degree to which the entities share common management; C. Centralized control of labor relations; and it. Degree of common ownership or financial control over the entities. Section 6. Part -Time Employees Shall Have Fair Access to Additional Hours. 1. Before hiring additional employees or subcontractors, including hiring through the use of temporary services or staffing agencies, covered employers must offer additional hours of work to existing employees who, in the employer's good faith and reasonable judgment, have the skills and experience to perform the work, and shall use a reasonable, transparent, and nondiscriminatory process to distribute the hours of work among those existing employees. 2. This section shall not be construed to require any employer to offer an employee work hours if the employer would be required to compensate the employee at time -and -a -half or other premium rate under any law or collective bargaining agreement, nor to prohibit any employer from offering such work hours. Section 7. Retaliation Prohibited. 1. No employer or any other person shall interfere with, restrain, or deny the exercise of, or the attempt to exercise, any right protected under this chapter. 2. No employer or any other person shall take any adverse action against any person because the person has exercised in good faith the rights under this chapter. Such rights include but are not limited to the right to make inquiries about the rights protected under this chapter; the right to inform others about their rights under this chapter; the right to inform the person's employer, union, or similar organization, and/or the person's legal counsel or any other person about an alleged violation of this chapter; the right to bring a civil action for an alleged violation of this chapter; the right to testify in a proceeding under or related to this chapter; the right to refuse to participate in an activity that would result in a violation of city, state, or federal law; and the right to oppose any policy, practice, or act that is unlawful under this chapter. 3. For the purposes of this section, an adverse action means denying ajob or promotion, demoting, terminating, failing to rehire after a seasonal interruption of work, threatening, penalizing, retaliating, engaging in unfair immigration -related practices, filing a false report with a government agency, changing an employee's status to nonemployee, decreasing or declining to provide additional work hours when they otherwise would have been offered, scheduling an employee for hours outside of their availability, or otherwise discriminating against any person for any reason prohibited by this chapter. "Adverse action" for an employee may involve any aspect of employment, including pay, work hours, responsibilities, or other material change in the terms and conditions of employment. 4. No employer or any other person shall communicate to a person exercising rights protected under this chapter, directly or indirectly, the willingness to inform a government employee that the person is not lawfully in the United States, or to report, or to make an implied or express assertion of a willingness to report, suspected citizenship or immigration status of the person or a family member of the person to a federal, state, or local agency because the person has exercised a. right under this chapter. 5. There shall be a rebuttable presumption of unlawful retaliation if an employer or any other person takes an adverse action against a person within 90 days of the person's exercise of any right protected in this chapter. However, in the case of seasonal work that ended before the close of the 90-day period, the presumption also applies if the employer fails to rehire a former employee at the next opportunity for work in the same position. The employer may rebut the presumption with clew and convincing evidence that the adverse action was taken for a permissible purpose. 6. Standard of Proof. Proof of retaliation under this chapter shall be sufficient upon a showing that an employer or any other person has taken an adverse action against a person and the person's exercise of rights protected in this chapter was a motivating factor in the adverse action, unless the employer can prove that the action would have been taken in the absence of such protected activity. 7. The protections afforded under this section shall apply to any person who mistakenly but in good faith alleges violations of this chapter. Section 8. Enforcement. 1. Any person or class of persons that suffers financial injury as a result of a violation of this chapter or is the subject of prohibited retaliation under this chapter, or any other individual or entity acting on their behalf, may bring a civil action in a court of competent jurisdiction against the employer or other person violating this chapter and, upon prevailing, shall be awarded reasonable attorney fees and costs and such legal or equitable relief as may be appropriate to remedy the violation including, without limitation, the payment of any unpaid wages plus interest due to the person and liquidated damages in an additional amount of up to twice the unpaid wages; compensatory damages; and a penalty payable to any aggrieved party of up to $5,000 if the aggrieved party was subject to prohibited retaliation. For the purposes of this section, an aggrieved party means an employee or other person who suffers tangible or intangible harm due to an employer or other person's violation of this chapter. Interest shall accrue from the date the unpaid wages were first due at the higher of twelve percent per annum or the maximum rate permitted under RCW 19.52,020. 2. For purposes of determining membership within a class of persons entitled to bring an action under this section, two or more employees are similarly situated if they: a. Are or were employed by the same employer or employers, whether concurrently or otherwise, at some point during the applicable statute of limitations period; b. Allege one or more violations that raise similar questions as to liability; and C. Seek similar forms of relief, d. Employees shall not be considered dissimilar solely because their claims seek damages that differ in amount, or theirjob titles or other means of classifying employees differ in ways that are unrelated to their claims. 3. Each covered employer shall retain records as required by RCW 49.46.070, as well as such information as the City may require to confirm compliance with this chapter. If an employer fails to retain such records, there shall be a presumption, rebuttable by clear and convincing evidence, that the employer violated this chapter for the periods and for each employee for whom records were not retained. 4. Employers shall permit authorized City representatives access to work sites and relevant records for the purpose of monitoring compliance with the chapter and investigating complaints of noncompliance, including production for inspection and copying of employment records. The City may designate representatives, including city contractors and representatives of unions or worker advocacy organizations, to access the worksite and relevant records. 5. Complaints that any provision of this chapter has been violated may also be presented to the City Attorney, who is hereby authorized to investigate and, if they deem appropriate, initiate legal or other action to remedy any violation of this chapter. 6. The City has the authority to issue administrative citations and to order injunctive relief including reinstatement, restitution, payment of back wages, or other forms of relief. 7. The City may, in the exercise of its authority and performance of its functions and services, agree by contract or otherwise to participate jointly or in cooperation with Washington State, King County, or any city, town, or other incorporated place, or subdivision thereof, or engage outside counsel, to enforce this chapter. 8. The remedies and penalties provided under this chapter are cumulative and are not intended to be exclusive of any other available remedies or penalties, including existing remedies for enforcement of Renton Municipal Code chapters. 9. The statute of limitations for any enforcement action shall be five (5) years. Section 9. A new section is added to Renton Municipal Code (RMC) Section 5-5-4 as follows: 1. The Finance Director may deny, suspend, or revoke any license under this chapter for violation of this ordinance. 2. The Finance Director must deny, suspend, or revoke any license under this chapter for repeated intentional violations of this ordinance. 3. Any action by the Finance Director under this section shall be subject to the procedures and requirements of RMC subsection 5-5-3.E, as well as other due process rights that a court may require. Section 10. Definitions. For the purposes of this chapter, the following terms shall have the following meanings: "City" means the City of Renton. "Covered employer" means an employer that either (1) employs at least 15 employees regardless of where those employees me employed, or (2) has annual gross revenue over $2 million. "Effective date" is the effective date of this ordinance. "Employee" is defined as set forth in RCW 49.46.010. An employer bears the burden of proof that the individual is, as a matter of economic reality, in business for oneself rather than dependent upon the alleged employer. "Employer" is defined as set forth in RCW 49.46.010. "Employer classification" includes the determination of whether an employer is a covered employer and whether a covered employer is a large employer. "Franchise" means an agreement, express or implied, oral or written by which: 1. A person is granted the right to engage in the business of offering, selling, or distributing goods or services under a marketing plan prescribed or suggested in substantial part by the grantor or its affiliate; 2. The operation of the business is substantially associated with a trademark, service mark, trade time, advertising, or other commercial symbol; designating, owned by, or licensed by the grantor or its affiliate; and 3. The person pays, agrees to pay, or is required to pay, directly or indirectly, a franchise fee. The term, "franchise fee" is meant to be construed broadly to include any instance in which the grantor or its affiliate derives income or profit from a person who enters into a franchise agreement with the grantor. "Hour worked within the City" is to be interpreted according to its ordinary meaning, including all hours worked within the geographic boundaries of the City, excluding time spent in the City solely for the purpose of traveling through the City from a point of origin outside the City to a destination outside the City, with no employment -related or commercial stops in the City except for refueling or the employee's personal meals or Brands. "Large Employer" means all employers that employ more than 500 employees, regardless of where those employees are employed, and all franchisees associated with a franchisor or a network of franchises with franchisees that employ more than 500 employees in aggregate. "Other covered employer" means a covered employer that does not qualify as a large employer. "Service charge" is defined as set forth in RCW 49.46.160(2)(c). "Tips" means a verifiable sum to be presented by a customer as a gift or gratuity in recognition of some service performed for the customer by the employee receiving the tip. "Wage" is defined as set forth in RCW 49.46.010. Section 11. Other Legal Requirements. This ordinance shall not be construed to preempt, limit, or otherwise affect the applicability of any other law, regulation, requirement, policy, or standard that provides for greater wages or compensation; and nothing in this ordinance shall be interpreted or applied so as to create any power or duty in conflict with federal or state law. Section 12. Rulemaking. .. Within 180 days after the effective date, the City shall adopt rules and procedures to implement and ensure compliance with this chapter, which shall require employers to maintain adequate records and to annually certify compliance with this chapter. The City shall seek feedback from worker organizations and covered employers before finalizing the rules and procedures. Section 13. Constitutional Subject. For constitutional purposes, this measure's subject `concerns labor standards for certain employers." See File Foods, LLC v. City of SeaTac, 183 Wash. 2d 770, 783, 357 P.3d 1040, 1047 (2015) (upholding this statement of subject for an initiative that set a minimum wage and addressed employees' access to hours). Section 14. Codification. All sections of this ordinance except section 9 shall be codified in a new chapter of the Renton Municipal Code. Section 15. Election date. In the event that the election on this measure takes place later than November 7, 2023, the Finance Department must establish and publish the initial minimum wage within 30 days of the effective date. Section 16. Severability. The provisions of this ordinance are declared to be separate and severable. If any clause, sentence, paragraph, subdivision, section, subsection, or portion of this ordinance, or the application thereof to any employer, employee, or circumstance, is held to be invalid, it shall not affect the validity of the remainder of this ordinance, or the validity of its application to other persons or circumstances. Raising The Minimum Wage In Renton 1. INITIATIVE PETITION FOR SUBMISSION TO THE RENTON CITY COUNCIL TO: The City Council of the City of Renton: @ i ME. IBT 933-M We, the undersigned registered voters of the City of Renton, State of Washington, residing at the addresses set forth opposite our respective names, being equal to fifteen percent (15%) of the total number of names of persons listed as registered voters within the City on the day of the last preceding City general election, respectfully request that the following ordinance be enacted by the City Council or, if not so enacted, be submitted to a vote of the residents of the City. The title of the said ordinance is as follows: ORDINANCE CONCERNING LABOR STANDARDS FOR CERTAIN EMPLOYEES A full, true and correct copy of the ordinance is attached to this Petition. Each of us for himself or herself says: I have personally signed this petition; I am a registered voter of the City of Renton, State of Washington; and my residence is correctly stated. Signature Printed Name Street and Number City Phone Number Email Date SanA&'?/ost Printed Name 1234 Anywhere St. Renton 206-555-1234 maria@something.org 4/10/2023 %1�✓�% Renton ' �Y1a)V _ ;� `fir, �VL:i,•.�(,i�l.' Renton I QMM - 21 /J �) �d E V/.9/✓ V,4 eSKa " J -tti 413 %% N. ff. Renton 4. _J �. AYk �1i 1`b--Li�AC� h� AJC Renton W'% T' q�`f. 3S ill t eG��.v�^ % 3, N-E7 s (74 C1 Renton 2a 6� 3 �3 h� 5. '3o `� NE J , -4 S f Renton �20, (1 S. 257`/ ���'��� 3 6. 7. s �,5 0'� S'E /eI�/ 2/7- Renton 8. 1JI/�` GI l� G I ( No L.)?� S Renton 9. I alf7{12� �t-r�c gQU I'\� QaR 1 N� Renton 10. /%9/"U/ �/lifll �Iwl� T/��`� cCSV \�v�VG�� J NY Renton Warning Every person who signs this petition with any other than his or her true name, or who knowingly signs more than one of these petitions, or signs a petition seek- ing an election when he or she is not a legal voter, or signs a petition when he or she is otherwise not qualified to sign, or who makes herein any false statement, shall be guilty of a misdemeanor. AN ORDINANCE concerning labor standards for certain employees. Section 1. Findings. 1. The people of the City of Renton hereby adopt this citizen initiative addressing labor standards for certain employees, for the purpose of ensuring that, to the extent reasonably practicable, people employed in Renton have good wages and access to sufficient hours of work. 2. The City of Renton is one of the largest job centers in Washington State, with thousands of shoppers and workers visiting daily to participate in the local economy. Renton is home to The Landing shopping center, the historic Downtown Urban Center, as well as retail and commercial office and warehouse districts around the Rainier/Grady Way Junction. The City is a net importer o£jobs, with nearly 60,000 employed workers. Renton has a wide array of both long established and new and evolving business sectors. Retail businesses, restaurants and bars, auto sales, hospitality, healthcare, and office workers are well represented. 3. The statewide minimum wage is not sufficient to afford rising rents and costs of living in Renton. According to the National Low Income Housing Coalition's Out of Reach 2022 report, a worker making Washington's minimum wage would have to work 72 hours each week (up from 70 hours each week in 2021) to afford a modest one -bedroom rental home at Fair Market Rent. 4. When working families earn insufficient income due to low wages and involuntary under -employment, they struggle to pay for basic necessities like health care, child care, and groceries, and they are more likely to be evicted and become homeless. 5. Nearby King County cities of SeaTac, Seattle, and Tukwila enacted higher minimum wages in 2013, 2014, and 2022 respectively, but until now Renton has not followed suit. 6. Children growing up in poverty experience insecurity with housing, nutrition, and health care while enduring other hardships that prevent their ability to learn in school. Full time working parents must be able to reasonably provide for their family to ensure access to the opportunities and promise of public education. Section 2. Intent. It is the intent of the people to establish fair labor standards and protect the rights of workers by: (1) creating that the vast majority of employees in the City of Renton receive a minimum wage comparable to employees in the nearby cities of Tukwila, SeaTac, and Seattle; (2) requiring covered employers to offer additional hours of work to qualified part-time employees before hiring new employees to fill those hours; and (3) adopting enforcement requirements. Section 3. Large Employers Shall Pay Minimum Wages Comparable to Those in Nearby Cities. 1. Effective July 1, 2024, every large employer shall pay to each employee an hourly wage of not less than the 2023 new minimum wage rate in the City of Tukwila, established by City of Tukwila Initiative Measure No. 1, approved by voters in November 2022, adjusted for 2024 by the annual rate of inflation. 2. On January 1, 2025, and on each January 1 thereafter, the hourly minimum wage shall increase by the annual rate of inflation to maintain employee purchasing power. 3. By December 31, 2023, and by October 15 of each year thereafter, the Finance Department shall establish and publish the applicable hourly minimum wage for the following year using the annual rate of inflation. 4. For purposes of this chapter, the annual rate of inflation means 100 percent of the annual average growth rate of the bi-monthly Seattle -Tacoma -Bellevue Area Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers, termed CPI-W, for the 12-month period ending in August, provided that the percentage increase shall not be less than zero. 5. An employer must pay to its employees: a. All tips and gratuities; and b. All service charges as defined under RCW 49.46.160 except those that, pursuant to RCW 49.46.160, are itemized as not being payable to the employee or employees servicing the customer. Tips and service charges paid to an employee are in addition to, and may not count towards, the employee's hourly minimum wage. Section 4. Other Covered Employers Shall Have a Multiyear Phase -In Period. Other covered employers shall phase in the new minimum wage, as follows: I. Effective July 1, 2024, other covered employers shall pay employees not less than the hourly minimum wage established under Section 3 minus Two Dollars ($2) per hour. 2. Effective July 1, 2025, other covered employers shall pay employees not less than the hourly minimum wage established under Section 3 minus One Dollar ($1) per how. 3. Effective July 1, 2026; and thereafter, all covered employers shall pay employees not less than the hourly minimum wage established under Section 3. Section 5. Coverage and Employer Classifications. 1. Covered employers most pay employees at least the minimum wage established by this chapter for each hour worked within the City. 2. Employer classification for the current calendar year will be calculated based upon the average number of employees during all weeks in the previous calendar year in which the employer had at least one employee. For employers that did not have any employees timing the previous calendar yem, classification will be based upon the average number of employees timing the most recent three months of the current year. In this determination, all employees will be counted, regardless of their location, and including employees who worked in full-time employment, part-time employment, joint employment, temporary employment, or through the services of a temporary services or staffing agency or similar entity. 3. Employer classification for the current calendar year will be calculated based upon the gross revenue for the previous year. For employers that did not have gross revenue during the previous calendar year, annual gross revenue will be calculated from the gross revenue during the most recent three months of the current year. 4. For the purposes of employer classification, separate entities will be considered a single employer if they form an integrated enterprise or they me under joint control by one of those entities or a separate entity. The factors to consider in making this assessment include, but are not limited to: a. Degree of interrelation between the operations of multiple entities; b. Degree to which the entities share common management; C. Centralized control of labor relations; and d. Degree of common ownership or financial control over the entities. Section 6. Part -Time Employees Shall Have Fair Access to Additional Hours. 1. Before hiring additional employees or subcontractors, including hiring through the use of temporary services or staffing agencies, covered employers must offer additional hours of work to existing employees who, in the employer's good faith and reasonable judgment, have the skills and experience to perform the work, and shall use a reasonable, transparent, and nondiscriminatory process to distribute the hours of work among those existing employees. 2. This section shall not be construed to require any employer to offer an employee work hours if the employer would be required to compensate the employee at time -and -a -half or other premium rate under any law or collective bargaining agreement, nor to prohibit any employer from offering such work hours. Section 7. Retaliation Prohibited. 1. No employer or any other person shall interfere with, restrain, or deny the exercise of, or the attempt to exercise, any right protected under this chapter. 2. No employer or any other person shall take any adverse action against any person because the person has exercised in good faith the rights under this chapter. Such rights include but are not limited to the right to make inquiries about the rights protected under this chapter; the right to inform others about their rights under this chapter; the right to inform the person's employer, union, or similar organization, and/or the person's legal counsel or any other person about an alleged violation of this chapter; the right to bring a civil action for an alleged violation of this chapter; the right to testify in a proceeding under or related to this chapter; the right to refuse to participate in an activity that would result in a violation of city, state, or federal law; and the right to oppose any policy, practice, or act that is unlawful under this chapter. 3. For the purposes of this section, an adverse action means denying ajob or promotion, demoting, terminating, failing to rehire after a seasonal interruption of work, threatening, penalizing, retaliating, engaging in unfair immigration -related practices, filing a false report with a government agency, changing an employee's status to nonemployee, decreasing or declining to provide additional work hours when they otherwise would have been offered, scheduling an employee for hours outside of their availability, or otherwise discriminating against any person for any reason prohibited by this chapter. "Adverse action" for an employee may involve any aspect of employment, including pay, work hours, responsibilities, or other material change in the terms and conditions of employment. 4. No employer or any other person shall communicate to a person exercising rights protected under this chapter, directly or indirectly, the willingness to inform a goverment employee that the person is not lawfully in the United States, or to report, or to make an implied or express assertion of a willingness to report, suspected citizenship or immigration status of the person or a family member of the person to a federal, state, or local agency because the person has exercised a right under this chapter. 5. There shall be a rebuttable presumption of unlawful retaliation if an employer or any other person takes an adverse action against a person within 90 days of the person's exercise of any right protected in this chapter. However, in the case of seasonal work that ended before the close of the 90-day period, the presumption also applies if the employer fails to rehire a former employee at the next opportunity for work in the same position. The employer may rebut the presumption with clear and convincing evidence that the adverse action was taken for a permissible purpose. 6. Standard of Proof. Proof of retaliation under this chapter shall be sufficient upon a showing that an employer or any other person has taken an adverse action against a person and the person's exercise of rights protected in this chapter was a motivating factor in the adverse action, unless the employer can prove that the action would have been taken in the absence of such protected activity. 7. The protections afforded under this section shall apply to any person who mistakenly but in good faith alleges violations of this chapter. Section 8. Enforcement. 1. Any person or class of persons that suffers financial injury as a result of a violation of this chapter or is the subject of prohibited retaliation under this chapter, or any other individual or entity acting on their behalf, may bring a civil action in a court of competent jurisdiction against the employer or other person violating this chapter and, upon prevailing, shall be awarded reasonable attorney fees and costs and such legal or equitable relief as may be appropriate to remedy the violation including, without limitation, the payment of any unpaid wages plus interest due to the person and liquidated damages in an additional amount of up to twice the unpaid wages; compensatory damages; and a penalty payable to any aggrieved party of up to $5,000 if the aggrieved party was subject to prohibited retaliation. For the purposes of this section, an aggrieved party means an employee or other person who suffers tangible or intangible harm due to an employer or other person's violation of this chapter. Interest shall accrue from the date the unpaid wages were first due at the higher of twelve percent per antrum or the maximum rate permitted under RCW 19.52.020. 2. For purposes of determining membership within a class of persons entitled to bring an action under this section, two or more employees are similarly situated if they: a. Are or were employed by the same employer or employers, whether concurrently or otherwise, at some point during the applicable statute of limitations period; b. Allege one or more violations that raise similar questions as to liability; and C. Seek similar forms of relief. d. Employees shall not be considered dissimilar solely because their claims seek damages that differ in amount, or theirjob titles or other means of classifying employees differ in ways that are unrelated to their claims. 3. Each covered employer shall retain records as required by RCW 49.46,070, as well as such information as the City may require to confirm compliance with this chapter. If an employer fails to retain such records, there shall be a presumption, rebuttable by clear and convincing evidence, that the employer violated this chapter for the periods and for each employee for whom records were not retained. 4. Employers shall permit authorized City representatives access to work sites and relevant records for the purpose of monitoring compliance with the chapter and investigating complaints of noncompliance, including production for inspection and copying of employment records. The City may designate representatives, including city contractors and representatives of unions or worker advocacy organizations, to access the worksite and relevant records. 5. Complaints that any provision of this chapter has been violated may also be presented to the City Attorney, who is hereby authorized to investigate and, if they deem appropriate, initiate legal or other action to remedy any violation of this chapter. 6. The City has the authority to issue administrative citations and to order injunctive relief including reinstatement, restitution, payment of back wages, or other forms of relief. 7. The City may, in the exercise of its authority and performance of its functions and services, agree by contract or otherwise to participate jointly or in cooperation with Washington State, King County, or any city, town, or other incorporated place, or subdivision thereof, or engage outside counsel, to enforce this chapter. 8. The remedies and penalties provided under this chapter me cumulative and are not intended to be exclusive of any other available remedies or penalties, including existing remedies for enforcement of Renton Municipal Code chapters. 9. The statute of limitations for any enforcement action shall be five (5) years. Section 9. A new section is added to Renton Municipal Code (RMC) Section 5-5-4 as follows: 1. The Finance Director may deny, suspend, or revoke any license under this chapter for violation of this ordinance. 2. The Finance Director must deny, suspend, or revoke any license under this chapter for repeated intentional violations of this ordinance. 3. Any action by the Finance Director under this section shall be subject to the procedures and requirements of RMC subsection 5-5-3.E, as well as other due process rights that a court may require. Section 10. Definitions. For the purposes of this chapter, the following terms shall have the following meanings: "City" means the City of Renton. "Covered employer" means an employer that either (1) employs at least 15 employees regardless of where those employees are employed, or (2) has annual gross revenue over $2 million. "Effective date" is the effective date of this ordinance. "Employee" is defined as set forth in RCW 49.46.010. An employer bears the burden of proof that the individual is, as a matter of economic reality, in business for oneself rather than dependent upon the alleged employer. "Employer" is defined as set forth in RCW 49.46.010, "Employer classification" includes the determination of whether an employer is a covered employer and whether a covered employer is a large employer. "Franchise" means an agreement, express or implied, oral or written by which: 1. A person is granted the right to engage in the business of offering, selling, or distributing goods or services under a marketing plan prescribed or suggested in substantial part by the grantor or its affiliate; 2. The operation of the business is substantially associated with a trademark, service mark, trade name, advertising, or other commercial symbol; designating, owned by, or licensed by the grantor or its affiliate; and 3. The person pays, agrees to pay, or is required to pay, directly or indirectly, a franchise fee. The term, "franchise fee" is meant to be construed broadly to include any instance in which the grantor or its affiliate derives income or profit from a person who enters into a franchise agreement with the grantor. "Hour worked within the City" is to be interpreted according to its ordinary meaning, including all hours worked within the geographic boundaries of the City, excluding time spent in the City solely for the purpose of traveling through the City from a point of origin outside the City to a destination outside the City, with no employment -related or commercial stops in the City except for refueling or the employee's personal meals or errands. "Large Employer" means all employers that employ more than 500 employees, regardless of where those employees are employed, and all franchisees associated with a franchisor or a network of franchises with franchisees that employ more than 500 employees in aggregate. "Other covered employer" means a covered employer that does not qualify as a large employer. "Service charge" is defined as set forth in RCW 49.46.160(2)(c). "Tips" means a verifiable sum to be presented by a customer as a gift or gratuity in recognition of some service performed for the customer by the employee receiving the tip. "Wage" is defined as set forth in RCW 49.46.010. - Section 11. Other Legal Requirements. This ordinance shall not be construed to preempt, limit, or otherwise affect the applicability of any other law, regulation, requirement, policy, or standard that provides for greater wages or compensation; and nothing in this ordinance shall be interpreted or applied so as to create any power or duty in conflict with federal or state law. Section 12. Rulemaking. Within 180 days after the effective date, the City shall adopt rules and procedures to implement and ensure compliance with this chapter, which shall require employers to maintain adequate records and to annually certify compliance with this chapter. The City shall seek feedback from worker organizations and covered employers before finalizing the rules and procedures. Section 13. Constitutional Subject. For constitutional purposes, this measure's subject "concerns labor standards for certain employers." See File Foods, LLC v. City of SeaTac, 183 Wash. 2d 770, 783, 357 P.3d 1040, 1047 (2015) (upholding this statement of subject for an initiative that set a minimum wage and addressed employees' access to hours). Section 14. Codification. All sections of this ordinance except section 9 shall be codified in a new chapter of the Renton Municipal Code. Section 15. Election date. In the event that the election on this measure takes place later than November 7, 2023, the Finance Department must establissh and publish the initial minimum wage within 30 days of the effective date. Section 16. Severability. The provisions of this ordinance are declared to be separate and severable. If any clause, sentence, paragraph, subdivision, section, subsection, or portion of this ordinance, or the application thereof to any employer, employee, or circumstance, is held to be invalid, it shall not affect the validity of the remainder of this ordinance, or the validity of its application to other persons or circumstances. Name Of Car Date Can Email and Phone Ni Raising The Minimum Wage In Renton 1 2 3 INITIATIVE PETITION FOR SUBMISSION TO THE RENTON CITY COUNCIL TO: The City Council of the City of Renton: p—ecccna� 933-M We, the undersigned registered voters of the City of Renton, State of Washington, residing at the addresses set forth opposite our respective names, being equal to fifteen percent (15%) of the total number of names of persons listed as registered voters within the City on the day of the last preceding City general election, respectfully request that the following ordinance be enacted by the City Council or, if not so enacted, be submitted to a vote of the residents of the City. The title of the said ordinance is as follows: ORDINANCE CONCERNING LABOR STANDARDS FOR CERTAIN EMPLOYEES A full, true and correct copy of the ordinance is attached to this Petition. Each of us for himself or herself says: I have personally signed this petition; I am a registered voter of the City of Renton, State of Washington; and my residence is correctly stated. Signature Printed Name Street and Number City Phone Number Email S'?10re4 Printed Name 1234 Anywhere St. Renton 206-555-1234 maria@something.org TAB/ L C� Renton 623-: Date 4/10/2023 3v �K� G� lC i"7z3 / l�t�� , RCnt'on ZSzL�,Zt�i� lAolZS 4. 5. 7 S. M (-�s7t�s5 IZ515 56 9 � h Sl L�nV-\S c�Q�50y L�F� hz k ton )', Renton zd55--76C2T0('7 4ZS--3� 3- yG qy L� �3b '-il3vl _7 S- �—z 3 1_5-q-) Warning Every person who signs this petition with any other than his or her true name, or who knowingly signs more than one of these petitions, or signs a petition seek- ing an election when he or she is not a legal voter, or signs a petition when he or she is otherwise not qualified to sign, or who makes herein any false statement, shall be guilty of a misdemeanor. AN ORDINANCE concerning labor standards for certain employees. Section 1. Findings. 1. The people of the City of Renton hereby adopt this citizen initiative addressing labor standards for certain employees, for the purpose of ensuring that, to the extent reasonably practicable, people employed in Renton have good wages and access to sufficient hours of work. 2. The City of Renton is one of the largest job centers in Washington State, with thousands of shoppers and workers visiting daily to participate in the local economy. Renton is home to The Landing shopping center, the historic Downtown Urban Center, as well as retail and commercial office and warehouse districts around the Rainier/Grady Way Junction. The City is a net importer ofjobs, with nearly 60,000 employed workers. Renton has a wide array of both long established and new and evolving business sectors. Retail businesses, restaurants and bars, auto sales, hospitality, healthcare, and office workers are well represented. 3. The statewide minimum wage is not sufficient to afford rising rents and costs of living in Renton. According to the National Low Income Housing Coalition's Out of Reach 2022 report, a worker making Washington's minimum wage would have to work 72 hours each week (up from 70 hours each week in 2021) to afford a modest one -bedroom rental home at Fair Market Rent. 4. When working families earn insufficient income due to low wages and involuntary under -employment, they struggle to pay for basic necessities like health care, child care, and groceries, and they are more likely to be evicted and become homeless. 5. Nearby King County cities of SeaTac, Seattle, and Tukwila enacted higher minimum wages in 2013, 2014, and 2022 respectively, but until now Renton has not followed suit. 6. Children growing up in poverty experience insecurity with housing, nutrition, and health care while enduring other hardships that prevent their ability to learn in school. Full time working parents must be able to reasonably provide for thew family to ensure access to the opportunities and promise of public education. Section 2. Intent. It is the intent of the people to establish fair labor standards and protect the rights of workers by: (1) ensuring that the vast majority of employees in the City of Renton receive a minimum wage comparable to employees in the nearby cities of Tukwila, SeaTac, and Searle; (2) requiring covered employers to offer additional hours of work to qualified part-time employees before hiring new employees to fill those hours; and (3) adopting enforcement requirements. Section 3. Large Employers Shall Pay Minimum Wages Comparable to Those in Nearby Cities. I. Effective July 1, 2024, every large employer shall pay to each employee an hourly wage of not less than the 2023 new minimum wage rate in the City of Tukwila, established by City of Tukwila Initiative Measure No. 1, approved by voters in November 2022, adjusted for 2024 by the annual rate of inflation. 2. On January 1, 2025, and on each January 1 thereafter, the hourly minimum wage shall increase by the annual rate of inflation to maintain employee purchasing power. 3. By December 31, 2023, and by October 15 of each year thereafter, the Finance Department shall establish and publish the applicable hourly minimum wage for the following year using the annual rate of inflation. 4. For purposes of this chapter, the annual rate of inflation means 100 percent of the annual average growth rate of the bi-monthly Seattle -Tacoma -Bellevue Area Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers, termed CPI-W, for the 12-month period ending in August, provided that the percentage increase shall not be less than zero. 5. An employer must pay to its employees: a. All tips and gratuities; and b. All service charges as defined under RCW 49.46.160 except those that, pursuant to RCW 49.46.160, are itemized as not being payable to the employee or employees servicing the customer. Tips and service charges paid to an employee are in addition to, and may not count towards, the employee's hourly minimum wage. Section 4. Other Covered Employers Shall Have a Multiyear Phase -In Period. Other covered employers shall phase in the new minimum wage, as follows: I. Effective July 1, 2024, other covered employers shall pay employees not less than the hourly minimum wage established under Section 3 minus Two Dollars ($2) per hour. 2. Effective July 1, 2025, other covered employers shall pay employees not less than the hourly minimum wage established under Section 3 minus One Dollar ($1) per hour. 3. Effective July 1, 2026, and thereafter, all covered employers shall pay employees not less than the hourly minimum wage established under Section 3. Section 5. Coverage and Employer Classifications. 1. Covered employers must pay employees at least the minimum wage established by this chapter for each hour worked within the City. 2. Employer classification for the current calendar year will be calculated based upon the average number of employees during all weeks in the previous calendar year in which the employer had at least one employee. For employers that did not have any employees during the previous calendar year, classification will be based upon the average number of employees during the most recent three months of the current year. In this determination, all employees will be counted, regardless of their location, and including employees who worked in full-time employment, part-time employment, joint employment, temporary employment, or through the services of a temporary services or staffing agency or similar entity. 3. Employer classification for the current calendar year will be calculated based upon the gross revenue for the previous year. For employers that did not have gross revenue during the previous calendar year, annual gross revenue will be calculated from the gross revenue during the most recent three months of the current year. 4. For the purposes of employer classification, separate entities will be considered a single employer if they form an integrated enterprise or they are under joint control by one of those entities or a separate entity, The factors to consider in making this assessment include, but are not limited to: a. Degree of interrelation between the operations of multiple entities; b. Degree to which the entities share common management; C. Centralized control of labor relations; and d. Degree of common ownership or financial control over the entities. Section 6. Part -Time Employees Shall Have Fair Access to Additional Hours. 1. Before hiring additional employees or subcontractors, including hiring through the use of temporary services or staffing agencies, covered employers must offer additional hours of work to existing employees who, in the employer's good faith and reasonable judgment, have the skills and experience to perform the work, and shall use a reasonable, transparent, and nondiscriminatory process to distribute the hours of work among those existing employees. 2. This section shall not be construed to require any employer to offer an employee work hours if the employer would be required to compensate the employee at time -and -a -half or other premium rate under any law or collective bargaining agreement, nor to prohibit any employer from offering such work hours. Section 7. Retaliation Prohibited. 1. No employer or any other person shall interfere with, restrain, or deny the exercise of, or the attempt to exercise, any right protected under this chapter. 2. No employer or any other person shall take any adverse action against any person because the person has exercised in good faith the rights under this chapter. Such rights include but are not limited to the right to make inquiries about the rights protected under this chapter; the right to inform others about their rights under this chapter; the right to inform the person's employer, union, or similar organization, and/or the person's legal counsel or any other person about an alleged violation of this chapter; the right to bring a civil action for an alleged violation of this chapter; the right to testify in a proceeding under or related to this chapter; the right to refuse to participate in an activity that would result in a violation of city, state, or federal law; and the right to oppose any policy, practice, or act that is unlawful under this chapter. 3. For the purposes of this section, an adverse action means denying a job or promotion, demoting, terminating, failing to rehire after a seasonal interruption of work, threatening, penalizing, retaliating, engaging in unfair immigration -related practices, filing a false report with a government agency, changing an employee's status to nonemployee, decreasing or declining to provide additional work hours when they otherwise would have been offered, scheduling an employee for hours outside of their availability, or otherwise discriminating against any person for any reason prohibited by this chapter. "Adverse action" for an employee may involve any aspect of employment, including pay, work hours, responsibilities, or other material change in the terms and conditions of employment. 4. No employer or any other person shall communicate to a person exercising rights protected under this chapter, directly or indirectly, the willingness to inform a government employee that the person is not lawfully in the United States, or to report, or to make an implied or express assertion of a willingness to report, suspected citizenship or immigration status of the person or a family member of the person to a federal, state, or local agency because the person has exercised a right under this chapter. 5. There shall be a rebuttable presumption of unlawful retaliation if an employer or any other person takes an adverse action against a person within 90 days of the person's exercise of any right protected in this chapter. However, in the case of seasonal work that ended before the close of the 90-day period, the presumption also applies if the employer fails to rehire a former employee at the next opportunity for work in the same position. The employer may rebut the presumption with clear and convincing evidence that the adverse action was taken for a permissible purpose. 6. Standard of Proof. Proof of retaliation under this chapter shall be sufficient upon a showing that an employer or any other person has taken an adverse action against a person and the person's exercise of rights protected in this chapter was a motivating factor in the adverse action, unless the employer can prove that the action would have been taken in the absence of such protected activity. 7. The protections afforded under this section shall apply to any person who mistakenly but in good faith alleges violations of this chapter. Section 8. Enforcement. 1. Any person or class of persons that suffers financial injury as a result of a violation of this chapter or is the subject of prohibited retaliation under this chapter, or any other individual or entity acting on their behalf, may bring a civil action in a court of competent jurisdiction against the employer or other person violating this chapter and, upon prevailing, shall be awarded reasonable attorney fees and costs and such legal or equitable relief as may be appropriate to remedy the violation including, without limitation, the payment of any unpaid wages plus interest due to the person and liquidated damages in an additional amount of up to twice the unpaid wages; compensatory damages; and a penalty payable to any aggrieved party of up to $5,000 if the aggrieved party was subject to prohibited retaliation. For the purposes of this section, an aggrieved party means an employee or other person who suffers tangible or intangible harm due to an employer or other person's violation of this chapter. Interest shall accrue from the date the unpaid wages were first due at the higher of twelve percent per arum or the maximum rate permitted under RCW 19.52.020. 2. For purposes of determining membership within a class of persons entitled to bring an action under this section, two or more employees are similarly situated if they: a. Are or were employed by the same employer or employers, whether concurrently or otherwise, at some point during the applicable statute of limitations period; b. Allege one or more violations that raise similar questions as to liability; and C. Seek similar forms of relief. d. Employees shall not be considered dissimilar solely because their claims seek damages that differ in amount, or their job titles or other means of classifying employees differ in ways that are unrelated to their claims. 3. Each covered employer shall retain records as required by RCW 49.46.070, as well as such information as the City may require to confirm compliance with this chapter. If an employer fails to retain such records, there shall be a presumption, rebuttable by clear and convincing evidence, that the employer violated this chapter for the periods and for each employee for whom records were not retained. 4. Employers shall permit authorized City representatives access to work sites and relevant records for the purpose of monitoring compliance with the chapter and investigating complaints of noncompliance, including production for inspection and copying of employment records. The City may designate representatives, including city contractors and representatives of unions or worker advocacy organizations, to access the worksite and relevant records. 5. Complaints that any provision of this chapter has been violated may also be presented to the City Attorney, who is hereby authorized to investigate and, if they deem appropriate, initiate legal or other action to remedy any violation of this chapter. 6. The City has the authority to issue administrative citations and to order injunctive relief including reinstatement, restitution, payment of back wages, or other forms of relief. 7. The City may, in the exercise of its authority and performance of its functions and services, agree by contract or otherwise to participate jointly or in cooperation with Washington State, King County, or any city, town, or other incorporated place, or subdivision thereof, or engage outside counsel, to enforce this chapter. 8. The remedies and penalties provided under this chapter are cumulative and are not intended to be exclusive of my other available remedies or penalties, including existing remedies for enforcement of Renton Municipal Code chapters. 9. The statute of limitations for any enforcement action shall be five (5) years. Section 9. A new section is added to Renton Municipal Code (RMC) Section 5-5-4 as follows: 1. The Finance Director may deny, suspend, or revoke any license under this chapter for violation of this ordinance. 2. The Finance Director must deny, suspend, or revoke any license under this chapter for repeated intentional violations of this ordinance. 3. Any action by the Finance Director under this section shall be subject to the procedures and requirements of RMC subsection 5-5-3.E, as well as other due process rights that a court may require. Section 10. Definitions. For the purposes of this chapter, the following terms shall have the following meanings: "City" means the City of Renton. "Covered employer" means an employer that either (1) employs at least 15 employees regardless of when those employees are employed, or (2) has annual gross revenue over $2 million. "Effective date" is the effective date of this ordinance. "Employee" is defined as set forth in RCW 49.46.010. An employer bears the burden of proof that the individual is, as a matter of economic reality, in business for oneself rather than dependent upon the alleged employer. "Employer" is defined as set forth in RCW 49.46.010. "Employer classification" includes the determination of whether an employer is a covered employer and whether a covered employer is a large employer. "Franchise" means an agreement, express or implied, oral or written by which: 1. A person is granted the right to engage in the business of offering, selling, or distributing goods or services under a marketing plan prescribed or suggested in substantial part by the grantor or its affiliate; 2. The operation of the business is substantially associated with a trademark, service mark, trade name, advertising, or other commercial symbol; designating, owned by, or licensed by the grantor or its affiliate; and 3. The person pays, agrees to pay, or is required to pay, directly or indirectly, a franchise fee. The term, "franchise fee" is meant to be construed broadly to include any instance in which the grantor or its affiliate derives income or profit from a person who enters into a franchise agreement with the grantor. "Hour worked within the City" is to be interpreted according to its ordinary meaning, including all hours worked within the geographic boundaries of the City, excluding time spent in the City solely for the purpose of traveling through the City from a point of origin outside the City to a destination outside the City, with no employment -related or commercial stops in the City except for refueling or the employee's personal meals or errands. "Large Employer" means all employers that employ more than 500 employees, regardless of where those employees are employed, and all franchisees associated with a franchisor or a network of franchises with franchisees that employ more than 500 employees in aggregate. "Other covered employer" means a covered employer that does not qualify as a large employer. "Service charge" is defined as set forth in RCW 49.46.160(2)(c). "Tips" means a verifiable sum to be presented by a customer as a gift or gratuity in recognition of some service performed for the customer by the employee receiving the tip. "Wage" is defined as set forth in RCW 49.46.010. Section 11. Other Legal Requirements. This ordinance shall not be construed to preempt, limit, or otherwise affect the applicability of any other law, regulation, requirement, policy, or standard that provides for greater wages or compensation; and nothing in this ordinance shall be interpreted or applied so as to create any power or duty in conflict with federal or state law. Section 12. Rulemaking. Within 180 days after the effective date, the City shall adopt rules and procedures to implement and ensure compliance with this chapter, which shall require employers to maintain adequate records and to annually certify compliance with this chapter. The City shall seek feedback from worker organizations and covered employers before finalizing the rules and procedures. Section 13. Constitutional Subject. For constitutional purposes, this measure's subject "concerns labor standards for certain employers." See Filo Foods, LLC v, City of SeaTac, 183 Wash. 2d 770, 783, 357 RM 1040, 1047 (2015) (upholding this statement of subject for an initiative that set a minimum wage and addressed employees' access to hours). Section 14. Codification. All sections of this ordinance except section 9 shall be codified in a new chapter of the Renton Municipal Code. Section 15. Election date. In the event that the election on this measure takes place later than November 7, 2023, the Finance Department must establish and publish the initial minimum wage within 30 days of the effective date. Section 16. Severability. The provisions of this ordinance are declared to be separate and severable. If any clause, sentence, paragraph, subdivision, section, subsection, or portion of this ordinance, or the application thereof to any employer, employee, or circumstance, is held to be invalid, it shall not affect the validity of the remainder of this ordinance, or the validity of its application to other persons or circumstances. 1. 2. 3. 4. s. 6. 7. s. 9. 10. 40 � Raising The Minimum Wage In Renton INITIATIVE PETITION FOR SUBMISSION TO THE RENTON CITY COUNCIL TO: The City Council of the City of Renton: ®�cccna� 933-M We, the undersigned registered voters of the City of Renton, State of Washington, residing at the addresses set forth opposite our respective names, being equal to fifteen percent (15%) of the total number of names of persons listed as registered voters within the City on the day of the last preceding City general election, respectfully request that the following ordinance be enacted by the City Council or, if not so enacted, be submitted to a vote of the residents of the City. The title of the said ordinance is as follows: ORDINANCE CONCERNING LABOR STANDARDS FOR CERTAIN EMPLOYEES A full, true and correct copy of the ordinance is attached to this Petition. Each of us for himself or herself says: I have personally signed this petition; I am a registered voter of the City of Renton, State of Washington; and my residence is correctly stated. Si" 0`Vd Sa«yrrfe�%/ot Printed Name Printed Name Street and Number 1234 Anywhere St. City Renton Phone Number 206-555-1234 Email maria@something.org Date 4/10/2023 i U 5,1 -1 Z 17 c C) ul va / 1/e /Y Renton .. f_=A.✓ �Iyi"�.�-,>Ft i �tiz � I G`7�a Apt 5 Renton ')7_5 Zz) `ISz� S�rin,7/rw �t/J •, v'I ����A,> �VA fit.. I�.�u�d � Renton (q25) OkO, 5311 O�0 IIZDZ3 * L1.y 'FDKAS6+1 L 1301 W I LL1A AS *V- C— Renton 4M +bb Sloss DSiU� %ZvZ� -r- 1)) I GIL (2 05 54f 3v1 1a Renton 12 j1P 41b 04:�- VV Renton u ; G 5/ 1 �67 � Renton q J / /Z rwe a���yiH L° h 3,�I ��� vQ /UD Renton ill do ��✓ CfUI� Renton "IA �c�( lW Renton Warning Every person who signs this petition with any other than his or her true name, or who knowingly signs more than one of these petitions, or signs a petition seek- ing an election when he or she is not a legal voter, or signs a petition when he or she is otherwise not qualified to sign, or who makes herein any false statement, shall be guilty of a misdemeanor. AN ORDINANCE concerning labor standards for certain employees. Section 1. Findings. 1. The people of the City of Renton hereby adopt this citizen initiative addressing labor standards for certain employees, for the purpose of ensuring that, to the extent reasonably practicable, people employed in Renton have good wages and access to sufficient hours of work. 2. The City of Renton is one of the largestjob centers in Washington State, with thousands of shoppers and workers visiting daily to participate in the local economy. Renton is home to The Landing shopping center, the historic Downtown Urban Center, as well as retail and commercial office and warehouse districts around the Rainier/Grady Way Junction. The City is a net importer ofjobs, with nearly 60,000 employed workers. Renton has a wide may of both long established and new and evolving business sectors. Retail businesses, restaurants and bars, auto sales, hospitality, healthcare, and office workers are well represented. 3. The statewide minimum wage is not sufficient to afford rising rents and costs of living in Renton. According to the National Low Income Housing Coalition's Out of Reach 2022 report, a worker making Washington's minimum wage would have to work 72 hours each week (up from 70 hours each week in 2021) to afford a modest one -bedroom rental home at Fair Market Rent. 4. When working families earn insufficient income due to low wages and involuntary under -employment, they struggle to pay for basic necessities like health care, child care, and groceries, and they are more likely to be evicted and become homeless. 5. Nearby King County cities of SeaTaq Seattle, and Tukwila enacted higher minimum wages in 2013, 2014, and 2022 respectively, but until now Renton has not followed suit. 6. Children growing up in poverty experience insecurity with housing, nutrition, and health cure while enduring other hardships that prevent their ability to learn in school. Full time working parents must be able to reasonably provide for their family to ensure access to the opportunities and promise of public education. Section 2. Intent. It is the intent of the people to establish fair labor standards and protect the rights of workers by: (1) ensuring that the vast majority of employees in the City of Renton receive a minimum wage comparable to employees in the nearby cities of Tukwila, SeaTaq and Seattle; (2) requiring covered employers to offer additional hours of work to qualified part-time employees before hiring new employees to fill those hours; and (3) adopting enforcement requirements. Section 3. Large Employers Shall Pay Minimum Wages Comparable to Those in Nearby Cities. 1. Effective July I, 2024, every large employer shall pay to each employee an hourly wage of not less than the 2023 new minimum wage rate in the City of Tukwila, established by City of Tukwila Initiative Measure No. 1, approved by voters in November 2022, adjusted for 2024 by the annual rate of inflation. 2. On January 1, 2025, and on each January 1 thereafter, the hourly minimum wage shall increase by the annual rate of inflation to maintain employee purchasing power. 3. By December 31, 2023, and by October 15 of each year thereafter, the Finance Department shall establish and publish the applicable hourly minimum wage for the following year using the annual rate of inflation. 4. For purposes of this chapter, the annual rate of inflation means 100 percent of the annual average growth rate of the bi-monthly Seattle -Tacoma -Bellevue Area Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Farmers and Clerical Workers, termed CPI-W, for the 12-month period ending in August, provided that the percentage increase shall not be less than zero. 5. An employer must pay to its employees: a. All tips and gratuities; and b. All service charges as defined under RCW 49,46.160 except those that, pursuant to RCW 49.46.160, are itemized as not being payable to the employee or employees servicing the customer. Tips and service charges paid to an employee me in addition to, and may not count towards, the employee's hourly minimum wage. Section 4. Other Covered Employers Shall Have a Multiyear Phase -In Period. Other covered employers shall phase in the new minimum wage, as follows: I. Effective July 1, 2024, other covered employers shall pay employees not less than the hourly minimum wage established under Section 3 minus Two Dollars ($2) per hour 2. Effective July 1, 2025, other covered employers shall pay employees. not less than the hourly minimum wage established under Section 3 minus One Dollar ($1) per hour. 3. Effective July 1, 2026, and thereafter, all covered employers shall pay employees not less than the hourly minimum wage established under Section 3. Section 5. Coverage and Employer Classifications. 1. Covered employers must pay employees at least the minimum wage established by this chapter for each hour worked within the City. 2. Employer classification for the current calendar year will be calculated based upon the average number of employees timing all weeks in the previous calendar year in which the employer had at least one employee. For employers that did not have any employees during the previous calendar year, classification will be based upon the average number of employees during the most recent three months of the current year. In this determination, all employees will be counted, regardless of then location, and including employees who worked in full-time employment, part-time employment, joint employment, temporary employment, or through the services of a temporary services or staffing agency or similar entity. 3. Employer classification for the current calendar yew will be calculated based upon the gross revenue for the previous year. For employers that did not have gross revenue during the previous calendar year, annual gross revenue will be calculated from the gross revenue during the most recent three months of the current year. 4. For the purposes of employer classification, separate entities will be considered a single employer if they form an integrated enterprise or they are underjoint control by one of those entities or a separate entity. The factors to consider in making this assessment include, but me not limited to: a. Degree of interrelation between the operations of multiple entities; b. Degree to which the entities share common management; C. Centralized control of labor relations; and d. Degree of common ownership or financial control over the entities. Section 6. Part -Time Employees Shall Have Fair Access to Additional Hours. I. Before hiring additional employees or subcontractors, including hiring through the use of temporary services or staffing agencies, covered employers must offer additional hours of work to existing employees who, in the employer's good faith and reasonable judgment, have the skills and experience to perform the work, and shall use a reasonable, transparent, and nondiscriminatory process to distribute the hours of work among those existing employees. 2. This section shall not be construed to require any employer to offer an employee work hours if the employer would be required to compensate the employee at time -and -a -half or other premium rate under any law or collective bargaining agreement, nor to prohibit any employer from offering such work hours. Section 7. Retaliation Prohibited. 1. No employer or any other person shall interfere with, restrain, or deny the exercise of, or the attempt to exercise, any right protected under this chapter. 2. No employer or any other person shall take any adverse action against any person because the person has exercised in good faith the rights under this chapter. Such rights include but are not limited to the right to make inquiries about the rights protected under this chapter; the right to inform others about their rights under this chapter; the right to inform the person's employer, union, or similar organization, and/or the person's legal counsel or any other person about an alleged violation of this chapter; the right to bring a civil action for an alleged violation of this chapter; the right to testify in a proceeding under or related to this chapter; the right to refuse to participate in an activity that would result in a violation of city, state, or federal law; and the right to oppose any policy, practice, or act that is unlawful under this chapter. 3. For the purposes of this section, an adverse action means denying ajob or promotion, demoting, terminating, failing to rehire after a seasonal interruption of work, threatening, penalizing, retaliating, engaging in unfair immigration -related practices, filing a false report with a government agency, changing an employee's status to nonemployee, decreasing or declining to provide additional work hours when they otherwise would have been offered, scheduling an employee for hours outside of their availability, or otherwise discriminating against any person for any reason prohibited by this chapter. "Adverse action" for an employee may involve any aspect of employment, including pay, work hours, responsibilities, or other material change in the terms and conditions of employment. 4. No employer or any other person shall communicate to a person exercising rights protected under this chapter, directly or indirectly, the willingness to inform a government employee that the person is not lawfully in the United States, or to report, or to make an implied or express assertion of a willingness to report, suspected citizenship or immigration status of the person or a family member of the person to a federal, state, or local agency because the person has exercised a right under this chapter. 5. There shall be a rebuttable presumption of unlawful retaliation if an employer or any other person takes an adverse action against a person within 90 days of the person's exercise of any right protected in this chapter. However, in the case of seasonal work that ended before the close of the 90-day period, the presumption also applies if the employer fails to rehire a former employee at the next opportunity for work in the same position. The employer may rebut the presumption with clear and convincing evidence that the adverse action was taken for a permissible purpose. 6. Standard of Proof. Proof of retaliation under this chapter shall be sufficient upon a showing that an employer or any other person has taken an adverse action against a person and the person's exercise of rights protected in this chapter was a motivating factor in the adverse action, unless the employer can prove that the action would have been taken in the absence of such protected activity. 7. The protections afforded under this section shall apply to any person who mistakenly but in good faith alleges violations of this chapter. Section 8. Enforcement. 1. Any person or class of persons that suffers financial injury as a result of a violation of this chapter or is the subject of prohibited retaliation under this chapter, or any other individual or entity acting on their behalf, may bring a civil action in a court of competentjurisdiction against the employer or other person violating this chapter and, upon prevailing, shall be awarded reasonable attorney fees and costs and such legal or equitable relief as may be appropriate to remedy the violation including, without limitation, the payment of any unpaid wages plus interest due to the person and liquidated damages in an additional amount of up to twice the unpaid wages; compensatory damages; and a penalty payable to any aggrieved party of up to $5,000 if the aggrieved party was subject to prohibited retaliation. For the purposes of this section, an aggrieved party means an employee or other person who suffers tangible or intangible harm due to an employer or other person's violation of this chapter, Interest shall accrue from the date the unpaid wages were first due at the higher of twelve percent per annum or the maximum rate permitted under RCW 19.52.020. 2. For purposes of determining membership within a class of persons entitled to bring an action under this section, two or more employees are similarly situated if they: a. Are or were employed by the same employer or employers, whether concurrently or otherwise, at some point during the applicable statute of limitations period; b. Allege one or more violations that raise similar questions as to liability; and C. Seek similar forms of relief. d. Employees shall not be considered dissimilar solely because their claims seek damages that differ in amount, or theirjob titles or other means of classifying employees differ in ways that are unrelated to their claims. 3. Each covered employer shall retain records as required by RCW 49.46.070, as well as such information as the City may require to confirm compliance with this chapter. If an employer fails to retain such records, there shall be a presumption, rebuttable by clear and convincing evidence, that the employer violated this chapter for the periods and for each employee for whom records were not retained. 4. Employers shall permit authorized City representatives access to work sites and relevant records for the purpose of monitoring compliance with the chapter and investigating complaints of noncompliance, including production for inspection and copying of employment records. The City may designate representatives, including city contractors and representatives of unions or worker advocacy organizations, to access the worksite and relevant records. 5. Complaints that any provision of this chapter has been violated may also be presented to the City Attorney, who is hereby authorized to investigate and, if they deem appropriate, initiate legal or other action to remedy any violation of this chapter. 6. The City has the authority to issue administrative citations and to order injunctive relief including reinstatement, restitution, payment of back wages, or other forms of relief. 7. The City may, in the exercise of its authority and performance of its functions and services, agree by contract or otherwise to participate jointly or in cooperation with Washington State, King County, or any city, town, or other incorporated place, or subdivision thereof, or engage outside counsel, to enforce this chapter. 8. The remedies and penalties provided under this chapter are cumulative and are not intended to be exclusive of any other available remedies or penalties, including existing remedies for enforcement of Renton Municipal Code chapters. 9. The statute of limitations for any enforcement action shall be five (5) years. Section 9. A new section is added to Renton Municipal Code (RMC) Section 5-5-4 as follows: 1. The Finance Director may deny, suspend, or revoke any license under this chapter for violation of this ordinance. 2. The Finance Director must deny, suspend, or revoke any license under this chapter for repeated intentional violations of this ordinance. 3. Any action by the Finance Director under this section shall be subject to the procedures and requirements of RMC subsection 5-5-3.E, as well as other due process rights that a court may require. Section 10. Definitions. For the purposes of this chapter, the following terms shall have the following meanings: "City" means the City of Renton. "Covered employer" means an employer that either (1) employs at least 15 employees regardless of where those employees are employed, or (2) has annual gross revenue over $2 million. "Effective date" is the effective date of this ordinance. "Employee" is defined as set forth in RCW 49.46.010. An employer bears the burden of proof that the individual is, as a matter of economic reality, in business for oneself rather than dependent upon the alleged employer. "Employer" is defined as set forth in RCW 49.46.010. "Employer classification" includes the determination of whether an employer is a covered employer and whether a covered employer is a large employer. "Franchise" means an agreement, express or implied, oral or written by which: 1. A person is granted the right to engage in the business of offering, selling, or distributing goods or services under a marketing plan prescribed or suggested in substantial part by the grantor or its affiliate; 2. The operation of the business is substantially associated with a trademark, service mark, trade name, advertising, or other commercial symbol; designating, owned by, or licensed by the grantor or its affiliate; and 3. The person pays, agrees to pay, or is required to pay, directly or indirectly, a franchise fee. The term, "franchise fee" is meant to be construed broadly to include any instance in which the grantor or its affiliate derives income or profit from a person who enters into a franchise agreement with the grantor. "How worked within the City" is to be interpreted according to its ordinary meaning, including all hours worked within the geographic boundaries of the City, excluding time spent in the City solely for the purpose of traveling through the City from a point of origin outside the City to a destination outside the City, with no employment -related or commercial stops in the City except for refueling or the employee's personal meals or errands. "Large Employer" means all employers that employ more than 500 employees, regardless of where those employees are employed, and all franchisees associated with a franchisor or a network of franchises with franchisees that employ more than 500 employees in aggregate. "Other covered employer" means a covered employer that does not qualify as a large employer. "Service charge" is defined as set forth in RCW 49.46.160(2)(c). "Tips" means a verifiable sum to be presented by a customer as a gift or gratuity in recognition of some service performed for the customer by the employee receiving the tip. "Wage" is defined as set forth in RCW 49.46.010. Section 11. Other Legal Requirements. This ordinance shall not be construed to preempt, limit, or otherwise affect the applicability of any other law, regulation, requirement, policy, or standard that provides for greater wages or compensation; and nothing in this ordinance shall be interpreted or applied so as to create any power or duty in conflict with federal or state law. Section 12. Rulemaking. Within 180 days after the effective date, the City shall adopt rules and procedures to implement and ensure compliance with [his chapter, which shall require employers to maintain adequate records and to annually certify compliance with this chapter. The City shall seek feedback from worker organizations and covered employers before finalizing the rules and procedures. Section 13. Constitutional Subject. For constitutional purposes, this measure's subject "concerns labor standards for certain employers." See Filo Foods, LLC v. City of ScaTac, 183 Wash. 2d 770, 783, 357 RM 1040, 1047 (2015) (upholding this statement of subject for an initiative that set a minimum wage and addressed employees' access to hours). Section 14. Codification. All sections of this ordinance except section 9 shall be codified in a new chapter of the Renton Municipal Code. Section 15. Election date. In the event that the election on this measure takes place later than November 7, 2023, the Finance Department must establish and publish the initial minimum wage within 30 days of the effective date. Section 16. Severability. The provisions of this ordinance are declared to be separate and severable. If any clause, sentence, paragraph, subdivision, section, subsection, or portion of this ordinance, or the application thereof to any employer, employee, or circumstance, is held to be invalid, it shall not affect the validity of the remainder of this ordinance, or the validity of its application to other persons or circumstances. 0 Kaising i ne minimum wage in Renton INITIATIVE PETITION FOR SUBMISSION TO THE RENTON CITY COUNCIL TO: The City Council of the City of Renton: •B++ewrsw11 We, the undersigned registered voters of the City of Renton, State of Washington, residing at the addresses set forth opposite our respective names, being equal to fifteen percent (15%) of the total number of names of persons listed as registered voters within the City on the day of the last preceding City general election, respectfully request that the following ordinance be enacted by the City Council or, if not so enacted, be submitted to a vote of the residents of the City. The title of the said ordinance is as follows: ORDINANCE CONCERNING LABOR STANDARDS FOR CERTAIN EMPLOYEES A full, true and correct copy of the ordinance is attached to this Petition. Each of us for himself or herself says: I have personally signed this petition; I am a registered voter of the City of Renton, State of Washington; and my residence is correctly stated. Signature Printed Name Street and Number City Phone Number Email Date SaPe'U Printed Name 1234 Anywhere St. Renton 206-555-1234 maria@something.org 4/10/2023 2. 3.yyh 4. n� FA T1 ek n ) u:52-7 9209� Renton 60 Z = -�oT < �l all��r!rh 16�1 rev I��i��t li/ 5. 6. J r S 7`7r'1 (gin ,` M'-) iYl CCU` i✓ 7. /�LJ - t' e 1 I � � 14 b l� V1,1_ r �r- Renton 9 2�5- 5%D-1074t7 `A olc A Ki "I1 Z t 1-~ I Cc3'cl -Avf <4 .4-;- Renton L�IS -Z�5 � -3S% 7Lf eto.� l).CGM Cn1LQ,4 S ILO gwma:l - cb" Renton j'" � ��E � C� e'- r Renton ! 7 � M�.�.tio+` �,�� ✓1� fir' �, = �'2N—�d ��;`Ls�12�, n,�i,_ ial. Renton6- 5S6 -b136 cavio ��,?�K.ell q�{e(o�d . cow Renton Renton enton L12 � ` C / q Warning Every person who signs this petition with any other than his or her true name, or who knowingly signs more than one of these petitions, or signs a petition seek- ing an election when he or she is not a legal voter, or signs a petition when he or she is otherwise not qualified to sign, or who makes herein any false statement, shall be guilty of a misdemeanor. AN ORDINANCE concerning labor standards for certain employees. Section 1. Findings. 1. The people of the City of Renton hereby adopt this citizen initiative addressing labor standards for certain employees, for the purpose of ensuring that, to the extent reasonably practicable, people employed in Renton have good wages and access to sufficient hours of work. 2. The City of Renton is one of the largest job centers in Washington State, with thousands of shoppers and workers visiting daily to participate in the local economy. Renton is home to The Landing shopping center, the historic Downtown Urban Center, as well as retail and commercial office and warehouse districts around the Rainier/Grady Way Junction. The City is a net importer ofjobs, with newly 60,000 employed workers. Renton has a wide way of both long established and new and evolving business sectors. Retail businesses, restaurants and bars, auto sales, hospitality, healthcare, and office workers are well represented. 3. The statewide minimum wage is not sufficient to afford rising rents and costs of living in Renton. According to the National Low Income Housing Coalition's Out of Reach 2022 report, a worker making Washington's minimum wage would have to work 72 hours each week (up from 70 hours each week in 2021) to afford a modest one -bedroom rental home at Fair Market Rent. 4. When working families earn insufficient income due to low wages and involuntary under -employment, they struggle to pay for basic necessities like health care, child care, and groceries, and they are more likely to be evicted and become homeless. 5. Nearby King County cities of SeaTac, Seattle, and Tukwila enacted higher minimum wages in 2013, 2014, and 2022 respectively, but until now Renton has not followed suit. 6. Children growing up in poverty experience insecurity with housing, nutrition, and health care while enduring other hardships that prevent their ability to learn in school. Full time working parents must be able to reasonably provide for their family to ensure access to the opportunities and promise of public education. Section 2. Intent. It is the intent of the people to establish fair labor standards and protect the rights of workers by: (1) ensuring that the vast majority of employees in the City of Renton receive a minimum wage comparable to employees in the nearby cities of Tukwila, SeaTac, and Seattle; (2) requiring covered employers to offer additional hours of work to qualified part-time employees before hiring new employees to fill those hours; and (3) adopting enforcement requirements. Section 3. Large Employers Shall Pay Minimum Wages Comparable to Those in Nearby Cities. 1. Effective July 1, 2024, every large employer shall pay to each employee an hourly wage of not less than the 202� new minimum wage rate in the City of Tukwila, establishedbyCity of Tukwila Initiative Measure No. 1, approved by voters in November 2022, adjusted for 2024 by the annual rate of inflation. 2. On January 1, 2025, and on each January I thereafter, the hourly minimum wage shall increase by the annual rate of inflation to maintain employee purchasing power. 3. By December 31, 2023, and by October 15 of each year thereafter, the Finance Department shall establish and publish the applicable hourly minimum wage for the following year using the annual rate of inflation. 4. For purposes of this chapter, the annual rate of inflation means 100 percent of the annual average growth rate of the bi-monthly Seattle -Tacoma -Bellevue Area Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers, termed CPI-W, for the 12-month period ending in August, provided that the percentage increase shall not be less than zero. 5. An employer must pay to its employees: a. All tips and gratuities; and b. All service charges as defined under RCW 49.46.160 except those that, pursuant to RCW 49.46.160, are itemized as not being payable to the employee or employees servicing the customer. Tips and service charges paid to an employee are in addition to, and may not count towards, the employee's hourly minimum wage. Section 4. Other Covered Employers Shall Have a Multiyear Pbase-In Period. Other covered employers shall phase in the new minimum wage, as follows: 1. Effective July 1, 2024, other covered employers shall pay employees not less than the hourly minimum wage established under Section 3 minus Two Dollars ($2) per hour. 2. Effective July 1, 2025, other covered employers shall pay employees not less than the hourly minimum wage established under Section 3 minus One Dollar ($1) per hour. 3. Effective July 1, 2026, and thereafter, all covered employers shall pay employees not less than the hourly minimum wage established under Section 3. Section 5. Coverage and Employer Classifications. 1. Covered employers must pay employees at least the minimum wage established by this chapter for each hour worked within the City. 2. Employer classification for the current calendar year will be calculated based upon the average number of employees during all weeks in the previous calendar year in which the employer had at least one employee. For employers that did not have any employees during the previous calendar yen, classification will be based upon the average number of employees during the most recent three months of the current year. In this determination, all employees will be counted, regardless of thew location, and including employees who worked in full-time employment, part-time employment, joint employment, temporary employment, or through the services of a temporary services or staffing agency or similar entity. 3. Employer classification for the current calendar year will be calculated based upon the gross revenue for the previous year. For employers that did not have gross revenue during the previous calendar year, annual gross revenue will be calculated from the gross revenue during the most recent three months of the current year. 4. For the purposes of employer classification, separate entities will be considered a single employer if they form an integrated enterprise or they are underjoint control by one of those entities or a separate entity. The factors to consider in making this assessment include, but are not limited to: a. Degree of interrelation between the operations of multiple entities; b. Degree to which the entities share common management; C. Centralized control of labor relations; and d. Degree of common ownership or financial control over the entities. Section 6. Part -Time Employees Shall Have Fair Access to Additional Hours. 1. Before hiring additional employees or subcontractors, including hiring through the use of temporary services or staffing agencies, covered employers must offer additional hours of work to existing employees who, in the employer's good faith and reasonable judgment, have the skills and experience to perform the work, and shall use a reasonable, transparent, and nondiscriminatory process to distribute the hours of work among those existing employees. 2. This section shall not be construed to require any employer to offer an employee work hours if the employer would be required to compensate the employee at time -and -a -half or other premium rate under any law or collective bargaining agreement, nor to prohibit any employer from offering such work hours. Section 7. Retaliation Prohibited. 1. No employer or any other person shall interfere with, restrain, or deny the exercise of, or the attempt to exercise, any right protected under this chapter. 2. No employer or any other person shall take any adverse action against any person because the person has exercised in good faith the rights under this chapter. Such rights include but are not limited to the right to make inquiries about the rights protected under this chapter; the right to inform others about their rights under this chapter; the right to inform the person's employer, union, or similar organization, and/or the person's legal counsel or any other person about an alleged violation of this chapter; the right to bring a civil action for an alleged violation of this chapter; the right to testify in a proceeding under or related to this chapter; the right to refuse to participate in an activity that would result in a violation of city, state, or federal law; and the right to oppose any policy, practice, or act that is unlawful under this chapter. 3. For the purposes of this section, an adverse action means denying ajob or promotion, demoting, terminating, failing to rehire after a seasonal interruption of work, threatening, penalizing, retaliating, engaging in unfair immigration -related practices, filing a false report with a government agency, changing an employee's status to nonemployee, decreasing or declining to provide additional work hours when they otherwise would have been offered, scheduling an employee for hours outside of their availability, or otherwise discriminating against any person for any reason prohibited by this chapter. "Adverse action" for an employee may involve any aspect of employment, including pay, work hours, responsibilities, or other material change in the terms and conditions of employment. - 4. No employer or any other person shall communicate to a person exercising rights protected under this chapter, directly or indirectly, the willingness to inform a government employee that the person is not lawfully in the United States, or to report, or to make an implied or express assertion of a willingness to report, suspected citizenship or immigration status of the person or a family member of the person to a federal, state, or local agency because the person has exercised a right under this chapter. 5. There shall be a rebuttable presumption of unlawful retaliation if an employer or any other person takes an adverse action against a person within 90 days of the person's exercise of any right protected in this chapter. However, in the case of seasonal work that ended before the close of the 90-day period, the presumption also applies if the employer fails to rehire a former employee at the next opportunity for work in the same position. The employer may rebut the presumption with clear and convincing evidence that the adverse action was taken for a permissible purpose. 6. Standard of Proof. Proof of retaliation under this chapter shall be sufficient upon a showing that an employer or any other person has taken an adverse action against a person and the person's exercise of rights protected in this chapter was a motivating factor in the adverse action, unless the employer can prove that the action would have been taken in the absence of such protected activity. 7. The protections afforded under this section shall apply to any person who mistakenly but in good faith alleges violations of this chapter. Section 8. Enforcement. 1. Any person or class of persons that suffers financial injury as a result of a violation of this chapter or is the subject of prohibited retaliation under this chapter, or any other individual or entity acting on their behalf, may bring a civil action in a court of competent jurisdiction against the employer or other person violating this chapter and, upon prevailing, shall be awarded reasonable attorney fees and costs and such legal or equitable relief as may be appropriate to remedy the violation including, without limitation, the payment of any unpaid wages plus interest due to the person and liquidated damages in an additional amount of up to twice the unpaid wages; compensatory damages; and a penalty payable to any aggrieved party of up to $5,000 if the aggrieved party was subject to prohibited retaliation. For the purposes of this section, an aggrieved party means an employee or other person who suffers tangible or intangible hour due to an employer or other person's violation of this chapter. Interest shall accrue from the date the unpaid wages were first due at the higher of twelve percent per annum or the maximum rate permitted under RCW 19.52.020. 2. For purposes of determining membership within a class of persons entitled to bring an action under this section, two or more employees are similarly situated if they: a. Are or were employed by the same employer or employers, whether concurrently or otherwise, at some point during the applicable statute of limitations period; b. Allege one or more violations that raise similar questions as to liability; and C. Seek similar forms of relief. d. Employees shall not be considered dissimilar solely because their claims seek damages that differ in amount, or their job titles or other means of classifying employees differ in ways that are unrelated to their claims. 3. Each covered employer shall retain records as required by RCW 49.46.070, as well as such information as the City may require to confirm compliance with this chapter. If an employer fails to retain such records, there shall be a presumption, rebuttable by clear and convincing evidence, that the employer violated this chapter for the periods and for each employee for whom records were not retained. 4. Employers shall permit authorized City representatives access to work sites and relevant records for the purpose of monitoring compliance with the chapter and investigating complaints of noncompliance, including production for inspection and copying of employment records. The City may designate representatives, including city contractors and representatives of unions or worker advocacy organizations, to access the workshe and relevant records. 5. Complaints that any provision of this chapter has been violated may also be presented to the City Attorney, who is hereby authorized to investigate and, if they deem appropriate, initiate legal or other action to remedy any violation of this chapter. 6. The City has the authority to issue administrative citations and to order injunctive relief including reinstatement, restitution, payment of back wages, or other forms of relief. 7. The City may, in the exercise of its authority and performance of its functions and services, agree by contract or otherwise to participate jointly or in cooperation with Washington State, King County, or any city, town, or other incorporated place, or subdivision thereof, or engage outside counsel, to enforce this chapter. 8. The remedies and penalties provided under this chapter we cumulative and are not intended to be exclusive of any other available remedies or penalties, including existing remedies for enforcement of Renton Municipal Code chapters. 9. The statute of limitations for any enforcement action shall be five (5) years. Section 9. A new section is added to Renton Municipal Code (RMC) Section 5-5-4 as follows: 1. The Finance Director may deny, suspend, or revoke any license under this chapter for violation of this ordinance. 2. The Finance Director must deny, suspend, or revoke any license under this chapter for repeated intentional violations of this ordinance. 3. Any action by the Finance Director under this section shall be subject to the procedures and requirements of RMC subsection 5-5-3.E, as well as other due process rights that a court may require. Section 10. Definitions. For the purposes of this chapter, the following terms shall have the following meanings: "City" means the City of Renton. "Covered employer" means an employer that either (1) employs at least 15 employees regardless of where those employees are employed, or (2) has annual gross revenue over $2 million. "Effective date" is the effective date of this ordinance. "Employee" is defined as set forth in RCW 49.46.010. An employer bears the burden of proof that the individual is, as a matter of economic reality, in business for oneself rather than dependent upon the alleged employer. "Employer" is defined as set forth in RCW 49.46.010. "Employer classification" includes the determination of whether an employer is a covered employer and whether a covered employer is a large employer. "Franchise" means an agreement, express or implied, oral or written by which: 1. A person is granted the right to engage in the business of offering, selling, or distributing goods or services under a marketing plan prescribed or suggested in substantial part by the grantor or its affiliate; 2. The operation of the business is substantially associated with a trademark, service mark, trade time, advertising, or other commercial symbol; designating, owned by, or licensed by the grantor or its affiliate; and 3. The person pays, agrees to pay, or is required to pay, directly or indirectly, a franchise fee. The term, "franchise fee" is meant to be construed broadly to include any instance in which the grantor or its affiliate derives income or profit from a person who enters into a franchise agreement with the grantor. "Hour worked within the City" is to be interpreted according to its ordinary meaning, including all hours worked within the geographic boundaries of the City, excluding time spent in the City solely for the purpose of traveling through the City from a point of origin outside the City to a destination outside the City, with no employment -related or commercial stops in the City except for refueling or the employee's personal meals or errands. "Large Employer" means all employers that employ more than 500 employees, regardless of where those employees are employed, and all franchisees associated with a franchisor or a network of franchises with franchisees that employ more than 500 employees in aggregate. "Other covered employer" means a covered employer that does not qualify as a large employer. "Service charge" is defined as set forth in RCW 49.46.160(2)(c). "Tips" means a verifiable sum to be presented by a customer as a gift or gratuity in recognition of some service performed for the customer by the employee receiving the tip. "Wage" is defined as set forth in RCW 49.46.010. Section 11. Other Legal Requirements. This ordinance shall not be construed to preempt, limit, or otherwise affect the applicability of any other law, regulation, requirement, policy, or standard that provides for greater wages or compensation; and nothing in this ordinance shall be interpreted or applied so as to create any power or duty in conflict with federal or state law. Section 12. Rulemaking. Within 180 days after the effective date, the City shall adopt rules and procedures to implement and ensure compliance with this chapter, which shall require employers to maintain adequate records and to annually certify compliance with this chapter. The City shall seek feedback from worker organizations and covered employers before finalizing the rules and procedures. Section 13. Constitutional Subject. For constitutional purposes, this measure's subject "concerns labor standards for certain employers." See Filo Foods, LLC v. City of SeaTac, 183 Wash. 2d 770, 783, 357 P.3d 1040, 1047 (2015) (upholding this statement of subject for an initiative that set a minimum wage and addressed employees' access to hours). Section 14. Codification. All sections of this ordinance except section 9 shall be codified in a new chapter of the Renton Municipal Code, Section 15. Election date. In the event that the election on this measure takes place later than November 7, 2023, the Finance Department must establish and publish the initial minimum wage within 30 days of the effective date. Section 16. Severability. The provisions of this ordinance are declared to be separate and severable. If any clause, sentence, paragraph, subdivision, section, subsection, or portion of this ordinance, or the application thereof to any employer, employee, or circumstance, is held to be invalid, it shall not affect the validity of the remainder of this ordinance, or the validity of its application to other persons or circumstances. Canvasser email and Phone Raising The Minimum Wage In Rentoncr- INITIATIVE PETITION FOR SUBMISSION TO THE RENTON CITY COUNCIL TO: The City Council of the City of Renton: o I ccaieO 933-M We, the undersigned registered voters of the City of Renton, State of Washington, residing at the addresses set forth opposite our respective names, being equal to fifteen percent (15%) of the total number of names of persons listed as registered voters within the City on the day of the last preceding City general election, respectfully request that the following ordinance be enacted by the City Council or, if not so enacted, be submitted to a vote of the residents of the City. The title of the said ordinance is as follows: ORDINANCE CONCERNING LABOR STANDARDS FOR CERTAIN EMPLOYEES A full, true and correct copy of the ordinance is attached to this Petition. Each of us for himself or herself says: I have personally signed this petition; I am a registered voter of the City of Renton, State of Washington; and my residence is correctly stated. Signature Printed Name Street and Number City Phone Number Email SaHrlcee?/otac Printed Name 1234 Anywhere St. Renton 206-555-1234 maria@something.org Renton 2. Renton 3. Renton Renton Renton 5. 6. v I b�— e r{ lS /t VC RentonI s, reAcocIz-, 61Lao (1ct, vtS .fie S Renton 7. 8. � h'�o����_S 2 Renton 3G) 9.(AL,�j(. ,; 1 ti I Renton 4 Z- 7 9a C-�Gv' '��' ������ (5 i 3 N 'ter 5 �c� 70� �6 to. Renton e- NrneliLcA, S .ne0LC0C&'(@yno1,( Date 4/10/2023 s� S,/2_43 Warning Every person who signs this petition with any other than his or her true name, or who knowingly signs more than one of these petitions, or signs a petition seek- ing an election when he or she is not a legal voter, or signs a petition when he or she is otherwise not qualified to sign, or who makes herein any false statement, shall be guilty of a misdemeanor. - a -C:�3 / 3 AN ORDINANCE concerning labor standards for certain employees. Section 1. Findings. 1. The people of the City of Renton hereby adopt this citizen initiative addressing labor standards for certain employees, for the purpose of ensuring that, to the extent reasonably practicable, people employed in Renton have good wages and access to sufficient hours of work. 2. The City of Renton is one of the largest job centers in Washington State, with thousands of shoppers and workers visiting daily to participate in the local economy. Renton is home to The Landing shopping center, the historic Downtown Urban Center, as well as retail and commercial office and warehouse districts around the Rainier/Grady Way Junction. The City is a net importer ofjobs, with nearly 60,000 employed workers. Renton has a wide may of both long established and new and evolving business sectors. Retail businesses, restaurants and bus, auto sales, hospitality, healthcare, and office workers are well represented. 3. The statewide minimum wage is not sufficient to afford rising rents and costs of living in Renton. According to the National Low Income Housing Coalition's Out of Reach 2022 report, a worker making Washington's minimum wage would have to work 72 hours each week (up from 70 hours each week in 2021) to afford a modest one -bedroom rental home at Fair Market Rent. 4. When working families earn insufficient income due to low wages and involuntary under -employment, they struggle to pay for basic necessities like health one, child cue, and groceries, and they are more likely to be evicted and become homeless. 5. Nearby King County cities of SeaTac, Seattle, and Tukwila enacted higher minimum wages in 2013, 2014, and 2022 respectively, but until now Renton has not followed suit. 6. Children growing up in poverty experience insecurity with housing, nutrition, and health care while enduring other hardships that prevent their ability to learn in school. Full time working parents must be able to reasonably provide for their family to ensure access to the opportunities and promise of public education. Section 2. Intent. It is the intent of the people to establish fair labor standards and protect the rights of workers by: (1) ensuring that the vast majority of employees in the City of Renton receive a minimum wage comparable to employees in the nearby cities of Tukwila, SeaTac, and Seattle; (2) requiring covered employers to offer additional hours of work to qualified part-time employees before hiring new employees to fill those hours; and (3) adopting enforcement requirements. Section 3. Large Employers Shall Pay Minimum Wages Comparable to Those in Nearby Cities. 1. Effective July 1, 2024, every large employer shall pay to each employee an hourly wage of not less than the 2023 new minimum wage rate in the City of Tukwila, established by City of Tukwila Initiative Measure No. 1, approved by voters in November 2022, adjusted for 2024 by the annual rate of inflation. 2. On January 1, 2025, and on each January 1 thereafter, the hourly minimum wage shall increase by the annual rate of inflation to maintain employee purchasing power. 3. By December 31, 2023, and by October 15 of each year thereafter, the Finance Department shall establish and publish the applicable howly minimum wage for the following year using the annual rate of inflation. 4. For purposes of this chapter, the annual rate of inflation means 100 percent of the annual average growth rate of the bi-monthly Seattle -Tacoma -Bellevue Area Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers, termed CPI-W, for the 12-month period ending in August, provided that the percentage increase shall not be less than zero. 5. An employer must pay to its employees: a. All tips and gratuities; and b. All service charges as defined under RCW 49.46.160 except those that, pursuant to RCW 49.46.160, are itemized as not being payable to the employee or employees servicing the customer. Tips and service charges paid to an employee are in addition to, and may not count towards, the employee's hourly minimum wage. Section 4. Other Covered Employers Shall Have a Multiyear Phase -In Period. Other covered employers shall phase in the new minimum wage, as follows: 1. Effective July 1, 2024, other covered employers shall pay employees not less than the hourly minimum wage established under Section 3 minus Two Dollars ($2) per how. 2. Effective July 1, 2025, other covered employers shall pay employees not less than the hourly minimum wage established under Section 3 minus One Dollar ($1) per hour. 3. Effective July 1, 2026, and thereafter, all covered employers shall pay employees not less than the hourly minimum wage established under Section 3. Section 5. Coverage and Employer Classifications. 1. Covered employers must pay employees at least the minimum wage established by this chapter for each how worked within the City. 2. Employer classification for the current calendar year will be calculated based upon the average number of employees during all weeks in the previous calendar year in which the employer had at least one employee. For employers that did not have any employees during the previous calendar year, classification will be based upon the average number of employees during the most recent three months of the current year. In this determination, all employees will be counted, regardless of their location, and including employees who worked in full-time employment, part-time employment, joint employment, temporary employment, or through the services of a temporary services or staffing agency or similar entity. 3. Employer classification for the current calendar year will be calculated based upon the gross revenue for the previous year. For employers that did not have gross revenue during the previous calendar year, annual gross revenue will be calculated from the gross revenue during the most recent three months of the current year. 4. For the purposes of employer classification, separate entities will be considered a single employer if they form an integrated enterprise or they are under joint control by one of those entities or a separate entity. The factors to consider in making this assessment include, but are not limited to: a. Degree of interrelation between the operations of multiple entities; b. Degree to which the entities share common management; C. Centralized control of labor relations; and d. Degree of common ownership or financial control over the entities. Section 6. Part -Time Employees Shall Have Fair Access to Additional Hours. 1. Before hiring additional employees or subcontractors, including hiring through the use of temporary services or staffing agencies, covered employers must offer additional hours of work to existing employees who, in the employer's good faith and reasonable judgment, have the skills and experience to perform the work, and shall use a reasonable, transparent, and nondiscriminatory process to distribute the hours of work among those existing employees. 2. This section shall not be construed to require any employer to offer an employee work hours if the employer would be required to compensate the employee at time -and -a -half or other premium rate under any law or collective bargaining agreement, nor to prohibit any employer from offering such work hours. Section 7. Retaliation Prohibited. 1. No employer or any other person shall interfere with, restrain, or deny the exercise of, or the attempt to exercise, any right protected under this chapter. 2. No employer or any other person shall take any adverse action against any person because the person has exercised in good faith the rights under this chapter. Such rights include but are not limited to the right to make inquiries about the rights protected under this chapter; the right to inform others about their rights under this chapter; the right to inform the person's employer, union, or similar organization, and/or the person's legal counsel or any other person about an alleged violation of this chapter; the right to bring a civil action for an alleged violation of this chapter; the right to testify in a proceeding under or related to this chapter; the right to refuse to participate in an activity that would result in a violation of city, state, or federal law; and the right to oppose any policy, practice, or act that is unlawful under this chapter. 3. For the purposes of this section, an adverse action means denying ajob or promotion, demoting, terminating, failing to rehire after a seasonal interruption of work, threatening, penalizing, retaliating, engaging in unfair immigration -related practices, filing a false report with a government agency, changing an employee's status to nonemployee, decreasing or declining to provide additional work hours when they otherwise would have been offered, scheduling an employee for hours outside of thew availability, or otherwise discriminating against any person for any reason prohibited by this chapter. "Adverse action" for an employee may involve any aspect of employment, including pay, work hours, responsibilities, or other material change in the terms and conditions of employment. 4. No employer or any other person shall communicate to a person exercising rights protected under this chapter, directly or indirectly, the willingness to inform a government employee that the person is not lawfully in the United States, or to report, or to make an implied or express assertion of a willingness to report, suspected citizenship or immigration status of the person or a family member of the person to a federal, state, or local agency because the person has exercised a right under this chapter. 5. There shall be a rebuttable presumption of unlawful retaliation if an employer or any other person takes an adverse action against a person within 90 days of the person's exercise of any right protected in this chapter. However, in the case of seasonal work that ended before the close of the 90-day period, the presumption also applies if the employer fails to rehire a former employee at the next opportunity for work in the same position. The employer may rebut the presumption with clear and convincing evidence that the adverse action was taken for a permissible purpose. 6. Standard of Proof Proof of retaliation under this chapter shall be sufficient upon a showing that an employer or any other person has taken an adverse action against a person and the person's exercise of rights protected in this chapter was a motivating factor in the adverse action, unless the employer can prove that the action would have been taken in the absence of such protected activity. 7. The protections afforded under this section shall apply to any person who mistakenly but in good faith alleges violations of this chapter. Section S. Enforcement. 1. Any person or class of persons that suffers financial injury as a result of a violation of this chapter or is the subject of prohibited retaliation under this chapter, or any other individual or entity acting on their behalf, may bring a civil action in a court of competent jurisdiction against the employer or other person violating this chapter and, upon prevailing, shall be awarded reasonable attorney fees and costs and such legal or equitable relief as may be appropriate to remedy the violation including, without limitation, the payment of any unpaid wages plus interest due to the person and liquidated damages in an additional amount of up to twice the unpaid wages; compensatory damages; and a penalty payable to any aggrieved party of up to $5,000 if the aggrieved party was subject to prohibited retaliation, For the purposes of this section, an aggrieved party means an employee or other person who suffers tangible or intangible harm due to an employer or other person's violation of this chapter. Interest shall accrue from the date the unpaid wages were first due at the higher of twelve percent per annum or the maximum rate permitted trader RCW 19.52.020. 2. For purposes of determining membership within a class of persons entitled to bring an action under this section, two or more employees are similarly situated if they: a. Are or were employed by the same employer or employers, whether concurrently or otherwise, at some point during the applicable statute of limitations period; b. Allege one or more violations that raise similar questions as to liability; and C. Seek similar forms of relief. d. Employees shall not be considered dissimilar solely because thew claims seek damages that differ in amount, or theirjob titles or other means of classifying employees differ in ways that are unrelated to their claims. 3. Each covered employer shall retain records as required by RCW 49.46.070, as well as such information as the City may require to confirm compliance with this chapter. If an employer fails to retain such records, there shall be a presumption, rebuttable by clear and convincing evidence, that the employer violated this chapter for the periods and for each employee for whom records were not retained. 4. Employers shall permit authorized City representatives access to work sites and relevant records for the purpose of monitoring compliance with the chapter and investigating complaints of noncompliance, including production for inspection and copying of employment records. The City may designate representatives, including city contractors and representatives of unions or worker advocacy organizations, to access the worksite and relevant records. 5. Complaints that any provision of this chapter has been violated may also be presented to the City Attorney, who is hereby authorized to investigate and, if they deem appropriate, initiate legal or other action to remedy any violation of this chapter. 6. The City has the authority to issue administrative citations and to order injunctive relief including reinstatement, restitution, payment of back wages, or other forms of relief. 7. The City may, in the exercise of its authority and performance of its functions and services, agree by contract or otherwise to participate jointly or in cooperation with Washington State, King County, or any city, town, or other incorporated place, or subdivision thereof, or engage outside counsel, to enforce this chapter. 8. The remedies and penalties provided under this chapter are cumulative and are not intended to be exclusive of any other available remedies or penalties, including existing remedies for enforcement of Renton Municipal Code chapters. 9. The statute of limitations for any enforcement action shall be five (5) years. Section 9. A new section is added to Renton Municipal Code (RMC) Section 5-5-4 as follows: 1. The Finance Director may deny, suspend, or revoke any license under this chapter for violation of this ordinance. 2. The Finance Director must deny, suspend, or revoke any license under this chapter for repeated intentional violations of this ordinance. 3. Any action by the Finance Director under this section shall be subject to the procedures and requirements of RMC subsection 5-5-3.E, as well as other due process rights that a court may require. Section 10. Definitions. For the purposes of this chapter, the following terms shall have the following meanings: "City" means the City of Renton, "Covered employer" means an employer that either (1) employs at least 15 employees regardless of where those employees are employed, or (2) has annual gross revenue over $2 million. "Effective date" is the effective date of this ordinance. "Employee" is defined as set forth in RCW 49.46.010. An employer bears the burden of proof that the individual is, as a matter of economic reality, in business for oneself rather than dependent upon the alleged employer. "Employer" is defined as set forth in RCW 49.46.010. "Employer classification" includes the determination of whether an employer is a covered employer and whether a covered employer is a large employer. "Franchise" means an agreement, express or implied, oral or written by which: 1. A person is granted the right to engage in the business of offering, selling, or distributing goods or services under a marketing plan prescribed or suggested in substantial part by the grantor or its affiliate; 2. The operation of the business is substantially associated with a trademark, service mark, trade time, advertising, or other commercial symbol; designating, owned by, or licensed by the grantor or its affiliate; and 3. The person pays, agrees to pay, or is required to pay, directly or indirectly, a franchise fee. The tern, "franchise fee" is meant to be construed broadly to include any instance in which the grantor or its affiliate derives income or profit from a person who enters into a franchise agreement with the grantor. "How worked within the City" is to be interpreted according to its ordinary meaning, including all hours worked within the geographic boundaries of the City, excluding time spent in the City solely for the purpose of traveling through the City from a point of origin outside the City to a destination outside the City, with no employment -related or commercial stops in the City except for refueling or the employee's personal meals or errands. "Large Employer" means all employers that employ more than 500 employees, regardless of where those employees are employed, and all franchisees associated with a franchisor or a network of franchises with franchisees that employ more than 500 employees in aggregate. "Other covered employer" means a covered employer that does not qualify as a large employer. "Service charge" is defined as set forth in RCW 49.46.160(2)(c). "Tips" means a verifiable sum to be presented by a customer as a gift or gratuity in recognition of some service performed for the customer by the employee receiving the tip. "Wage" is defined as set forth in RCW 49.46.010. Section 11. Other Legal Requirements. This ordinance shall not be construed to preempt, limit, or otherwise affect the applicability of any other law, regulation, requirement, policy, or standard that provides for greater wages or compensation; and nothing in this ordinance shall be interpreted or applied so as to create any power or duty in conflict with federal or state law. Section 12. Rulemaking. Within 180 days after the effective date, the City shall adopt rules and procedures to implement and ensure compliance with this chapter, which shall require employers to maintain adequate records and to annually certify compliance with this chapter. The City shall seek feedback from worker organizations and covered employers before finalizing the rules and procedures. Section 13. Constitutional Subject. For constitutional purposes, this measure's subject "concerns labor standards for certain employers." See File Foods, LLC v. City of SeaTac, 183 Wash. 2d 770, 783, 357 P.3d 1040, 1047 (2015) (upholding this statement of subject for an initiative that set a minimum wage and addressed employees' access to hours). Section 14. Codification. All sections of this ordinance except section 9 shall be codified in a new chapter of the Renton Municipal Code. Section 15. Election date. In the event that the election on this measure takes place later than November 7, 2023, the Finance Department must establish and publish the initial minimum wage within 30 days of the effective date. Section 16. Severability. The provisions of this ordinance are declared to be separate and severable. If any clause, sentence, paragraph, subdivision, section, subsection, or portion of this ordinance, or the application thereof to any employer, employee, or circumstance, is held to be invalid, it shall not affect the validity of the remainder of this ordinance, or the validity of its application to other persons or circumstances. Name Of Ce Date Ca vasser Email and Phone N Raising The Minimum Wage In Renton 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. lc INITIATIVE PETITION FOR SUBMISSION TO THE RENTON CITY COUNCIL TO: The City Council of the City of Renton: ® 1.0D) c'cn'er 933-M We, the undersigned registered voters of the City of Renton, State of Washington, residing at the addresses set forth opposite our respective names, being equal to fifteen percent (15%) of the total number of names of persons listed as registered voters within the City on the day of the last preceding City general election, respectfully request that the following ordinance be enacted by the City Council or, if not so enacted, be submitted to a vote of the residents of the City. The title of the said ordinance is as follows: ORDINANCE CONCERNING LABOR STANDARDS FOR CERTAIN EMPLOYEES A full, true and correct copy of the ordinance is attached to this Petition. Each of us for himself or herself says: I have personally signed this petition; I am a registered voter of the City of Renton, State of Washington; and my residence is correctly stated. Warning Every person who signs this petition with any other than his or her true name, or who knowingly signs more than one of these petitions, or signs a petition seek- ing an election when he or she is not a legal voter, or signs a petition when he or she is otherwise not qualified to sign, or who makes herein any false statement, shall be guilty of a misdemeanor. Z;4 AN ORDINANCE concerning labor standards for certain employees. Section 1. Findings. 1. The people of the City of Renton hereby adopt this citizen initiative addressing labor standards for certain employees, for the purpose of ensuring that, to the extent reasonably practicable, people employed in Renton have good wages and access to sufficient hours of work. 2. The City of Renton is one of the largest job centers in Washington State, with thousands of shoppers and workers visiting daily to participate in the local economy. Renton is home to The Landing shopping center, the historic Downtown Urban Center, as well as retail and commercial office and warehouse districts around the Rainier/Grady Way Junction. The City is a net importer ofjobs, with nearly 60,000 employed workers. Renton has a wide array of both long established and new and evolving business sectors. Retail businesses, restaurants and bars, auto sales, hospitality, healthcare, and office workers are well represented. 3. The statewide minimum wage is not sufficient to afford rising rents and costs of living in Renton. According to the National Low Income Housing Coalition's Out of Reach 2022 report, a worker making Washington's minimum wage would have to work 72 hours each week (up from 70 hours each week in 2021) to afford a modest one -bedroom rental home at Fair Market Rent. 4. When working families earn insufficient income due to low wages and involuntary under -employment, they struggle to pay for basic necessities like health care, child care, and groceries, and they are more likely to be evicted and become homeless. 5. Nearby King County cities of SeaTac, Seattle, and Tukwila enacted higher minimum wages in 2013, 2014, and 2022 respectively, but until now Renton has not followed suit. 6. Children growing up in poverty experience insecurity with housing, nutrition, and health care while enduring other hardships that prevent their ability to learn in school. Full time working parents must be able to reasonably provide for their family to ensure access to the opportunities and promise of public education. Section 2. Intent. It is the intent of the people to establish fair labor standards and protect the rights of workers by: (1) ensuring that the vast majority of employees in the City of Renton receive a minimum wage comparable to employees in the nearby cities of Tukwila, SeaTac, and Seattle; (2) requiring covered employers to offer additional hours of work to qualified part-time employees before hiring new employees to fill those hours; and (3) adopting enforcement requirements. Section 3. Large Employers Shall Pay Minimum Wages Comparable to Those in Nearby Cities. 1. Effective July 1, 2024, every large employer shall pay to each employee an hourly wage of not less than the 2023 new minimum wage rate in the City of Tukwila, established by City of Tukwila Initiative Measure No. 1, approved by voters in November 2022, adjusted for 2024 by the annual rate of inflation. 2. On January 1, 2025, and on each January I thereafter, the hourly minimum wage shall increase by the annual rate of inflation to maintain employee purchasing power. 3. By December 31, 2023, and by October 15 of each year thereafter, the Finance Department shall establish and publish the applicable hourly minimum wage for the following year using the annual rate of inflation. 4. For purposes of this chapter, the annual rate of inflation means 100 percent of the annual average growth rate of the bi-monthly Seattle -Tacoma -Bellevue Area Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers, termed CPI-W, for the 12-month period ending in August, provided that the percentage increase shall not be less than zero. 5. An employer must pay to its employees: a. All tips and gratuities; and b. All service charges as defined under RCW 49.46.160 except those that, pursuant to RCW 49.46.160, are itemized as not being payable to the employee or employees servicing the customer. Tips and service charges paid to an employee are in addition to, and may not count towards, the employee's hourly minimum wage. Section 4. Other Covered Employers Shall Have a Multiyear Phase -In Period. Other covered employers shall phase in the new minimum wage, as follows: 1. Effective July 1, 2024, other covered employers shall pay employees not less than the hourly minimum wage established under Section 3 minus Two Dollars ($2) per hour. 2. Effective July 1, 2025, other covered employers shall pay employees not less than the hourly minimum wage established under Section 3 minus One Dollar ($1) per hour. 3. Effective July 1, 2026, and thereafter, all covered employers shall pay employees not less than the hourly minimum wage established under Section 3. Section 5. Coverage and Employer Classifications. 1. Covered employers must pay employees at least the minimum wage established by this chapter for each hour worked within the City. 2. Employer classification for the current calendar year will be calculated based upon the average number of employees during all weeks in the previous calendar year in which the employer had at least one employee. For employers that did not have any employees during the previous calendar year, classification will be based upon the average number of employees during the most recent three months of the current year. In this determination, all employees will be counted, regardless of their location, and including employees who worked in full-time employment, part-time employment, joint employment, temporary employment, or through the services of a temporary services or staffing agency or similar entity. 3. Employer classification for the current calendar year will be calculated based upon the gross revenue for the previous year. For employers that did not have gross revenue during the previous calendar year, annual gross revenue will be calculated from the gross revenue during the most recent three months of the current year. 4. For the purposes of employer classification, separate entities will be considered a single employer if they form an integrated enterprise or they are underjoint control by one of those entities or a separate entity. The factors to consider in making this assessment include, but are not limited to: a. Degree of interrelation between the operations of multiple entities; b. Degree to which the entities share common management; C. Centralized control of labor relations; and d. Degree of common ownership or financial control over the entities. Section 6. Part -Time Employees Shall Have Fair Access to Additional Hours. 1. Before hiring additional employees or subcontractors, including hiring through the use of temporary services or staffing agencies, covered employers must offer additional hours of work to existing employees who, in the employer's good faith and reasonable judgment, have the skills and experience to perform the work, and shall use a reasonable, transparent, and nondiscriminatory process to distribute the hours of work among those existing employees. 2. This section shall not be construed to require any employer to offer an employee work horns if the employer would be required to compensate the employee at time -and -a -half or other premium rate under any law or collective bargaining agreement, nor to prohibit any employer from offering such work hours. Section 7. Retaliation Prohibited. 1. No employer or any other person shall interfere with, restrain, or deny the exercise of, or the attempt to exercise, any right protected under this chapter. 2. No employer or any other person shall take any adverse action against any person because the person has exercised in good faith the rights under this chapter. Such rights include but are not limited to the right to make inquiries about the rights protected under this chapter; the right to inform others about their rights under this chapter; the right to inform the person's employer, union, or similar organization, and/or the person's legal counsel or any other person about an alleged violation of this chapter; the right to bring a civil action for an alleged violation of this chapter; the right to testify in a proceeding under or related to this chapter; the right to refuse to participate in an activity that would result in a violation of city, state, or federal law; and the right to oppose any policy, practice, or act that is unlawful under this chapter. 3. For the purposes of this section, an adverse action means denying ajob or promotion, demoting, terminating, failing to rehire after a seasonal interruption of work, threatening, penalizing, retaliating, engaging in unfair immigration -related practices, filing a false report with a government agency, changing an employee's status to nonemployee, decreasing or declining to provide additional work hours when they otherwise would have been offered, scheduling an employee for hours outside of their availability, or otherwise discriminating against any person for any reason prohibited by this chapter. "Adverse action" for an employee may involve any aspect of employment, including pay, work hours, responsibilities, or other material change in the terns and conditions of employment. 4. No employer or any other person shall communicate to a person exercising rights protected under this chapter, directly or indirectly, the willingness to inform a government employee that the person is not lawfully in the - United States, or to report, or to make an implied or express assertion of a willingness to report, suspected citizenship or immigration status of the person or a family member of the person to a federal, state, or local agency because the person has exercised a right under this chapter. 5. There shall be a rebuttable presumption of unlawful retaliation if an employer or any other person takes an adverse action against a person within 90 days of the person's exercise of any right protected in this chapter. However, in the case of seasonal work that ended before the close of the 90-day period, the presumption also applies if the employer fails to rehire a former employee at the next opportunity for work in the same position. The employer may rebut the presumption with clear and convincing evidence that the adverse action was taken for a permissible purpose. 6. Standard of Proof, Proof of retaliation under this chapter shall be sufficient upon a showing that an employer or any other person has taken an adverse action against a person and the person's exercise of rights protected in this chapter was a motivating factor in the adverse action, unless the employer can prove that the action would have been taken in the absence of such protected activity. 7. The protections afforded under this section shall apply to any person who mistakenly but in good faith alleges violations of this chapter. Section S. Enforcement. 1. Any person or class of persons that suffers financial injury as a result of a violation of this chapter or is the subject of prohibited retaliation under this chapter, or any other individual or entity acting on their behalf, may bring a civil action in a court of competemjurisdiction against the employer or other person violating this chapter and, upon prevailing, shall be awarded reasonable attorney fees and costs and such legal or equitable relief as may be appropriate to remedy the violation including, without limitation, the payment of any unpaid wages plus interest due to the person and liquidated damages in an additional amount of up to twice the unpaid wages; compensatory damages; and a penalty payable to any aggrieved party of up to $5,000 if the aggrieved party was subject to prohibited retaliation. For the purposes of this section, an aggrieved party means an employee or other person who suffers tangible or intangible harm due to an employer or other person's violation of this chapter. Interest shall accrue from the date the unpaid wages were first due at the higher of twelve percent per annum or the maximum rate permitted under RCW 19.52.020. 2. For purposes of determining membership within a class of persons entitled to bring an action under this section, two or more employees are similarly situated if they: a. Are or were employed by the same employer or employers, whether concurrently or otherwise, at some point during the applicable statute of limitations period; b. Allege one or more violations that raise similar questions as to liability; and C. Seek similar forms of relief. d. Employees shall not be considered dissimilar solely because their claims seek damages that differ in amount, or their job titles or other means of classifying employees differ in ways that are unrelated to their claims. 3. Each covered employer shall retain records as required by RCW 49.46.070, as well as such information as the City may require to confirm compliance with this chapter. If an employer fails to retain such records, there shall be a presumption, rebuttable by clear and convincing evidence, that the employer violated this chapter for the periods and for each employee for whom records were not retained. 4. Employers shall permit authorized City representatives access to work sites and relevant records for the purpose of monitoring compliance with the chapter and investigating complaints of noncompliance, including production for inspection and copying of employment records. The City may designate representatives, including city contractors and representatives of unions or worker advocacy organizations, to access the worksite and relevant records. 5. Complaints that an provision of this chapter has been violated p y p p b o a[ed may also be presented to the City Attorney, who is hereby authorized to investigate and, if they deem appropriate, initiate legal or other action to remedy any violation of this chapter. 6. The City has the authority to issue administrative citations and to order injunctive relief including reinstatement, restitution, payment of back wages, or other forms of relief. 7. The City may, in the exercise of its authority and performance of its functions and services, agree by contract or otherwise to participate jointly or in cooperation with Washington State, King County, or any city, town, or other incorporated place, or subdivision thereof, or engage outside counsel, to enforce this chapter. 8. The remedies and penalties provided under this chapter are cumulative and are not intended to be exclusive of any other available remedies or penalties, including existing remedies for enforcement of Renton Municipal Code chapters. 9. The statute of limitations for any enforcement action shall be five (5) years. Section 9. A new section is added to Renton Municipal Code (RMC) Section 5-5-4 as follows: 1. The Finance Director may deny, suspend, or revoke any license under this chapter for violation of this ordinance. 2. The Finance Director must deny, suspend, or revoke any license under this chapter for repeated intentional violations of this ordinance. 3. Any action by the Finance Director under this section shall be subject to the procedures and requirements of RMC subsection 5-5-3.E, as well as other due process rights that a court may require, Section 10. Definitions. For the purposes of this chapter, the following terms shall have the following meanings: "City" means the City of Renton. "Covered employer" means an employer that either (1) employs at least 15 employees regardless of where those employees are employed, or (2) has annual gross revenue over $2 million. "Effective date" is the effective date of this ordinance. "Employee" is defined as set forth in RCW 49.46.010. An employer bears the burden of proof that the individual is, as a matter of economic reality, in business for oneself rather than dependent upon the alleged employer. "Employer" is defined as set forth in RCW 49.46.010. "Employer classification" includes the determination of whether an employer is a covered employer and whether a covered employer is a large employer. "Franchise" means an agreement, express or implied, oral or written by which: 1. A person is granted the right to engage in the business of offering, selling, or distributing goods or services under a marketing plan prescribed or suggested in substantial part by the grantor or its affiliate; 2. The operation of the business is substantially associated with a trademark, service mark, trade time, advertising, or other commercial symbol; designating, owned by, or licensed by the grantor or its affiliate; and 3. The person pays, agrees to pay, or is required to pay, directly or indirectly, a franchise fee. The term, "franchise fee" is meant to be construed broadly to include any instance in which the grantor or its affiliate derives income or profit from a person who enters into a franchise agreement with the grantor. "Hour worked within the City" is to be interpreted according to its ordinary meaning, including all hours worked within the geographic boundaries of the City, excluding time spent in the City solely for the purpose of traveling through the City from a point of origin outside the City to a destination outside the City, with no employment -related or commercial stops in the City except for refueling or the employee's personal meals or errands. "Large Employer" means all employers that employ more than 500 employees, regardless of where those employees are employed, and all franchisees associated with a franchisor or a network of franchises with franchisees that employ more than 500 employees in aggregate. "Other covered employer" means a covered employer that does not qualify as a large employer. "Service charge" is defined as set forth in RCW 49.46.160(2)(c). "Tips" means a verifiable sum to be presented by a customer as a gift or gratuity in recognition of some service performed for the customer by the employee receiving the tip. "Wage" is defined as set forth in RCW 49.46.010. Section 11. Other Legal Requirements. This ordinance shall not be construed to preempt, limit, or otherwise affect the applicability of any other law, regulation, requirement, policy, or standard that provides for greater wages or compensation; and nothing in this ordinance shall be interpreted or applied so as to create any power or duty in conflict with federal or state law. Section 12. Rulemaking. Within 180 days after the effective date, the City shall adopt rules and procedures to implement and ensure compliance with this chapter, which shall require employers to maintain adequate records and to annually certify compliance with this chapter. The City shall seek feedback from worker organizations and covered employers before finalizing the rules and procedures. Section 13. Constitutional Subject. For constitutional purposes, this measure's subject "concerns labor standards for certain employers." See Filo Foods, LLC v. City of SeaTac, 183 Wash. 2d 770, 783, 357 P.3d 1040, 1047 (2015) (upholding this statement of subject for an initiative that set a minimum wage and addressed employees' access to hours). Section 14. Codification. All sections of this ordinance except section 9 shall be codified in a new chapter of the Renton Municipal Code. Section 15. Election date. In the event that the election on this measure takes place later than November 7, 2023, the Finance Department must establish and publish the initial minimum wage within 30 days of the effective date. Section 16. Severability. The provisions of this ordinance are declared to be separate and severable. If any clause, sentence, paragraph, subdivision, section, subsection, or portion of this ordinance, or the application thereof to any employer, employee, or circumstance, is held to be invalid, it shall not affect the validity of the remainder of this ordinance, or the validity of its application to other persons or circumstances. Name De klmser Email and Ph Raising The Minimum Wage In Renton INITIATIVE PETITION FOR SUBMISSION TO THE RENTON CITY COUNCIL TO: The City Council of the City of Renton: ® GCC/IBT-- 933-M We, the undersigned registered voters of the City of Renton, State of Washington, residing at the addresses set forth opposite our respective names, being equal to fifteen percent (15%) of the total number of names of persons listed as registered voters within the City on the day of the last preceding City general election, respectfully request that the following ordinance be enacted by the City Council or, if not so enacted, be submitted to a vote of the residents of the City. The title of the said ordinance is as follows: ORDINANCE CONCERNING LABOR STANDARDS FOR CERTAIN EMPLOYEES A full, true and correct copy of the ordinance is attached to this Petition. Each of us for himself or herself says: I have personally signed this petition; I am a registered voter of the City of Renton, State of Washington; and my residence is correctly stated. Signature Printed Name Street and Number city Phone Number Email Date Printed Name 1234 Anywhere St. Renton 206-555-1234 maria@something.org 4/10/2023 L 1•- �ir� �J ��In 1'PGI US Renton 521 / 2. %\ RvN ral/f( ww J��� Pdl icy Renton bG� 6LS�c1358 S, L. I. ✓'l I 1 !3, C.f4 c i. Renton 3. Ee- ?5 3 yS b Z rs,it Se/ n gi'co s Z Z Z 3 -Renton ��� �3�I S ( i�t�Sha ��r 3 .��, 5. Sim / �I� �e �/v JtC[��r/S �I✓P S�A/aRenton �ZLI9 ✓�Or r�°�1�eZ2ZN�ya�iov,Go�j ���Z�Z3 ���Renton � ��e-�I�� 6. �/" yAZV%'letv� Fuwtd S ��OS+M'KS �V`eS�1�Ln2 `���- c�vec rNcdes�`iu �.cc,�, S 2z 23 �. C0 �302 Renton U,! ! �_ 33u (do�� �l �k4 ro � � �e.cl�.c�✓h S / ���J 8. T0.J1S SID S' pis O4rl Renton `� Y 9. C e, 7 Io St7�M1 %\rL J w 1' !®( Renton -boa l '5 t<! V iSV�l� f�) v141 (ViGtir<<� nn l 1 `fit to. C enton Warning Every person who signs this petition with any other than his or her true name, or who knowingly signs more than one of these petitions, or signs a petition seek- ing an election when he or she,is not a legal voter, or signs a petition when he or she is otherwise not qualified to sign, or who makes herein any false statement, shall be guilty of a misdemeanor. AN ORDINANCE concerning labor standards for certain employees. Section 1. Findings. 1. The people of the City of Renton hereby adopt this citizen initiative addressing labor standards for certain employees, for the purpose of ensuring that, to the extent reasonably practicable, people employed in Renton have good wages and access to sufficient hours of work. 2. The City of Renton is one of the largestjob centers in Washington State, with thousands of shoppers and workers visiting daily to participate in the local economy. Renton is home to The Landing shopping center, the historic Downtown Urban Center, as well as retail and commercial office and warehouse districts around the Rainier/Grady Way Junction. The City is a net importer ofjobs, with nearly 60,000 employed workers. Renton has a wide array of both long established and new and evolving business sectors. Retail businesses, restaurants and bars, auto sales, hospitality, healthcare, and office workers are well represented. 3. The statewide minimum wage is not sufficient to afford rising rents and costs of living in Renton. According to the National Low Income Housing Coalition's Out of Reach 2022 report, a worker making Washington's minimum wage would have to work 72 hours each week (up from 70 hours each week in 2021) to afford a modest one -bedroom rental home at Fair Market Rent. 4. When working families earn insufficient income due to low wages and involuntary under -employment, they struggle to pay for basic necessities like health care, child care, and groceries, and they are more likely to be evicted and become homeless. 5. Nearby King County cities of SeaTac, Seattle, and Tukwila enacted higher minimum wages in 2013, 2014, and 2022 respectively, but until now Renton has not followed suit. 6. Children growing up in poverty experience insecurity with housing, nutrition, and health care while enduring other hardships that prevent their ability to learn in school. Full time working parents must be able to reasonably provide for their family to ensure access to the opportunities and promise of public education. Section 2. Intent. It is the intent of the people to establish fair labor standards and protect the rights of workers by: (1) ensuring that the vast majority of employees in the City of Renton receive a minimum wage comparable to employees in the nearby cities of Tukwila, SeaTac, and Seattle; (2) requiring covered employers to offer additional hours of work to qualified part-time employees before hiring new employees to fill those hours; and (3) adopting enforcement requirements. Section 3. Large Employers Shall Pay Minimum Wages Comparable to Those in Nearby Cities. 1. Effective July 1, 2024, every large employer shall pay to each employee an hourly wage of not less than the 2023 new minimum wage rate in the City of Tukwila, established by City of Tukwila Initiative Measure No. 1, approved by voters in November 2022, adjusted for 2024 by the annual rate of inflation. 2. On January 1, 2025, and on each January 1 thereafter, the hourly minimum wage shall increase by the annual rate of inflation to maintain employee purchasing power. 3. By December 31, 2023, and by October 15 of each year thereafter, the Finance Department shall establish and publish the applicable hourly minimum wage for the following year using the annual rate of inflation. 4. For purposes of this chapter, the annual rate of inflation means 100 percent of the annual average growth rate of the bi-monthly Seattle -Tacoma -Bellevue Area Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers, termed CPI-W, for the 12-month period ending in August, provided that the percentage increase shall not be less than zero. 5. An employer must pay to its employees: a. All tips and gratuities; and b. All service charges as defined under RCW 49.46.160 except those that, pursuant to RCW 49.46.160, are itemized as not being payable to the employee or employees servicing the customer. Tips and service charges paid to an employee are in addition to, and may not count towards, the employee's hourly minimum wage. Section 4. Other Covered Employers Shall Have a Multiyear Phase -In Period. Other covered employers shall phase in the new minimum wage, as follows: 1. Effective July 1, 2024, other covered employers shall pay employees not less than the hourly minimum wage established under Section 3 minus Two Dollars ($2) per hour. 2. Effective July 1, 2025, other covered employers shall pay employees not less than the hourly minimum wage established under Section 3 minus One Dollar ($I) per hour. 3. Effective July 1, 2026, and thereafter, all covered employers shall pay employees not less than the hourly minimum wage established under Section 3. Section 5. Coverage and Employer Classifications. 1. Covered employers must pay employees at least the minimum wage established by this chapter for each hour worked within the City. 2. Employer classification for the current calendar year will be calculated based upon the average number of employees during all weeks in the previous calendar year in which the employer had at least one employee. For employers that did not have any employees during the previous calendar year, classification will be based upon the average number of employees during the most recent three months of the current year. In this determination, all employees will be counted, regardless of their location, and including employees who worked in full-time employment, part-time employment, joint employment, temporary employment, or through the services of a temporary services or staffing agency or similar entity. 3. Employer classification for the current calendar year will be calculated based upon the gross revenue for the previous year. For employers that did not have gross revenue during the previous calendar year, annual gross revenue will be calculated from the gross revenue during the most recent three months of the current yen. 4. For the purposes of employer classification, separate entities will be considered a single employer if they form an integrated enterprise or they are under joint control by one of those entities or a separate entity. The factors to consider in making this assessment include, but are not limited to: a. Degree of interrelation between the operations of multiple entities; b. Degree to which the entities share common management, C. Centralized control of labor relations; and d. Degree of common ownership or financial control over the entities. Section 6. Part -Time Employees Shall Have Fair Access to Additional Hours. 1. Before hiring additional employees or subcontractors, including hiring through the use of temporary services or staffing agencies, covered employers must offer additional hours of work to existing employees who, in the employer's good faith and reasonable judgment, have the skills and experience to perform the work, and shall use a reasonable, transparent, and nondiscriminatory process to distribute the hours of work among those existing employees. 2. This section shall not be construed to require any employer to offer an employee work hours if the employer would be required to compensate the employee at time -and -a -half or other premium rate under any law or collective bargaining agreement, nor to prohibit any employer from offering such work hours. Section 7. Retaliation Prohibited. 1. No employer or any other person shall interfere with, restrain, or deny the exercise of, or the attempt to exercise, any right protected under this chapter. 2. No employer or any other person shall take any adverse action against any person because the person has exercised in good faith the rights under this chapter. Such rights include but are not limited to the right to make inquiries about the rights protected under this chapter; the right to inform others about their rights under this chapter; the right to inform the person's employer, union, or similar organization, and/or the person's legal counsel or any other person about an alleged violation of this chapter; the right to bring a civil action for an alleged violation of this chapter, the right to testify in a proceeding under or related to this chapter; the right to refuse to participate in an activity that would result in a violation of city, state, or federal law; and the right to oppose any policy, practice, or act that is unlawful under this chapter. 3. For the purposes of this section, an adverse action means denying ajob or promotion, demoting, terminating, failing to rehire after a seasonal interruption of work, threatening, penalizing, retaliating, engaging in unfair immigration -related practices, filing a false report with a government agency, changing an employee's status to nonemployee, decreasing or declining to provide additional work hours when they otherwise would have been offered, scheduling an employee for hours outside of their availability, or otherwise discriminating against any person for any reason prohibited by this chapter. "Adverse action" for an employee may involve any aspect of employment, including pay, work hours, responsibilities, or other material change in the terms and conditions of employment. 4. No employer or any other person shall communicate to a person exercising rights protected under this chapter, directly or indirectly, the willingness to inform a government employee that the person is not lawfully in the United States, or to report, or to make an implied or express assertion of a willingness to report, suspected citizenship or immigration status of the person or a family member of the person to a federal, state, or local agency because the person has exercised a right under this chapter. 5. There shall be a rebuttable presumption of unlawful retaliation if an employer or any other person takes an adverse action against a person within 90 days of the person's exercise of any right protected in this chapter. However, in the case of seasonal work that ended before the close of the 90-day period, the presumption also applies if the employer fails to rehire a former employee at the next opportunity for work in the same position. The employer may rebut the presumption with clear and convincing evidence that the adverse action was taken for a permissible purpose. 6. Standard of Proof. Proof of retaliation under this chapter shall be sufficient upon a showing that an employer or any other person has taken an adverse action against a person and the person's exercise of rights protected in this chapter was a motivating factor in the adverse action, unless the employer can prove that the action would have been taken in the absence of such protected activity. 7. The protections afforded under this section shall apply to any person who mistakenly but in good faith alleges violations of this chapter. Section S. Enforcement. 1. Any person or class of persons that suffers financial injury as a result of a violation of this chapter or is the subject of prohibited retaliation under this chapter, or any other individual or entity acting on their behalf, may bring a civil action in a court of competent jurisdiction against the employer or other person violating this chapter and, upon prevailing, shall be awarded reasonable attorney fees and costs and such legal or equitable relief as may be appropriate to remedy the violation including, without limitation, the payment of any unpaid wages plus interest due to the person and liquidated damages in an additional amount of up to twice the unpaid wages; compensatory damages; and a penalty payable to any aggrieved party of up to $5,000 if the aggrieved party was subject to prohibited retaliation. For the purposes of this section, an aggrieved party means an employee or other person who suffers tangible or intangible harm due to an employer or other person's violation of this chapter. Interest shall accrue from the date the unpaid wages were first due at the higher of twelve percent per annum or the maximum rate permitted under RCW 19.52.020. 2. For purposes of determining membership within a class of persons entitled to bring an action under this section, two or more employees are similarly situated if they: a. Are or were employed by the same employer or employers, whether concurrently or otherwise, at some point during the applicable statute of limitations period; b. Allege one or more violations that raise similar questions as to liability; and C. Seek similar forms of relief. d. Employees shall not be considered dissimilar solely because their claims seek damages that differ in amount, or their job titles or other means of classifying employees differ in ways that are unrelated to their claims. 3. Each covered employer shall retain records as required by RCW 49.46.070, as well as such information as the City may require to confirm compliance with this chapter. If an employer fails to retain such records, there shall be a presumption, rebuttable by clear and convincing evidence, that the employer violated this chapter for the periods and for each employee for whom records were not retained. 4. Employers shall permit authorized City representatives access to work sites and relevant records for the purpose of monitoring compliance with the chapter and investigating complaints of noncompliance, including production for inspection and copying of employment records. The City may designate representatives, including city contractors and representatives of unions or worker advocacy organizations, to access the worksite and relevant records. 5. Complaints that any provision of this chapter has been violated may also be presented to the City Attorney, who is hereby authorized to investigate and, if they deem appropriate, initiate legal or other action to remedy any violation of this chapter. 6. The City has the authority to issue administrative citations and to order injunctive relief including reinstatement, restitution, payment of back wages, or other forms of relief. 7. The City may, in the exercise of its authority and performance of its functions and services, agree by contract or otherwise to participate jointly or in cooperation with Washington State, King County, or any city, town, or other incorporated place, or subdivision thereof, or engage outside counsel, to enforce this chapter. 8. The remedies and penalties provided under this chapter are cumulative and are not intended to be exclusive of any other available remedies or penalties, including existing remedies for enforcement of Renton Municipal Code chapters. 9. The statute of limitations for any enforcement action shall be five (5) years. Section 9. A new section is added to Renton Municipal Code (RMC) Section 5-5-4 as follows: 1. The Finance Director may deny, suspend, or revoke any license under this chapter for violation of this ordinance. 2. The Finance Director must deny, suspend, or revoke any license under this chapter for repeated intentional violations of this ordinance. 3. Any action by the Finance Director under this section shall be subject to the procedures and requirements of RMC subsection 5-5-3.E, as well as other due process rights that a court may require. Section 10. Definitions. For the purposes of this chapter, the following terms shall have the following meanings: "City" means the City of Renton. "Covered employer" means an employer that either (1) employs at least 15 employees regardless of where those employees are employed, or (2) has annual gross revenue over $2 million. "Effective date" is the effective date of this ordinance. "Employee" is defined as set forth in RCW 49.46.010. An employer bears the burden of proof that the individual is, as a matter of economic reality, in business for oneself rather than dependent upon the alleged employer. "Employer" is defined as set forth in RCW 49.46.010. "Employer classification" includes the determination of whether an employer is a covered employer and whether a covered employer is a large employer. "Franchise" means an agreement, express or implied, oral or written by which: 1. A person is granted the right to engage in the business of offering, selling, or distributing goods or services under a marketing plan prescribed or suggested in substantial part by the grantor or its affiliate; 2. The operation of the business is substantially associated with a trademark, service mark, trade time, advertising, or other commercial symbol; designating, owned by, or licensed by the grantor or its affiliate; and 3. The person pays, agrees to pay, or is required to pay, directly or indirectly, a franchise fee. The term, "franchise fee" is meant to be construed broadly to include any instance in which the grantor or its affiliate derives income or profit from a person who enters into a franchise agreement with the grantor. "Hour worked within the City" is to be interpreted according to its ordinary meaning, including all hours worked within the geographic boundaries of the City, excluding time spent in the City solely for the purpose of traveling through the City from a point of origin outside the City to a destination outside the City, with no employment -related or commercial stops in the City except for refueling or the employee's personal meals or errands. "Large Employer" means all employers that employ more than 500 employees, regardless of where those employees are employed, and all franchisees associated with a franchisor or a network of franchises with franchisees that employ more than 500 employees in aggregate, "Other covered employer" means a covered employer that does not qualify as a large employer. "Service charge" is defined as set forth in RCW 49.46.160(2)(c). "Tips" means a verifiable sum to be presented by a customer as a gift or gratuity in recognition of some service performed for the customer by the employee receiving the tip. "Wage" is defined as set forth in RCW 49.46.010. Section 11. Other Legal Requirements. This ordinance shall not be construed to preempt, limit, or otherwise affect the applicability of any other law, regulation, requirement, policy, or standard that provides for greater wages or compensation; and nothing in this ordinance shall be interpreted or applied so as to create any power or duty in conflict with federal or state law. Section 12. Rulemaking. Within 180 days after the effective date, the City shall adopt rules and procedures to implement and ensure compliance with this chapter, which shall require employers to maintain adequate records and to annually certify compliance with this chapter. The City shall seek feedback from worker organizations and covered employers before finalizing the rules and procedures. Section 13. Constitutional Subject. For constitutional purposes, this measure's subject "concerns labor standards for certain employers." See Filo Foods, LLC v. City of SeaTac, 183 Wash. 2d 770, 783, 357 P.3d 1040, 1047 (2015) (upholding this statement of subject for an initiative that set a minimum wage and addressed employees' access to hours). Section 14. Codification. All sections of this ordinance except section 9 shall be codified in a new chapter of the Renton Municipal Code. Section 15. Election date. In the event that the election on this measure takes place later than November 7, 2023, the Finance Department must establish and publish the initial minimum wage within 30 days of the effective date. Section 16. Severability. The provisions of this ordinance are declared to be separate and severable. If any clause, sentence, paragraph, subdivision, section, subsection, or portion of this ordinance, or the application thereof to any employer, employee, or circumstance, is held to be invalid, it shall not affect the validity of the remainder of this ordinance, or the validity of its application to other persons or circumstances. J Namt Date Canvassed: Xanvasser Email and P h- 1 3 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. Raising The Minimum Wage In Renton INITIATIVE PETITION FOR SUBMISSION TO THE RENTON CITY COUNCIL TO: The City Council of the City of Renton: ® ccciiaT_w4 933-M 4B/yL4bBGA Ra•"' We, the undersigned registered voters of the City of Renton, State of Washington, residing at the addresses set forth opposite our respective names, being equal to fifteen percent (15%) of the total number of names of persons listed as registered voters within the City on the day of the last preceding City general election, respectfully request that the following ordinance be enacted by the City Council or, if not so enacted, be submitted to a vote of the residents of the City. The title of the said ordinance is as follows: ORDINANCE CONCERNING LABOR STANDARDS FOR CERTAIN EMPLOYEES A full, true and correct copy of the ordinance is attached to this Petition. Each of us for himself or herself says: I have personally signed this petition; I am a registered voter of the City of Renton, State of Washington; and my residence is correctly stated Signature Printed Name Street and Number City Phone Number Email Date Sax�rZe`UotPn Printed Name 1234 Anywhere St. Renton 206-555-1234 maria@something.org 4/10/2023 VJGr/z- Renton �� Caro I� �u�/l✓�h L,j� I.1= . jG)ICli,"f�rfC Renton fC�ltitGuC���1 � L aw t -� L V r Renton J/ i 1 �3 Zlr ✓1 rr ou Renton U1 ��L+C�aJS�yoli<< 5/�l RentonILI _ l� hvn i� l�fJ✓�( d �w rj .av YrG r< LN_ '� i. Renton � � '' � � � hold C�� � �.,,,�;G , ✓i � a � r r JJ h t Jr �1 I, /�J �.. Renton G ry e_r� hGV, 2 �7 �2-3 Renton Renton Warning Every person who signs this petition with any other than his or her true name, or who knowingly signs more than one of these petitions, or signs a petition seek- ing an election when he or she is not a legal voter, or signs a petition when he or she is otherwise not qualified to sign, or who makes herein any false statement, shall be guilty of a misdemeanor. AN ORDINANCE concerning labor standards for certain employees. Section 1. Findings. 1. The people of the City of Renton hereby adopt this citizen initiative addressing labor standards for certain employees, for the purpose of ensuring that, to the extent reasonably practicable, people employed in Renton have good wages and access to sufficient hours of work. 2. The City of Renton is one of the largestjob centers in Washington State, with thousands of shoppers and workers visiting daily to participate in the local economy. Renton is home to The Landing shopping center, the historic Downtown Urban Center, as well as retail and commercial office and warehouse districts around the Rainier/Grady Way Junction. The City is a net importer ofjobs, with nearly 60,000 employed workers. Renton has a wide array of both long established and new and evolving business sectors. Retail businesses, restaurants and bars, auto sales, hospitality, healthcare, and office workers are well represented. 3. The statewide minimum wage is not sufficient to afford rising rents and costs of living in Renton. According to the National Low Income Housing Coalition's Out of Reach 2022 report, a worker making Washington's minimum wage would have to work 72 hours each week (up from 70 hours each week in 2021) to afford a modest one -bedroom rental home at Fair Market Rent. 4. When working families earn insufficient income due to low wages and involuntary under -employment, they struggle to pay for basic necessities like health care, child care, and groceries, and they are more likely to be evicted and become homeless. 5. Nearby King County cities of SeaTac, Seattle, and Tukwila enacted higher minimum wages in 2013, 2014, and 2022 respectively, but until now Renton has not followed suit. 6. Children growing up in poverty experience insecurity with housing, nutrition, and health cue while enduring other hardships that prevent their ability to learn in school. Full time working parents must be able to reasonably provide for their family to ensure access to the opportunities and promise of public education. Section 2. Intent. It is the intent of the people to establish fair labor standards and protect the rights of workers by: (1) ensuring that the vast majority of employees in the City of Renton receive a minimum wage comparable to employees in the nearby cities of Tukwila, SeaTac, and Seattle; (2) requiring covered employers to offer additional hours of work to qualified part-time employees before hiring new employees to fill those hours; and (3) adopting enforcement requirements. Section 3. Large Employers Shall Pay Minimum Wages Comparable to Those in Nearby Cities. 1. Effective July 1, 2024, every large employer shall pay to each employee an hourly wage of not less than the 2023 new minimum wage rate in the City of Tukwila, established by City of Tukwila Initiative Measure No. 1, approved by voters in November 2022, adjusted for 2024 by the annual rate of inflation. 2. On January 1, 2025, and on each January 1 thereafter, the hourly minimum wage shall increase by the annual rate of inflation to maintain employee purchasing power. 3. By December 31, 2023, and by October 15 of each year thereafter, the Finance Department shall establish and publish the applicable hourly minimum wage for the following year using the annual rate of inflation. 4. For purposes of this chapter, the annual rate of inflation means 100 percent of the annual average growth rate of the bi-monthly Seattle -Tacoma -Bellevue Area Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers, termed CPI-W, for the 12-month period ending in August, provided that the percentage increase shall not be less than zero. 5. An employer must pay to its employees: a. All tips and gratuities; and b. All service charges as defined under RCW 49.46.160 except those that, pursuant to RCW 49.46,160, are itemized as not being payable to the employee or employees servicing the customer. Tips and service charges paid to an employee are in addition to, and may not count towards, the employee's hourly minimum wage. Section 4. Other Covered Employers Shall Have a Multiyear Phase -In Period. Other covered employers shall phase in the new minimum wage, as follows: 1. Effective July 1, 2024, other covered employers shall pay employees not less than the hourly minimum wage established under Section 3 minus Two Dollars ($2) per hour. 2. Effective July 1, 2025, other covered employers shall pay employees not less than the hourly minimum wage established under Section 3 minus One Dollar ($1) per hour. 3. Effective July'1, 2026, and thereafter, all covered employers shall pay employees not less than the hourly minimum wage established under Section 3. Section 5. Coverage and Employer Classifications. 1. Covered employers must pay employees at least the minimum wage established by this chapter for each hour worked within the City. 2. Employer classification for the current calendar year will be calculated based upon the average number of employees during all weeks in the previous calendar year in which the employer had at least one employee. For employers that did not have any employees during the previous calendar yew, classification will be based upon the average number of employees during the most recent three months of the current year. In this determination, all employees will be counted, regardless of their location, and including employees who worked in full-time employment, part-time employment, joint employment, temporary employment, or through the services of a temporary services or staffing agency or similar entity. 3. Employer classification for the current calendar year will be calculated based upon the gross revenue for the previous year. For employers that did not have gross revenue during the previous calendar year, annual gross revenue will be calculated from the gross revenue during the most recent three months of the current year. 4. For the purposes of employer classification, separate entities will be considered a single employer if they form an integrated enterprise or they are under joint control by one of those entities or a separate entity. The factors to consider in making this assessment include but are not limited to: a. Degree of interrelation between the operations of multiple entities; b. Degree to which the entities share common management; C. Centralized control of labor relations; and d. Degree of common ownership or financial control over the entities. Section 6. Part -Time Employees Shall Have Fair Access to Additional Hours. 1. Before hiring additional employees or subcontractors, including hiring through the use of temporary services or staffing agencies, covered employers must offer additional hours of work to existing employees who, in the employer's good faith and reasonable judgment, have the skills and experience to perform the work, and shall use a reasonable, transparent, and nondiscriminatory process to distribute the hours of work among those existing employees. 2. This section shall not be construed to require any employer to offer an employee work hours if the employer would be required to compensate the employee at time -and -a -half or other premium rate under any law or collective bargaining agreement, nor to prohibit any employer from offering such work hours. Section 7. Retaliation Prohibited. 1. No employer or any other person shall interfere with, restrain, or deny the exercise of, or the attempt to exercise, any right protected under this chapter. 2. No employer or any other person shall take any adverse action against any person because the person has exercised in good faith the rights under this chapter. Such rights include but are not limited to the right to make inquiries about the rights protected under this chapter; the right to inform others about their rights under this chapter; the right to inform the person's employer, union, or similar organization, and/or the person's legal counsel or any other person about an alleged violation of this chapter; the right to bring a civil action for an alleged violation of this chapter; the right to testify in a proceeding under or related to this chapter; the right to refuse to participate in an activity that would result in a violation of city, state, or federal law; and the right to oppose any policy, practice, or act that is unlawful under this chapter. 3. For the purposes of this section, an adverse action means denying ajob or promotion, demoting, terminating, failing to rehire after a seasonal interruption of work, threatening, penalizing, retaliating, engaging in unfair immigration -related practices, filing a false report with a government agency, changing an employee's status to nonemployee, decreasing or declining to provide additional work hours when they otherwise would have been offered, scheduling an employee for hours outside of their availability, or otherwise discriminating against any person for any reason prohibited by this chapter. "Adverse action" for an employee may involve any aspect of employment, including pay, work hours, responsibilities, or other material change in the terns and conditions of employment. 4. No employer or any other person shall communicate to a person exercising rights protected under this chapter, directly or indirectly, the willingness to inform a government employee that the person is not lawfully in the United States, or to report, or to make an implied or express assertion of a willingness to report, suspected citizenship or immigration status of the person or a family member of the person to a federal, state, or local agency because the person has exercised a right under this chapter. 5. There shall be a rebuttable presumption of unlawful retaliation if an employer or any other person takes an adverse action against a person within 90 days of the person's exercise of any right protected in this chapter. However, in the case of seasonal work that ended before the close of the 90-day period, the presumption also applies if the employer fails to rehire a former employee at the next opportunity for work in the same position. The employer may rebut the presumption with clear and convincing evidence that the adverse action was taken for a permissible purpose. 6. Standard of Proof. Proof of retaliation under this chapter shall be sufficient upon a showing that an employer or any other person has taken an adverse action against a person and the person's exercise of rights protected in this chapter was a motivating factor in the adverse action, unless the employer can prove that the action would have been taken in the absence of such protected activity. 7. The protections afforded under this section shall apply to any person who mistakenly but in good faith alleges violations of this chapter. Section 8. Enforcement. 1. Any person or class of persons that suffers financial injury as a result of a violation of this chapter or is the subject of prohibited retaliation under this chapter, or any other individual or entity acting on their behalf, may bring a civil action in a court of competent jurisdiction against the employer or other person violating this chapter and, upon prevailing, shall be awarded reasonable attorney fees and costs and such legal or equitable relief as may be appropriate to remedy the violation including, without limitation, the payment of any unpaid wages plus interest due to the person and liquidated damages in an additional amount of up to twice the unpaid wages; compensatory damages; and a penalty payable to any aggrieved party of up to $5,000 if the aggrieved party was subject to prohibited retaliation. For the purposes of this section, an aggrieved party means an employee or other person who suffers tangible or intangible harm due to an employer or other person's violation of this chapter. Interest shall accrue from the date the unpaid wages were first due at the higher of twelve percent per antrum or the maximum rate permitted under RCW 19.52.020. 2. For purposes of determining membership within a class of persons entitled to bring an action under this section, two or more employees we similarly situated if they: a. Are or were employed by the same employer or employers, whether concurrently or otherwise, at some point during the applicable statute of limitations period; b. Allege one or more violations that raise similar questions as to liability; and C. Seek similar forms of relief. d. Employees shall not be considered dissimilar solely because their claims seek damages that differ in amount, or theirjob titles or other means of classifying employees differ in ways that are unrelated to their claims. 3. Each covered employer shall retain records as required by RCW 49.46.0702 as well as such information as the City may require to confirm compliance with this chapter. If an employer fails to retain such records, there shall be a presumption, rebuttable by clear and convincing evidence, that the employer violated this chapter for the periods and for each employee for whom records were not retained. 4. Employers shall permit authorized City representatives access to work sites and relevant records for the purpose of monitoring compliance with the chapter and investigating complaints of noncompliance, including production for inspection and copying of employment records. The City may designate representatives, including city contractors and representatives of unions or worker advocacy organizations, to access the worksite and relevant records. 5. Complaints that any provision of this chapter has been violated may also be presented to the City Attorney, who is hereby authorized to investigate and, if they deem appropriate, initiate legal or other action to remedy any violation of this chapter. 6. The City has the authority to issue administrative citations and to order injunctive relief including reinstatement, restitution, payment of back wages, or other forms of relief. 7. The City may, in the exercise of its authority and performance of its functions and services, agree by contract or otherwise to participate jointly or in cooperation with Washington State, King County, or any city, town, or other incorporated place, or subdivision thereof, or engage outside counsel, to enforce this chapter. 8. The remedies and penalties provided under this chapter are cumulative and are not intended to be exclusive of any other available remedies or penalties, including existing remedies for enforcement of Renton Municipal Code chapters. 9. The statute of limitations for any enforcement action shall be five (5) years. Section 9. A new section is added to Renton Municipal Code (RMC) Section 5-5-4 as follows: 1. The Finance Director may deny, suspend, or revoke any license under this chapter for violation of this ordinance. 2. The Finance Director must deny, suspend, or revoke any license under this chapter for repeated intentional violations of this ordinance. 3. Any action by the Finance Director under this section shall be subject to the procedures and requirements of RMC subsection 5-5-3.E, as well as other due process rights that a court may require. Section 10. Definitions. For the purposes of this chapter, the following terms shall have the following meanings: "City" means the City of Renton. "Covered employer" means an employer that either (1) employs at least 15 employees regardless of where those employees are employed, or (2) has annual gross revenue over $2 million. "Effective date" is the effective date of this ordinance. "Employee" is defined as set forth in RCW 49.46.010. An employer bears the burden of proof that the individual is, as a matter of economic reality, in business for oneself rather than dependent upon the alleged employer. "Employer" is defined as set forth in RCW 49.46.010. "Employer classification" includes the determination of whether an employer is a covered employer and whether a covered employer is a large employer. "Franchise" means an agreement, express or implied, oral or written by which: 1. A person is granted the right to engage in the business of offering, selling, or distributing goods or services under a marketing plan prescribed or suggested in substantial part by the grantor or its affiliate; 2. The operation of the business is substantially associated with a trademark, service mark, trade time, advertising, or other commercial symbol; designating, owned by, or licensed by the grantor or its affiliate; and 3. The person pays, agrees to pay, or is required to pay, directly or indirectly, a franchise fee. The term, "franchise fee" is meant to be construed broadly to include any instance in which the grantor or its affiliate derives income or profit from a person who enters into a franchise agreement with the grantor. "Hour worked within the City" is to be interpreted according to its ordinary meaning, including all hours worked within the geographic boundaries of the City, excluding time spent in the City solely for the purpose of traveling through the City from a point of origin outside the City to a destination outside the City, with no employment -related or commercial stops in the City except for refueling or the employee's personal meals or errands. "Large Employer" means all employers that employ more than 500 employees, regardless of where those employees are employed, and all franchisees associated with a franchisor or a network of franchises with franchisees that employ more than 500 employees in aggregate. "Other covered employer" means a covered employer that does not qualify as a large employer. "Service charge" is defined as set forth in RCW 49.46.160(2)(c). "Tips" means a verifiable sum to be presented by a customer as a gift or gratuity in recognition of some service performed for the customer by the employee receiving the tip. "Wage" is defined as set forth in RCW 49.46.010. Section 11. Other Legal Requirements. This ordinance shall not be construed to preempt, limit, or otherwise affect the applicability of any other law, regulation, requirement, policy, or standard that provides for greater wages or compensation; and nothing in this ordinance shall be interpreted or applied so as to create any power or duty in conflict with federal or state law. Section 12. Rulemaking. Within 180 days after the effective date, the City shall adopt rules and procedures to implement and ensure compliance with this chapter, which shall require employers to maintain adequate records and to annually certify compliance with this chapter. The City shall seek feedback from worker organizations and covered employers before finalizing the rules and procedures. Section 13. Constitutional Subject. For constitutional purposes, this measure's subject "concerns labor standards for certain employers." See Filo Foods, LLC v. City of SeaTac, 183 Wash. 2d 770, 783, 357 P.3d 1040, 1047 (2015) (upholding this statement of subject for an initiative that set a minimum wage and addressed employees' access to hours). Section 14. Codification. All sections of this ordinance except section 9 shall be codified in a new chapter of the Renton Municipal Code. Section 15. Election date. In the event that the election on this measure takes place later than November 7, 2023, the Finance Department must establish and publish the initial minimum wage within 30 days of the effective date. Section 16. Severability. The provisions of this ordinance are declared to be separate and severable. If any clause, sentence, paragraph, subdivision, section, subsection, or portion of this ordinance, or the application thereof to any employer, employee, or circumstance, is held to be invalid, it shall not affect the validity of the remainder of this ordinance, or the validity of its application to other persons or circumstances. Name Of Canvasser. _ q Date Canvassed: vasser Email and Phone Number: - Raising The Minimum Wage In Renton ,�� INITIATIVE PETITION FOR SUBMISSION TO THE RENTON CITY COUNCIL TO: The City Council of the City of Renton: ® GC R. 933-M We, the undersigned registered voters of the City of Renton, State of Washington, residing at the addresses set forth opposite our respective names, being equal to fifteen percent (15%) of the total number of names of persons listed as registered voters within the City on the day of the last preceding City general election, respectfully request that the following ordinance be enacted by the City Council or, if not so enacted, be submitted to a vote of the residents of the City. The title of the said ordinance is as follows: ORDINANCE CONCERNING LABOR STANDARDS FOR CERTAIN EMPLOYEES z;' A full, true and correct copy of the ordinance is attached to this Petition. Each of us for himself or herself says: I have personally signed this petition; I am a registered voter of the City of Renton, State of Washington; and my residence is correctly stated. Signature Printed Name Street and Number City Phone Number Email Date Sa'NA&I/arm Printed Name 1234 Anywhere St. Renton 206-555-1234 maria@something.org 4/10/2023 2. °` 3. 31;) t.lti E GjS(+ Renton 3oZ er�)d-iie atee. ti �Ze,ti4„'-\ wZ, 5�6rt Renton 206 .320173 � �_ti) 6liJ� ��`i✓�(.C,t c�1��2��' (0 51 1e �j� �fb^�'Zt Renton LIaS-4(4d-'271 4� 'CSC 5. N r J2flb(IW_6) (I nd ri otli��f PtM7!-0,.. 0 �(,') 5 .% Renton Z,'25-`I�ZIo--%p3S '� 5/M �7711 7;03 t1 t'L`�f7i �2C�o fit= Renton U-4 ,lof &46� ale� Renton RentonZS�25-`� s. iy°'�i G'CG �t�a� 7 `' ��'Y�fYbn C/��I�ez/t�✓— ��Oy3� �� /�7m� Renton t Renton Z'-7 10. AV1Ylc;1 l-i I U I Q 61' S L Renton Warning Every person who signs this petition with any other than his or her true name, or who knowingly signs more than one of these petitions, or signs a petition seek- ing an election when he or she is not a legal voter, or signs a petition when he or she is otherwise not qualified to sign, or who makes herein any false statement, shall be guilty of a misdemeanor. AN ORDINANCE concerning labor standards for certain employees. Section 1. Findings. 1. The people of the City of Renton hereby adopt this citizen initiative addressing labor standards for certain employees, for the purpose of ensuring that, to the extent reasonably practicable, people employed in Renton have good wages and access to sufficient hours of work. 2. The City of Renton is one of the largest job centers in Washington State, with thousands of shoppers and workers visiting daily to participate in the local economy. Renton is home to The Landing shopping center, the historic Downtown Urban Center, as well as retail and commercial office and warehouse districts around the Rainier/Grady Way Junction. The City is a net importer ofjobs, with nearly 60,000 employed workers. Renton has a wide array of both long established and new and evolving business sectors. Retail businesses, restaurants and bars, auto sales, hospitality, healthcare, and office workers are well represented. 3. The statewide minimum wage is not sufficient to afford rising rents and costs of living in Renton. According to the National Low Income Housing Coalition's Out of Reach 2022 report, a worker making Washington's minimum wage would have to work 72 hours each week (up from 70 hours each week in 2021) to afford a modest one -bedroom rental home at Fair Market Rent. 4. When working families earn insufficient income due to low wages and involuntary under -employment, they struggle to pay for basic necessities like health care, child care, and groceries, and they are more likely to be evicted and become homeless. 5. Nearby King County cities of SeaTac, Seattle, and Tukwila enacted higher minimum wages in 2013, 2014, and 2022 respectively, but until now Renton has not followed suit. 6. Children growing up in poverty experience insecurity with housing, nutrition, and health care while enduring other hardships that prevent their ability to learn in school. Full time working parents must be able to reasonably provide for their family to ensure access to the opportunities and promise of public education. Section 2. Intent. It is the intent of the people to establish fair labor standards and protect the rights of workers by: (1) ensuring that the vast majority of employees in the City of Renton receive a minimum wage comparable to employees in the nearby cities of Tukwila, SeaTac, and Seattle; (2) requiring covered employers to offer additional hours of work to qualified part-time employees before hiring new employees to fill those hours; and (3) adopting enforcement requirements. Section 3. Large Employers Shall Pay Minimum Wages Comparable to Those in Nearby Cities. 1. Effective July 1, 2024, every large employer shall pay to each employee an hourly wage of not less than the 2023 new minimum wage rate in the City of Tukwila, established by City of Tukwila Initiative Measure No. 1, approved by voters in November 2022, adjusted for 2024 by the annual rate of inflation. 2. On January 1, 2025, and on each January 1 thereafter, the hourly minimum wage shall increase by the annual rate of inflation to maintain employee purchasing power. 3. By December 31, 2023, and by October 15 of each yew thereafter, the Finance Department shall establish and publish the applicable hourly minimum wage for the following year using the annual rate of inflation. 4. For purposes of this chapter, the annual rate of inflation means 100 percent of the annual average growth rate of the bi-monthly Seattle -Tacoma -Bellevue Area Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers, temted CPI-W, for the 12-month period ending in August, provided that the percentage increase shall not be less than zero. 5. An employer must pay to its employees: a. All tips and gratuities; and b. All service charges as defined under RCW 49.46.160 except those that, pursuant to RCW 49.46.160, are itemized as not being payable to the employee or employees servicing the customer. Tips and service charges paid to an employee are in addition to, and may not count towards, the employee's hourly minimum wage. Section 4. Other Covered Employers Shall Have a Multiyear Phase -In Period. Other covered employers shall phase in the new minimum wage, as follows: 1. Effective July 1, 2024, other covered employers shall pay employees not less than the hourly minimum wage established under Section 3 minus Two Dollars ($2) per hour. 2. Effective July 1, 2025, other covered employers shall pay employees not less than the hourly minimum wage established under Section 3 minus One Dollar ($1) per hour. 3. Effective July 1, 2026, and thereafter, all covered employers shall pay employees not less than the hourly minimum wage established under Section 3. Section 5. Coverage and Employer Classifications. 1. Covered employers must pay employees at least the minimum wage established by this chapter for each hour worked within the City. 2. Employer classification for the current calendar year will be calculated based upon the average number of employees during all weeks in the previous calendar year in which the employer had at least one employee. For employers that did not have any employees during the previous calendar year, classification will be based upon the average number of employees during the most recent three months of the current year. In this determination, all employees will be counted, regardless of their location, and including employees who worked in full-time employment, part-time employment, joint employment, temporary employment, or through the services of a temporary services or staffing agency or similar entity. 3. Employer classification for the current calendar year will be calculated based upon the gross revenue for the previous year. For employers that did not have gross revenue during the previous calendar year, annual gross revenue will be calculated from the gross revenue during the most recent three months of the current year. 4. For the purposes of employer classification, separate entities will be considered a single employer if they form an integrated enterprise or they are under joint control by one of those entities or a separate entity. The factors to consider in making this assessment include, but are not limited to: a. Degree of interrelation between the operations of multiple entities; b. Degree to which the entities share common management; C. Centralized control of labor relations; and d. Degree of common ownership or financial control over the entities. Section 6. Part -Time Employees Shall Have Fair Access to Additional Hours. 1. Before hiring additional employees or subcontractors, including hiring through the use of temporary services or staffing agencies, covered employers must offer additional hours of work to existing employees who, in the employer's good faith and reasonable judgment, have the skills and experience to perform the work, and shall use a reasonable, transparent, and nondiscriminatory process to distribute the hours of work among those existing employees. 2. This section shall not be construed to require any employer to offer an employee work hours if the employer would be required to compensate the employee at time -and -a -half or other premium rate under any law or collective bargaining agreement, nor to prohibit any employer from offering such work hours. Section 7. Retaliation Prohibited. 1. No employer or any other person shall interfere with, restrain, or deny the exercise of, or the attempt to exercise, any right protected under this chapter. 2. No employer or any other person shall take any adverse action against any person because the person has exercised in good faith the rights under this chapter. Such rights include but are not limited to the right to make inquiries about the rights protected under this chapter; the right to inform others about their rights order this chapter; the right to inform the person's employer, union, or similar organization, and/or the person's legal counsel or any other person about an alleged violation of this chapter; the right to bring a civil action for an alleged violation of this chapter; the right to testify in a proceeding under or related to this chapter; the right to refuse to participate in an activity that would result in a violation of city, state, or federal law; and the right to oppose any policy, practice, or act that is unlawful under this chapter. 3. For the purposes of this section, an adverse action means denying ajob or promotion, demoting, terminating, failing to rehire after a seasonal interruption of work, threatening, penalizing, retaliating, engaging in unfair immigration -related practices, filing a false report with a government agency, changing an employee's status to nonemployee, decreasing or declining to provide additional work hours when they otherwise would have been offered, scheduling an employee for hours outside of their availability, or otherwise discriminating against any person for any reason prohibited by this chapter. "Adverse action" for an employee may involve any aspect of employment, including pay, work hours, responsibilities, or other material change in the terms and conditions of employment. 4. No employer or any other person shall communicate to a person exercising rights protected under this chapter, directly or indirectly, the willingness to inform a government employee that the person is not lawfully in the United States, or to report, or to make an implied or express assertion of a willingness to report, suspected citizenship or immigration status of the person or a family member of the person to a federal, state, or local agency because the person has exercised a right under this chapter. 5. There shall be a rebuttable presumption of unlawful retaliation if an employer or any other person takes an adverse action against a person within 90 days of the person's exercise of any right protected in this chapter. However, in the case of seasonal work that ended before the close of the 90-day period, the presumption also applies if the employer fails to rehire a former employee at the next opportunity for work in the same position. The employer may rebut the presumption with clear and convincing evidence that the adverse action was taken for a permissible purpose. 6. Standard of Proof. Proof of retaliation under this chapter shall be sufficient upon a showing that an employer or any other person has taken an adverse action against a person and the person's exercise of rights protected in this chapter was a motivating factor in the adverse action, unless the employer can prove that the action would have been taken in the absence of such protected activity. 7. The protections afforded under this section shall apply to any person who mistakenly but in good faith alleges violations of this chapter. Section S. Enforcement. 1. Any person or class of persons that suffers financial injury as a result of a violation of this chapter or is the subject of prohibited retaliation under this chapter, or any other individual or entity acting on their behalf, may bring a civil action in a court of competent jurisdiction against the employer or other person violating this chapter and, upon prevailing, shall be awarded reasonable attorney fees and costs and such legal or equitable relief as may be appropriate to remedy the violation including, without limitation, the payment of any unpaid wages plus interest due to the person and liquidated damages in an additional amount of up to twice the unpaid wages; compensatory damages; and a penalty payable to any aggrieved party of up to $5,000 if the aggrieved party was subject to prohibited retaliation. For the purposes of this section, an aggrieved party means an employee or other person who suffers tangible or intangible harm due to an employer or other person's violation of this chapter. Interest shall accrue from the date the unpaid wages were first due at the higher of twelve percent per arum or the maximum rate permitted under RCW 19.52.020. 2. For purposes of determining membership within a class of persons entitled to bring an action under this section, two or more employees are similarly situated if they: a. Are or were employed by the same employer or employers, whether concurrently or otherwise, at some point during the applicable statute of limitations period; b. Allege one or more violations that raise similar questions as to liability; and C. Seek similar fors of relief. d. Employees shall not be considered dissimilar solely because their claims seek damages that differ in amount, or theirjob titles or other means of classifying employees differ in ways that are unrelated to their claims. 3. Each covered employer shall retain records as required by RCW 49.46.070, as well as such information as the City may require to confirm compliance with this chapter. If an employer fails to retain such records, there shall be a presumption, rebuttable by clear and convincing evidence, that the employer violated this chapter for the periods and for each employee for whom records were not retained. 4. Employers shall permit authorized City representatives access to work sites and relevant records for the purpose of monitoring compliance with the chapter and investigating complaints of noncompliance, including production for inspection and copying of employment records. The City may designate representatives, including city contractors and representatives of unions or worker advocacy organizations, to access the worksite and relevant records. 5. Complaints that any provision of this chapter has been violated may also be presented to the City Attorney, who is hereby authorized to investigate and, if they deem appropriate, initiate legal or other action to remedy any violation of this chapter. 6. The City has the authority to issue administrative citations and to order injunctive relief including reinstatement, restitution, payment of back wages, or other forms of relief. 7. The City may, in the exercise of its authority and performance of its functions and services, agree by contract or otherwise to participate jointly or in cooperation with Washington State, King County, or any city, town, or other incorporated place, or subdivision thereof, or engage outside counsel, to enforce this chapter. 8. The remedies and penalties provided under this chapter are cumulative and are not intended to be exclusive of any other available remedies or penalties, including existing remedies for enforcement of Renton Municipal Code chapters. 9. The statute of limitations for any enforcement action shall be five (5) years. Section 9. A new section is added to Renton Municipal Code (RMC) Section 5-5-4 as follows: 1. The Finance Director may deny, suspend, or revoke any license under this chapter for violation of this ordinance. 2. The Finance Director must deny, suspend, or revoke any license under this chapter for repeated intentional violations of this ordinance. 3. Any action by the Finance Director under this section shall be subject to the procedures and requirements of RMC subsection 5-5-3.E, as well as other due process rights that a court may require. Section 10. Definitions. For the purposes of this chapter, the following terms shall have the following meanings: "City" means the City of Renton. "Covered employer" means an employer that either (1) employs at least 15 employees regardless of where those employees are employed, or (2) has annual gross revenue over $2 million. "Effective date" is the effective date of this ordinance. "Employee" is defined as set forth in RCW 49.46.010. An employer bears the burden of proof that the individual is, as a matter of economic reality, in business for oneself rather than dependent upon the alleged employer. "Employer" is defined as set forth in RCW 49.46.010. "Employer classification" includes the determination of whether an employer is a covered employer and whether a covered employer is a large employer. "Franchise" means an agreement, express or implied, oral or written by which: I. A person is granted the right to engage in the business of offering, selling, or distributing goods or services under a marketing plan prescribed or suggested in substantial part by the grantor or its affiliate; 2. The operation of the business is substantially associated with a trademark, service mark, trade name, advertising, or other commercial symbol; designating, owned by, or licensed by the grantor or its affiliate; and 3. The person pays, agrees to pay, or is required to pay, directly or indirectly, a franchise fee. The term, "franchise fee" is meant to be construed broadly to include any instance in which the grantor or its affiliate derives income or profit from a person who enters into a franchise agreement with the grantor. "Hour worked within the City" is to be interpreted according to its ordinary meaning, including all hours worked within the geographic boundaries of the City, excluding time spent in the City solely for the purpose of traveling through the City from a point of origin outside the City to a destination outside the City, with no employment -related or commercial stops in the City except for refueling or the employee's personal meals or errands. "Large Employer" means all employers that employ more than 500 employees, regardless of where those employees are employed, and all franchisees associated with a franchisor or a network of franchises with franchisees that employ more than 500 employees in aggregate. "Other covered employer" means a covered employer that does not qualify as a large employer. "Service charge" is defined as set forth in RCW 49.46.160(2)(c). "Tips" means a verifiable sum to be presented by a customer as a gift or gratuity in recognition of some service performed for the customer by the employee receiving the tip. "Wage" is defined as set forth in RCW 49.46.010. Section 11. Other Legal Requirements. This ordinance shall not be construed to preempt, limit, or otherwise affect the applicability of any other law, regulation, requirement, policy, or standard that provides for greater wages or compensation; and nothing in this ordinance shall be interpreted or applied so as to create any power or duty in conflict with federal or state law. Section 12. Rulemaking. Within 180 days after the effective date, the City shall adopt rules and procedures to implement and ensure compliance with this chapter, which shall require employers to maintan adequate records and to annually certify compliance with this chapter. The City shall seek feedback from worker organizations and covered employers before finalizing the rules and procedures. Section 13. Constitutional Subject. For constitutional purposes, this measure's subject "concerns labor standards for certain employers." See Filo Foods, LLC v. City of SeaTac, 183 Wash. 2d 770, 783, 357 P.3d 1040, 1047 (2015) (upholding this statement of subject for an initiative that set a minimum wage and addressed employees' access to hours). Section 14. Codification. All sections of this ordinance except section 9 shall be codified in a new chapter of the Renton Municipal Code. Section 15. Election date. In the event that the election on this measure takes place later than November 7, 2023, the Finance Department must establish and publish the initial minimum wage within 30 days of the effective date. Section 16. Severability. The provisions of this ordinance are declared to be separate and severable. If any clause, sentence, paragraph, subdivision, section, subsection, or portion of this ordinance, or the application thereof to any employer, employee, or circumstance, is held to be invalid, it shall not affect the validity of the remainder of this ordinance, or the validity of its application to other persons or circumstances. 41 Raising The Minimum Wage In Renton INITIATIVE PETITION FOR SUBMISSION TO THE RENTON CITY COUNCIL TO: The City Council of the City of Renton: p cccne� 933-M We, the undersigned registered voters of the City of Renton, State of Washington, residing at the addresses set forth opposite our respective names, being equal to fifteen percent (15%) of the total number of names of persons listed as registered voters within the City on the day of the last preceding City general election, respectfully request that the following ordinance be enacted by the City Council or, if not so enacted, be submitted to a vote of the residents of the City. The title of the said ordinance is as follows: ORDINANCE CONCERNING LABOR STANDARDS FOR CERTAIN EMPLOYEES A full, true and correct copy of the ordinance is attached to this Petition. Each of us for himself or herself says: I have personally signed this petition; I am a registered voter of the City of Renton, State of Washington; and my residence is correctly stated. Signature Printed Name Street and Number City Phone Number Email Date SaHr�iFe`Uotex Printed Name 1234 Anywhere St. Renton 206-555-1234 maria@something.org 4/10/2023 LIE s� 1. �� �Y� (2 �° t� h{ a �l Renton 2. WO V Renton 3. �jj �f/U�l��/� Renton ✓ IIII lS%C�b56' iSC7FI 5> 4. ITf'I`IIZ 2l4i /� RC-A-17-0�/ n/ �? ��� Renton -D--7 -Z5 Renton I v�V Iv Renton 6• —.. „ m r �t I h! k ' 2 7. Renton Zl� Z ssk/ 8. G'` l �/ {� �vls �N ����i /riles RentonG 9. Renton 5- i 7 10.e CU d V�1 I�� S�F �a S Renton Warning Every person who signs this petition with any other than his or her true name, or who knowingly signs more than one of these petitions, or signs a petition seek- ing an election when he or she is not a legal voter, or signs a petition when he or she is otherwise not qualified to sign, or who makes herein any false statement, shall be guilty of a misdemeanor. AN ORDINANCE concerning labor standards for certain employees. Section 1. Findings. I. The people of the City of Renton hereby adopt this citizen initiative addressing labor standards for certain employees, for the purpose of ensuring that, to the extent reasonably practicable, people employed in Renton have good wages and access to sufficient hours of work. 2. The City of Renton is one of the largest job centers in Washington State, with thousands of shoppers and workers visiting daily to participate in the local economy. Renton is home to The Landing shopping center, the historic Downtown Urban Center, as well as retail and commercial office and warehouse districts around the Rainier/Grady Way Junction. The City is a net importer ofjobs, with nearly 60,000 employed workers. Renton has a wide array of both long established and new and evolving business sectors. Retail businesses, restaurants and bus, auto sales, hospitality, healthcare, and office workers are well represented. 3. The statewide minimum wage is not sufficient to afford rising rents and costs of living in Renton. According to the National Low Income Housing Coalition's Out of Reach 2022 report, a worker making Washington's minimum wage would have to work 72 hours each week (up from 70 hours each week in 2021) to afford a modest one -bedroom rental home at Fair Market Rent. 4. When working families earn insufficient income due to low wages and involuntary under -employment, they struggle to pay for basic necessities like health care, child care, and groceries, and they are more likely to be evicted and become homeless. 5. Nearby King County cities of SeaTac, Seattle, and Tukwila enacted higher minimum wages in 2013, 2014, and 2022 respectively, but until now Renton has not followed suit. 6. Children growing up in poverty experience insecurity with housing, nutrition, and health care while enduring other hardships that prevent their ability to learn in school. Full time working parents must be able to reasonably provide for their family to ensure access to the opportunities and promise of public education. Section 2. Intent. It is the intent of the people to establish fair labor standards and protect the rights of workers by: (1) ensuring that the vast majority of employees in the City of Renton receive a minimum wage comparable to employees in the nearby cities of Tukwila, SeaTac, and Seattle; (2) requiring covered employers to offer additional hours of work to qualified part-time employees before hiring new employees to fill those hours; and (3) adopting enforcement requirements. Section 3. Large Employers Shall Pay Minimum Wages Comparable to Those in Nearby Cities. 1. Effective July 1, 2024, every large employer shall pay to each employee an hourly wage of not less than the 2023 new minimum wage rate in the City of Tukwila, established by City of Tukwila Initiative Measure No. 1, approved by voters in November 2022, adjusted for 2024 by the annual rate of inflation. 2. On January 1, 2025, and on each January 1 thereafter, the hourly minimum wage shall increase by the annual rate of inflation to maintain employee purchasing power. 3. By December 31, 2023, and by October 15 of each year thereafter, the Finance Department shall establish and publish the applicable hourly minimum wage for the following year using the annual rate of inflation. 4. For purposes of this chapter, the annual rate of inflation means 100 percent of the annual average growth rate of the bi-monthly Seattle -Tacoma -Bellevue Area Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers, termed CPI-W, for the 12-month period ending in August, provided that the percentage increase shall not be less than zero. 5. An employer must pay to its employees: a. All tips and gratuities; and b. All service charges as defined under RCW 49.46.160 except those that, pursuant to RCW 49.46.160, we itemized as not being payable to the employee or employees servicing the customer. Tips and service charges paid to an employee are in addition to, and may not count towards, the employee's hourly minimum wage. Section 4. Other Covered Employers Shall Have a Multiyear Phase -In Period. Other covered employers shall phase in the new minimum wage, as follows: 1. Effective July 1, 2024, other covered employers shall pay employees not less than the hourly minimum wage established under Section 3 minus Two Dollars ($2) per hour. 2. Effective July 1, 2025, other covered employers shall pay employees not less than the hourly minimum wage established under Section 3 minus One Dollar ($1) per hour. 3. Effective July 1, 2026, and thereafter, all covered employers shall pay employees not less than the hourly minimum wage established under Section 3. Section 5. Coverage and Employer Classifications. 1. Covered employers must pay employees at least the minimum wage established by this chapter for each hour worked within the City. 2. Employer classification for the current calendar year will be calculated based upon the average number of employees during all weeks in the previous calendar year in which the employer had at least one employee. For employers that did not have any employees during the previous calendar year, classification will be based upon the average number of employees during the most recent three months of the current year. In this determination, all employees will be counted, regardless of their location, and including employees who worked in full-time employment, part -thee employment, joint employment, temporary employment, or through the services of a temporary services or staffing agency or similar entity. 3. Employer classification for the current calendar year will be calculated based upon the gross revenue for the previous year. For employers that did not have gross revenue during the previous calendar year, annual gross revenue will be calculated from the gross revenue during the most recent three months of the current year. 4. For the purposes of employer classification, separate entities will be considered a single employer if they form an integrated enterprise or they are under joint control by one of those entities or a separate entity. The factors to consider in making this assessment include, but are not limited to: a. Degree of interrelation between the operations of multiple entities; b. Degree to which the entities share common management; C. Centralized control of labor relations; and d. Degree of common ownership or financial control over the entities. Section 6. Part -Time Employees Shall Have Fair Access to Additional Hours. 1. Before hiring additional employees or subcontractors, including hiring through the use of temporary services or staffing agencies, covered employers must offer additional hours of work to existing employees who, in the employer's good faith and reasonable judgment, have the skills and experience to perform the work, and shall use a reasonable, transparent, and nondiscriminatory process to distribute the hours of work among those existing employees. 2. This section shall not be construed to require any employer to offer an employee work hours if the employer would be required to compensate the employee at time -and -a -half or other premium rate under any law or collective bargaining agreement, nor to prohibit any employer from offering such work hours. Section 7. Retaliation Prohibited. 1. No employer or any other person shall interfere with, restrain, or deny the exercise of, or the attempt to exercise, any right protected under this chapter. 2. No employer or any other person shall take any adverse action against any person because the person has exercised in good faith the rights under this chapter. Such rights include but are not limited to the right to make inquiries about the rights protected under this chapter; the right to inform others about thew rights under this chapter; the right to inform the person's employer, union, or similar organization, and/or the person's legal counsel or any other person about an alleged violation of this chapter; the right to bring a civil action for an alleged violation of this chapter; the right to testify in a proceeding under or related to this chapter; the right to refuse to participate in an activity that would result in a violation of city, state, or federal law; and the right to oppose any policy, practice, or act that is unlawful under this chapter. 3. For the purposes of this section, an adverse action means denying ajob or promotion, demoting, terminating, failing to rehire after a seasonal interruption of work, threatening, penalizing, retaliating, engaging in unfair immigration -related practices, filing a false report with a government agency, changing an employee's status to nonemployee, decreasing or declining to provide additional work hours when they otherwise would have been offered, scheduling an employee for hours outside of their availability, or otherwise discriminating against any person for any reason prohibited by this chapter. "Adverse action" for an employee may involve any aspect of employment, including pay, work hours, responsibilities, or other material change in the terms and conditions of employment. 4. No employer or any other person shall communicate to a person exercising rights protected under this chapter, directly or indirectly, the willingness to inform a government employee that the person is not lawfully in the United States, or to report, or to make an implied or express assertion of a willingness to report, suspected citizenship or immigration status of the person or a family member of the person to a federal, state, or local agency because the person has exercised a right under this chapter. 5. There shall be a rebuttable presumption of unlawful retaliation if an employer or any other person takes an adverse action against a person within 90 days of the person's exercise of any right protected in this chapter. However, in the case of seasonal work that ended before the close of the 90-day period, the presumption also applies if the employer fails to rehire a former employee at the next opportunity for work in the same position. The employer may rebut the presumption with clear and convincing evidence that the adverse action was taken for a permissible purpose. 6. Standard of Proof. Proof of retaliation under this chapter shall be sufficient upon a showing that an employer or any other person has taken an adverse action against a person and the person's exercise of rights protected in this chapter was a motivating factor in the adverse action, unless the employer can prove that the action would have been taken in the absence of such protected activity. 7. The protections afforded under this section shall apply to any person who mistakenly but in good faith alleges violations of this chapter. Section 8. Enforcement. 1. Any person or class of persons that suffers financial injury as a result of a violation of this chapter or is the subject of prohibited retaliation under this chapter, or any other individual or entity acting on their behalf, may bring a civil action in a court of competent jurisdiction against the employer or other person violating this chapter and, upon prevailing, shall be awarded reasonable attorney fees and costs and such legal or equitable relief as may be appropriate to remedy the violation including, without limitation, the payment of any unpaid wages plus interest due to the person and liquidated damages in an additional amount of up to twice the unpaid wages; compensatory damages; and a penalty payable to any aggrieved parry of up to $5,000 if the aggrieved party was subject to prohibited retaliation. For the purposes of this section, an aggrieved party means an employee or other person who suffers tangible or intangible harm due to an employer or other person's violation of this chapter. Interest shall accrue from the date the unpaid wages were first due at the higher of twelve percent per annum or the maximum rate permitted under RCW 19.52.020. 2. For purposes of determining membership within a class of persons entitled to bring an action under this section, two or more employees are similarly situated if they: a. Are or were employed by the same employer or employers, whether concurrently or otherwise, at some point during the applicable statute of limitations period; b. Allege one or more violations that raise similar questions as to liability; and C. Seek similar fors of relief. d. Employees shall not be considered dissimilar solely because their claims seek damages that differ in amount, or theirjob titles or other means of classifying employees differ in ways that are unrelated to their claims. 3. Each covered employer shall retain records as required by RCW 49.46.070, as well as such information as the City may require to confirm compliance with this chapter. If an employer fails to retain such records, there shall be a presumption, rebuttable by clear and convincing evidence, that the employer violated this chapter for the periods and for each employee for whom records were not retained. 4. Employers shall permit authorized City representatives access to work sites and relevant records for the purpose of monitoring compliance with the chapter and investigating complaints of noncompliance, including production for inspection and copying of employment records. The City may designate representatives, including city contractors and representatives of unions or worker advocacy organizations, to access the worksite and relevant records. 5. Complaints that any provision of this chapter has been violated may also be presented to the City Attomey, who is hereby authorized to investigate and, if they deem appropriate, initiate legal or other action to remedy any violation of this chapter. 6. The City has the authority to issue administrative citations and to order injunctive relief including reinstatement, restitution, payment of back wages, or other forms of relief. 7. The City may, in the exercise of its authority and performance of its functions and services, agree by contract or otherwise to participate jointly or in cooperation with Washington State, King County, or any city, town, or other incorporated place, or subdivision thereof, or engage outside counsel, to enforce this chapter. 8. The remedies and penalties provided under this chapter are cumulative and are not intended to be exclusive of any other available remedies or penalties, including existing remedies for enforcement of Renton Municipal Code chapters. 9. The statute of limitations for any enforcement action shall be five (5) years. Section 9. A new section is added to Renton Municipal Code (RMC) Section 5-5-4 as follows: 1. The Finance Director may deny, suspend, or revoke any license under this chapter for violation of this ordinance. 2. The Finance Director must deny, suspend, or revoke any license under this chapter for repeated intentional violations of this ordinance. 3. Any action by the Finance Director under this section shall be subject to the procedures and requirements of RMC subsection 5-5-3.E, as well as other due process rights that a court may require. Section 10. Definitions. For the purposes of this chapter, the following terms shall have the following meanings: "City" means the City of Renton. "Covered employer" means an employer that either (1) employs at least 15 employees regardless of where those employees are employed, or (2) has annual gross revenue over $2 million. "Effective date" is the effective date of this ordinance. "Employee" is defined as set forth in RCW 49.46.010. An employer bears the burden of proof that the individual is, as a matter of economic reality, in business for oneself rather than dependent upon the alleged employer. "Employer" is defined as set forth in RCW 49.46.010. "Employer classification" includes the determination of whether an employer is a covered employer and whether a covered employer is a large employer. "Franchise" means an agreement, express or implied, oral or written by which: L A person is granted the right to engage in the business of offering, selling, or distributing goods or services under a marketing plan prescribed or suggested in substantial part by the grantor or its affiliate; 2. The operation of the business is substantially associated with a trademark, service mark, trade name, advertising, or other commercial symbol; designating, owned by, or licensed by the grantor or its affiliate; and 3. The person pays, agrees to pay, or is required to pay, directly or indirectly, a franchise fee. The tern, "franchise fee" is meant to be construed broadly to include any instance in which the grantor or its affiliate derives income or profit from a person who enters into a franchise agreement with the grantor. "Hour worked within the City" is to be interpreted according to its ordinary meaning, including all hours worked within the geographic boundaries of the City, excluding time spent in the City solely for the purpose of traveling through the City from a point of origin outside the City to a destination outside the City, with no employment -related or commercial stops in the City except for refueling or the employee's personal meals or errands. "Large Employer" means all employers that employ more than 500 employees, regardless of where those employees are employed, and all franchisees associated with a franchisor or a network of franchises with franchisees that employ more than 500 employees in aggregate. "Other covered employer" means a covered employer that does not qualify as a large employer. "Service charge" is defined as set forth in RCW 49.46.160(2)(c). "Tips" means a verifiable sum to be presented by a customer as a gift or gratuity in recognition of some service performed for the customer by the employee receiving the tip. "Wage" is defined as set forth in RCW 49.46.010. Section 11. Other Legal Requirements. This ordinance shall not be construed to preempt, limit, or otherwise affect the applicability of any other law, regulation, requirement, policy, or standard that provides for greater wages or compensation; and nothing in this ordinance shall be interpreted or applied so as to create any power or duty in conflict with federal or state law. Section 12. Rulemaking. Within 180 days after the effective date, the City shall adopt rules and procedures to implement and ensure compliance with this chapter, which shall require employers to maintain adequate records and to annually certify compliance with this chapter. The City shall seek feedback from worker organizations and covered employers before finalizing the rules and procedures. Section 13. Constitutional Subject. For constitutional purposes, this measure's subject "concerns labor standards for certain employers." See File Foods, LLC v. City of SeaTac, 183 Wash. 2d 770, 783, 357 P.3d 1040, 1047 (2015) (upholding this statement of subject for an initiative that set a minimum wage and addressed employees' access to hours). Section 14. Codification. All sections of this ordinance except section 9 shall be codified in a new chapter of the Renton Municipal Code. Section 15. Election date. In the event that the election on this measure takes place later than November 7, 2023, the Finance Department must establish and publish the initial minimum wage within 30 days of the effective date. Section 16. Severability. The provisions of this ordinance are declared to be separate and severable. If any clause, sentence, paragraph, subdivision, section, subsection, or portion of this ordinance, or the application thereof to any employer, employee, or circumstance, is held to be invalid, it shall not affect the validity of the remainder of this ordinance, or the validity of its application to other persons or circumstances. rEmail 411 Raising The Minimum Wage In Renton INITIATIVE PETITION FOR SUBMISSION TO THE RENTON CITY COUNCIL TO: The City Council of the City of Renton: ® ,cccner 933-M We, the undersigned registered voters of the City of Renton, State of Washington, residing at the addresses set forth opposite our respective names, being equal to fifteen percent (15%) of the total number of names of persons listed as registered voters within the City on the day of the last preceding City general election, respectfully request that the following ordinance be enacted by the City Council or, if not so enacted, be submitted to a vote of the residents of the City. The title of the said ordinance is as follows: ORDINANCE CONCERNING LABOR STANDARDS FOR CERTAIN EMPLOYEES A full, true and correct copy of the ordinance is attached to this Petition. Each of us for himself or herself says: I have personally signed this petition; I am a registered voter of the City of Renton, State of Washington; and my residence is correctly stated. Signature Printed Name Street and Number City Phone Number Email 5400&-1/0trn Printed Name 1234 Anywhere St. Renton 206-555-1234 maria@something.org 1. 6"%V�^P NO, jig�b3 �. Renton 2. / / U' (tiLin �v �{�� S "N Renton 3 r] I Renton 4. �lL �/ t 5 � Renton s. ✓ Eva-, U-r-cRenton Renton 8• 7 10. cwyo k' 3312 16%s - Renton Renton q ; �� -7�P2 4(-�� - 1'Ylr�f ,cam ne�S GJ ��V��� �-cwrt Renton qAT Date 4/10/2023 Y.c�^'�� �, ��Cc_ 4-v) 'j, (_0 UU S V�'j L 2``1 J �— Renton '_� / :q- Warning Every person who signs this petition with any other than his or her true name, or who knowingly signs more than one of these petitions, or signs a petition seek- ing an election when he or she is not a legal voter, or signs a petition when he or she is otherwise not qualified to sign, or who makes herein any false statement, shall be guilty of a misdemeanor. AN ORDINANCE concerning labor standards for certain employees. Section 1. Findings. 1. The people of the City of Renton hereby adopt this citizen initiative addressing labor standards for certain employees, for the purpose of ensuring that, to the extent reasonably practicable, people employed in Renton have good wages and access to sufficient hours of work. 2. The City of Renton is one of the largest job centers in Washington State, with thousands of shoppers and workers visiting daily to participate in the local economy. Renton is home to The Landing shopping center, the historic Downtown Urban Center, as well as retail and commercial office and warehouse districts around the Rainier/Grady Way Junction. The City is a net importer ofjobs, with nearly 60,000 employed workers. Renton has a wide army of both long established and new and evolving business sectors. Retail businesses, restaurants and bars, auto sales, hospitality, healthcare, and office workers are well represented. 3. The statewide minimum wage is not sufficient to afford rising rents and costs of living in Renton. According to the National Low Income Housing Coalition's Out of Reach 2022 report, a worker making Washington's minimum wage would have to work 72 hours each week (up from 70 hours each week in 2021) to afford a modest one -bedroom rental home at Fair Market Rent. 4. When working families earn insufficient income due to low wages and involuntary under -employment, they struggle to pay for basic necessities like health care, child care, and groceries, and they are more likely to be evicted and become homeless. 5. Nearby King County cities of SeaTac, Seattle, and Tukwila enacted higher minimum wages in 2013, 2014, and 2022 respectively, but until now Renton has not followed suit. 6. Children growing up in poverty experience insecurity with housing, nutrition, and health care while enduring other hardships that prevent their ability to learn in school. Full time working parents must be able to reasonably provide for their family to ensure access to the opportunities and promise of public education, Section 2. Intent. It is the intent of the people to establish fair labor standards and protect the rights of workers by: (1) ensuring that the vast majority of employees in the City of Renton receive a minimum wage comparable to employees in the nearby cities of Tukwila, SeaTac, and Seattle; (2) requiring covered employers to offer additional hours of work to qualified part-time employees before hiring new employees to fill those hours; and (3) adopting enforcement requirements. Section 3. Large Employers Shall Pay Minimum Wages Comparable to Those in Nearby Cities. 1. Effective July 1, 2024, every large employer shall pay to each employee an hourly wage of not less than the 2023 new minimum wage rate in the City of Tukwila, established by City of Tukwila Initiative Measure No. 1, approved by voters in November 2022, adjusted for 2024 by the annual rate of inflation. 2. On January 1, 2025, and on each January 1 thereafter, the hourly minimum wage shall increase by the annual rate of inflation to maintain employee purchasing power. 3. By December 31, 2023, and by October 15 of each year thereafter, the Finance Department shall establish and publish the applicable hourly minimum wage for the following year using the annual rate of inflation. 4. For purposes of this chapter, the annual rate of inflation means 100 percent of the annual average growth rate of the bi-monthly Seattle -Tacoma -Bellevue Area Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers, termed CPI-W, for the 12-month period ending in August, provided that the percentage increase shall not be less than zero. 5. An employer must pay to its employees: a. All tips and gratuities; and b. All service charges as defined under RCW 49.46.160 except those that, pursuant to RCW 49.46.160, are itemized as not being payable to the employee or employees servicing the customer. Tips and service charges paid to an employee are in addition to, and may not count towards, the employee's hourly minimum wage. Section 4. Other Covered Employers Shall Have a Multiyear Phase -In Period. Other covered employers shall phase in the new minimum wage, as follows: 1. Effective July 1, 2024, other covered employers shall pay employees not less than the hourly minimum wage established under Section 3 minus Two Dollars ($2) per hour. 2. Effective July 1, 2025, other covered employers shall pay employees not less than the hourly minimum wage established under Section 3 minus One Dollar ($1) per hour. 3. Effective July 1, 2026, and thereafter, all covered employers shall pay employees not less than the hourly minimum wage established under Section 3. Section 5. Coverage and Employer Classifications. 1. Covered employers must pay employees at least the minimum wage established by this chapter for each hour worked within the City. 2. Employer classification for the current calendar year will be calculated based upon the average number of employees during all weeks in the previous calendar year in which the employer had at least one employee. For employers that did not have any employees during the previous calendar year, classification will be based upon the average number of employees during the most recent three months of the current year. In this determination, all employees will be counted, regardless of their location, and including employees who worked in full-time employment, part-time employment, joint employment, temporary employment, or through the services of a temporary services or staffing agency or similar entity. 3. Employer classification for the current calendar year will be calculated based upon the gross revenue for the previous year. For employers that did not have gross revenue during the previous calendar year, annual gross revenue will be calculated from the gross revenue during the most recent three months of the current year. 4. For the purposes of employer classification, separate entities will be considered a single employer if they form an integrated enterprise or they are underjoint control by one of those entities or a separate entity. The factors to consider in making this assessment include, but we not limited to: a. Degree of interrelation between the operations of multiple entities; b. Degree to which the entities share common management; C. Centralized control of labor relations; and d. Degree of common ownership or financial control over the entities. Section 6. Part -Time Employees Shall Have Fair Access to Additional Hours. 1. Before hiring additional employees or subcontractors, including hiring through the use of temporary services or staffing agencies, covered employers must offer additional hours of work to existing employees who, in the employer's good faith and reasonable judgment, have the skills and experience to perform the work, and shall use a reasonable, transparent, and nondiscriminatory process to distribute the hours of work among those existing employees. 2. This section shall not be construed to require any employer to offer an employee work hours if the employer would be required to compensate the employee at time -and -a -half or other premium rate under any law or collective bargaining agreement, nor to prohibit any employer from offering such work hours. Section 7. Retaliation Prohibited. 1. No employer or any other person shall interfere with, restrain, or deny the exercise of, or the attempt to exercise, any right protected under this chapter. 2. No employer or any other person shall take any adverse action against any person because the person has exercised in good faith the rights under this chapter. Such rights include but are not limited to the right to make inquiries about the rights protected under this chapter; the right to inform others about their rights under this chapter•, the right to inform the person's employer, union, or similar organization, and/or the person's legal counsel or any other person about an alleged violation of this chapter; the right to bring a civil action for an alleged violation of this chapter; the right to testify in a proceeding under or related to this chapter; the right to refuse to participate in an activity that would result in a violation of city, state, or federal law; and the right to oppose any policy, practice, or act that is unlawful under this chapter. 3. For the purposes of this section, an adverse action means denying a job or promotion, demoting, terminating, failing to rehire after a seasonal interruption of work, threatening, penalizing, retaliating, engaging in unfair immigration -related practices, filing a false report with a government agency, changing an employee's status to nonemployee, decreasing or declining to provide additional work hours when they otherwise would have been offered, scheduling an employee for hours outside of their availability, or otherwise discriminating against any person for any reason prohibited by this chapter. "Adverse action" for an employee may involve any aspect of employment, including pay, work hours, responsibilities, or other material change in the terms and conditions of employment. 4. No employer or any other person shall communicate to a person exercising rights protected under this chapter, directly or indirectly, the willingness to inform a government employee that the person is not lawfully in the United States, or to report, or to make an implied or express assertion of a willingness to report, suspected citizenship or immigration status of the person or a family member of the person to a federal, state, or local agency because the person has exercised a right under this chapter. 5. There shall be a rebuttable presumption of unlawful retaliation if an employer or any other person takes an adverse action against a person within 90 days of the person's exercise of any right protected in this chapter. However, in the case of seasonal work that ended before the close of the 90-day period, the presumption also applies if the employer fails to rehire a former employeeat the next opportunity for work in the same position. The employer may rebut the presumption with clew and convincing evidence that the adverse action was taken for a permissible purpose. 6. Standard of Proof. Proof of retaliation under this chapter shall be sufficient upon a showing that an employer or any other person has taken an adverse action against a person and the person's exercise of rights protected in this chapter was a motivating factor in the adverse action, unless the employer can prove that the action would have been taken in the absence of such protected activity. 7. The protections afforded under this section shall apply to any person who mistakenly but in good faith alleges violations of this chapter. Section 8. Enforcement. 1. Any person or class of persons that suffers financial injury as a result of a violation of this chapter or is the subject of prohibited retaliation under this chapter, or any other individual or entity acting on their behalf, may bring a civil action in a court of competent jurisdiction against the employer or other person violating this chapter and, upon prevailing, shall be awarded reasonable attorney fees and costs and such legal or equitable relief as may be appropriate to remedy the violation including, without limitation, the payment of any unpaid wages plus interest due to the person and liquidated damages in an additional amount of up to twice the unpaid wages; compensatory damages; and a penalty payable to any aggrieved party of up to $5,000 if the aggrieved party was subject to prohibited retaliation. For the purposes of this section, an aggrieved party means an employee or other person who suffers tangible or intangible harm due to an employer or other person's violation of this chapter. Interest shall accrue from the date the unpaid wages were first due at the higher of twelve percent per antrum or the maximum rate permitted under RCW 19.52.020. 2. For purposes of determining membership within a class of persons entitled to bring an action under this section, two or more employees are similarly situated if they: a. Are or were employed by the same employer or employers, whether concurrently or otherwise, at some point timing the applicable statute of limitations period; b. Allege one or more violations that raise similar questions as to liability; and C. Seek similar forms of relief. d. Employees shall not be considered dissimilar solely because their claims seek damages that differ in amount, or their job titles or other means of classifying employees differ in ways that are unrelated to their claims. 3. Each covered employer shall retain records as required by RCW 49.46.070, as well as such information as the City may require to confirm compliance with this chapter. If an employer fails to retain such records, there shall be a presumption, rebuttable by clear and convincing evidence, that the employer violated this chapter for the periods and for each employee for whom records were not retained. 4. Employers shall permit authorized City representatives access to work sites and relevant records for the purpose of monitoring compliance with the chapter and investigating complaints of noncompliance, including production for inspection and copying of employment records. The City may designate representatives, including city contractors and representatives of unions or worker advocacy organizations, to access the worksite and relevant records. 5. Complaints that any provision of this chapter has been violated may also be presented to the City Attorney, who is hereby authorized to investigate and, if they deem appropriate, initiate legal or other action to remedy any violation of this chapter. 6. The City has the authority to issue administrative citations and to order injunctive relief including reinstatement, restitution, payment of back wages, or other forms of relief. 7. The City may,. in the exercise of its authority and performance of its functions and services, agree by contract or otherwise to participate jointly or in cooperation with Washington State, King County, or any city, town, or other incorporated place, or subdivision thereof, or engage outside counsel, to enforce this chapter. 8. The remedies and penalties provided under this chapter we cumulative and are not intended to be exclusive of any other available remedies or penalties, including existing remedies for enforcement of Renton Municipal Code chapters. 9. The statute of limitations for any enforcement action shall be five (5) years. Section 9. A new section is added to Renton Municipal Code (RMC) Section 5-5-4 as follows: 1. The Finance Director may deny, suspend, or revoke any license under this chapter for violation of this ordinance. 2. The Finance Director must deny, suspend, or revoke any license under this chapter for repeated intentional violations of this ordinance. 3. Any action by the Finance Director under this section shall be subject to the procedures and requirements o£RMC subsection 5-5-3.E, as well as other due process rights that a court may require. Section 10. Definitions. For the purposes of this chapter, the following terms shall have the following meanings: "City" means the City of Renton. "Covered employer" means an employer that either (1) employs at least 15 employees regardless of where those employees are employed, or (2) has annual gross revenue over $2 million. "Effective date" is the effective date of this ordinance. "Employee" is defined as set forth in RCW 49.46.010. An employer bears the burden of proof that the individual is, as a matter of economic reality, in business for oneself rather than dependent upon the alleged employer. "Employer" is defined as set forth in RCW 49.46.010. "Employer classification" includes the determination of whether an employer is a covered employer and whether a covered employer is a large employer. "Franchise" means an agreement, express or implied, oral or written by which: 1. A person is granted the right to engage in the business of offering, selling, or distributing goods or services under a marketing plan prescribed or suggested in substantial part by the grantor or its affiliate; 2. The operation of the business is substantially associated with a trademark, service mark, trade time, advertising, or other commercial symbol; designating, owned by, or licensed by the grantor or its affiliate; and 3. The person pays, agrees to pay, or is required to pay, directly or indirectly, a franchise fee. The term, "franchise fee" is meant to be construed broadly to include any instance in which the grantor or its affiliate derives income or profit from a person who enters into a franchise agreement with the grantor. "Hour worked within the City" is to be interpreted according to its ordinary meaning, including all hours worked within the geographic boundaries of the City, excluding time spent in the City solely for the purpose of traveling through the City from a point of origin outside the City to a destination outside the City, with no employment -related or commercial stops in the City except for refueling or the employee's personal meals or errands. "Large Employer" means all employers that employ more than 500 employees, regardless of where those employees are employed, and all franchisees associated with a franchisor or a network of franchises with franchisees that employ more than 500 employees in aggregate. "Other covered employer" means a covered employer that does not qualify as a large employer. "Service charge" is defined as set forth in RCW 49.46.160(2)(c). "Tips" means a verifiable sum to be presented by a customer as a gift or gratuity in recognition of some service performed for the customer by the employee receiving the tip, "Wage" is defined as set forth in RCW 49.46.010. Section 11. Other Legal Requirements. This ordinance shall not be construed to preempt, limit, or otherwise affect the applicability of any other law, regulation, requirement, policy, or standard that provides for greater wages or compensation; and nothing in this ordinance shall be interpreted or applied so as to create any power or duty in conflict with federal or state law. Section 12. Rulemaking. Within 180 days after the effective date, the City shall adopt rules and procedmes to implement and ensure compliance with this chapter, which shall require employers to maintain adequate records and to annually certify compliance with this chapter. The City shall seek feedback from worker organizations and covered employers before finalizing the rules and procedures. Section 13. Constitutional Subject. For constitutional purposes, this measure's subject "concerns labor standards for certain employers." See File Foods, LLC v. City of SeaTac, 183 Wash. 2d 770, 783, 357 P.3d 1040, 1047 (2015) (upholding this statement of subject for an initiative that set a minimum wage and addressed employees' access to hours). Section 14. Codification. All sections of this ordinance except section 9 shall be codified in a new chapter of the Renton Municipal Code. Section 15. Election date. In the event that the election on this measure takes place later than November 7, 2023, the Finance Department must establish and publish the initial minimum wage within 30 days of the effective date. Section 16. Severability. The provisions of this ordinance are declared to be separate and severable. If any clause, sentence, paragraph, subdivision, section, subsection, or portion of this ordinance, or the application thereof to any employer, employee, or circumstance, is held to be invalid, it shall not affect the validity of the remainder of this ordinance, or the validity of its application to other persons or circumstances. Raising The Minimum Wage In Renton 1. 2. 3. 4. s. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10 INITIATIVE PETITION FOR SUBMISSION TO THE RENTON CITY COUNCIL TO: The City Council of the City of Renton: a ccaie 933-M '°uaw..urxm" We, the undersigned registered voters of the City of Renton, State of Washington, residing at the addresses set forth opposite our respective names, being equal to fifteen percent (15%) of the total number of names of persons listed as registered voters within the City on the day of the last preceding City general election, respectfully request that the following ordinance be enacted by the City Council or, if not so enacted, be submitted to a vote of the residents of the City. The title of the said ordinance is as follows: ORDINANCE CONCERNING LABOR STANDARDS FOR CERTAIN EMPLOYEES A full, true and correct copy of the ordinance is attached to this Petition. Each of us for himself or herself says: I have personally signed this petition; I am a registered voter of the City of Renton, State of Washington; and my residence is correctly stated. Signature SaMA& tiot�'z Printed Name Printed Name Street and Number 1234 Anywhere St. Warning City Phone Number Email Renton 206-555-1234 maria@something.org Date 4/10/2023 6 l z/2oz3 Every person who signs this petition with any other than his or her true name, or who knowingly signs more than one of these petitions, or signs a petition seek- ing an election when he or she is not a legal voter, or signs a petition when he or she is otherwise not qualified to sign, or who makes herein any false statement, shall be guilty of a misdemeanor. AN ORDINANCE concerning labor standards for certain employees. Section 1. Findings. 1. The people of the City of Renton hereby adopt this citizen initiative addressing labor standards for certain employees, for the purpose of ensuring that, to the extent reasonably practicable, people employed in Renton have good wages and access to sufficient hours of work. 2. The City of Renton is one of the largest job centers in Washington State, with thousands of shoppers and workers visiting daily to participate in the local economy. Renton is home to The Landing shopping center, the historic Downtown Urban Center, as well as retail and commercial office and warehouse districts around the Rainier/Grady Way Junction. The City is a net importer ofjobs, with nearly 60,000 employed workers. Renton has a wide may of both long established and new and evolving business sectors. Retail businesses, restaurants and bars, auto sales, hospitality, healthcare, and office workers are well represented. 3. The statewide minimum wage is not sufficient to afford rising rents and costs of living in Renton. According to the National Low Income Housing Coalition's Out of Reach 2022 report, a worker making Washington's minimum wage would have to work 72 hours each week (up from 70 hours each week in 2021) to afford a modest one -bedroom rental home at Fair Market Rent. 4. When working families earn insufficient income due to low wages and involuntary under -employment, they struggle to pay for basic necessities like health care, child care, and groceries, and they are more likely to be evicted and become homeless. 5. Nearby King County cities of SeaTac, Seattle, and Tukwila enacted higher minimum wages in 2013, 2014, and 2022 respectively, but until now Renton has not followed suit. 6. Children growing up in poverty experience insecurity with housing, nutrition, and health care while enduring other hardships that prevent their ability to learn in school. Full time working parents must be able to reasonably provide for their family to ensure access to the opportunities and promise of public education. Section 2. Intent. It is the intent of the people to establish fair labor standards and protect the rights of workers by: (1) ensuring that the vast majority of employees in the City of Renton receive a minimum wage comparable to employees in the nearby cities of Tukwila, SeaTac, and Seattle; (2) requiring covered employers to offer additional hours of work to qualified part-time employees before hiring new employees to fill those hours; and (3) adopting enforcement requirements. Section 3. Large Employers Shall Pay Minimum Wages Comparable to Those in Nearby Cities. 1. Effective July 1, 2024, every large employer shall pay to each employee an hourly wage of not less than the 2023 new minimum wage rate in the City of Tukwila, established by City of Tukwila Initiative Measure No. 1, approved by voters in November 2022, adjusted for 2024 by the annual rate of inflation. 2. On January I, 2025, and on each January I thereafter, the hourly minimum wage shall increase by the annual rate of inflation to maintain employee purchasing power. 3. By December 31, 2023, and by October 15 of each year thereafter, the Finance Department shall establish and publish the applicable hourly minimum wage for the following year using the annual rate of inflation. 4. For purposes of this chapter, the annual rate of inflation means 100 percent of the annual average growth rate of the bi-monthly Seattle -Tacoma -Bellevue Area Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers, termed CPI-W, for the 12-month period ending in August, provided that the percentage increase shall not be less than zero. 5. An employer must pay to its employees: a. All tips and gratuities; and b. All service charges as defined under RCW 49.46.160 except those that, pursuant to RCW 49.46.160, are itemized as not being payable to the employee or employees servicing the customer. Tips and service charges paid to an employee are in addition to, and may not count towards, the employee's hourly minimum wage. Section 4. Other Covered Employers Shall Have a Multiyear Phase -In Period. Other covered employers shall phase in the new minimum wage, as follows: 1. Effective July 1, 2024, other covered employers shall pay employees not less than the hourly minimum wage established under Section 3 minus Two Dollars ($2) per hour. 2. Effective July 1, 2025, other covered employers shall pay employees not less than the hourly minimum wage established under Section 3 minus One Dollar ($I) per hour. 3. Effective July 1, 2026, and thereafter, all covered employers shall pay employees not less than the hourly minimum wage established under Section 3. Section 5. Coverage and Employer Classifications. 1. Covered employers must pay employees at least the minimum wage established by this chapter for each hour worked within the City. 2. Employer classification for the current calendar year will be calculated based upon the average number of employees during all weeks in the previous calendar year in which the employer had at least one employee. For employers that did not have any employees during the previous calendar year, classification will be based upon the average number of employees during the most recent three months of the current year. In this determination, all employees will be counted, regardless of their location, and including employees who worked in full-time employment, part-time employment, joint employment, temporary employment, or through the services of a temporary services or staffing agency or similar entity. 3. Employer classification for the current calendar year will be calculated based upon the gross revenue for the previous year. For employers that did not have gross revenue during the previous calendar year, annual gross revenue will be calculated from the gross revenue during the most recent three months of the current year. 4. For the purposes of employer classification, separate entities will be considered a single employer if they form an integrated enterprise or they are under joint control by one of those entities or a separate entity. The factors to consider in making this assessment include, but are not limited to: a. Degree of interrelation between the operations of multiple entities; b. Degree to which the entities share common management; C. Centralized control of labor relations; and d. Degree of common ownership or financial control over the entities. Section 6. Part -Time Employees Shall Have Fair Access to Additional Hours. 1. Before hiring additional employees or subcontractors, including hiring through the use of temporary services or staffing agencies, covered employers must offer additional hours of work to existing employees who, in the employer's good faith and reasonable judgment, have the skills and experience to perform the work, and shall use a reasonable, transparent, and nondiscriminatory process to distribute the hours of work among those existing employees. 2. This section shall not be construed to require any employer to offer an employee work hours if the employer would be required to compensate the employee at tune -and -a -half or other premium rate under any law or collective bargaining. agreement, nor to prohibit any employer from offering such work hours. Section 7. Retaliation Prohibited. 1. No employer or any other person shall interfere with, restrain, or deny the exercise of, or the attempt to exercise, any right protected under this chapter. 2. No employer or any other person shall take any adverse action against any person because the person has exercised in good faith the rights under this chapter. Such rights include but are not limited to the right to make inquiries about the rights protected under this chapter; the right to inform others about their rights under this chapter; the right to inform the person's employer, union, or similar organization, and/or the person's legal counsel or any other person about an alleged violation of this chapter; the right to bring a civil action for an alleged violation of this chapter; the right to testify in a proceeding under or related to this chapter; the right to refuse to participate in an activity that would result in a violation of city, state, or federal law; and the right to oppose any policy, practice, or act that is unlawful under this chapter. 3. For the purposes of this section, an adverse action means denying ajob or promotion, demoting, terminating, failing to rehire after a seasonal interruption of work, threatening, penalizing, retaliating, engaging in unfair immigration -related practices, filing a false report with a government agency, changing an employee's status to nonemployee, decreasing or declining to provide additional work hours when they otherwise would have been offered, scheduling an employee for hours outside of their availability, or otherwise discriminating against any person for any reason prohibited by this chapter. "Adverse action" for an employee may involve any aspect of employment, including pay, work hours, responsibilities, or other material change in the terns and conditions of employment. 4. No employer or any other person shall communicate to a person exercising rights protected under this chapter, directly or indirectly, the willingness to inform a government employee that the person is not lawfully in the United States, or to report, or to make an implied or express assertion of a willingness to report, suspected citizenship or immigration status of the person or a family member of the person to a federal, state, or local agency because the person has exercised a right under this chapter. 5. There shall be a rebuttable presumption of unlawful retaliation if an employer or any other person takes an adverse action against a person within 90 days of the person's exercise of any right protected in this chapter. However, in the case of seasonal work that ended before the close of the 90-day period, the presumption also applies if the employer fails to rehire a former employee at the next opportunity for work in the same position. The employer may rebut the presumption with clear and convincing evidence that the adverse action was taken for a permissible purpose. 6. Standard of Proof. Proof of retaliation under this chapter shall be sufficient upon a showing that an employer or any other person has taken an adverse action against a person and the person's exercise of rights protected in this chapter was a motivating factor in the adverse action, unless the employer can prove that the action would have been taken in the absence of such protected activity. 7. The protections afforded under this section shall apply to any person who mistakenly but in good faith alleges violations of this chapter. Section 8. Enforcement. 1. Any person or class of persons that suffers financial injury as a result of a violation of this chapter or is the subject of prohibited retaliation under this chapter, or any other individual or entity acting on their behalf, may bring a civil action in a court of competentjmisdiction against the employer or other person violating this chapter and, upon prevailing, shall be awarded reasonable attorney fees and costs and such legal or equitable relief as may be appropriate to remedy the violation including, without limitation, the payment of any unpaid wages plus interest due to the person and liquidated damages in an additional amount of up to twice the unpaid wages; compensatory damages; and a penalty payable to any aggrieved party of up to $5,000 if the aggrieved party was subject to prohibited retaliation. For the purposes of this section, an aggrieved party means an employee or other person who suffers tangible or intangible harm due to an employer or other person's violation of this chapter. Interest shall accrue from the date the unpaid wages were first due at the higher of twelve percent per antrum or the maximum rate permitted under RCW 19.52.020. 2. For purposes of determining membership within a class of persons entitled to bring an action under this section, two or more employees are similarly situated if they: a. Are or were employed by the same employer or employers, whether concurrently or otherwise, at some point during the applicable statute of limitations period; b. Allege one or more violations that raise similar questions as to liability; and C. Seek similar forms of relief. d. Employees shall not be considered dissimilar solely because their claims seek damages that differ in meant, or their job titles or other means of classifying employees differ in ways that are unrelated to their claims. 3. Each covered employer shall retain records as required by RCW 49.46.070, as well as such information as the City may require to confirm compliance with this chapter. If an employer fails to retain such records, there shall be a presumption, rebuttable by clear and convincing evidence, that the employer violated this chapter for the periods and for each employee for whom records were not retained. 4. Employers shall permit authorized City representatives access to work sites and relevant records for the purpose of monitoring compliance with the chapter and investigating complaints of noncompliance, including production for inspection and copying of employment records. The City may designate representatives, including city contractors and representatives of unions or worker advocacy organizations, to access the worksite and relevant records. 5. Complaints that any provision of this chapter has been violated may also be presented to the City Attorney, who is hereby authorized to investigate and, if they deem appropriate, initiate legal or other action to remedy any violation of this chapter. 6. The City has the authority to issue administrative citations and to order injunctive relief including reinstatement, restitution, payment of back wages, or other forms of relief. 7. The City may, in the exercise of its authority and performance of its functions and services, agree by contract or otherwise to participate jointly or in cooperation with Washington State, King County, or any city, town, or other incorporated place, or subdivision thereof, or engage outside counsel, to enforce this chapter. 8. The remedies and penalties provided under this chapter are cumulative and are not intended to be exclusive of any other available remedies or penalties, including existing remedies for enforcement of Renton Municipal Code chapters. 9. The statute of limitations for any enforcement action shall be five (5) years. Section 9. A new section is added to Renton Municipal Code (RMC) Section 5-5-4 as follows: 1. The Finance Director may deny, suspend, or revoke any license under this chapter for violation of this ordinance. 2. The Finance Director must deny, suspend, or revoke any license under this chapter for repeated intentional violations of this ordinance. 3. Any action by the Finance Director under this section shall be subject to the procedures and requirements of RMC subsection 5-5-3.E, as well as other due process rights that a court may require. Section 10. Definitions. For the purposes of this chapter, the following terms shall have the following meanings: "City" means the City of Renton. "Covered employer" means an employer that either (1) employs at least 15 employees regardless of where those employees are employed, or (2) has annual gross revenue over $2 million. "Effective date" is the effective date of this ordinance. "Employee" is defined as set forth in RCW 49.46.010. An employer bears the burden of proof that the individual is, as a matter of economic reality, in business for oneself rather than dependent upon the alleged employer. "Employer" is defined as set forth in RCW 49.46.010. "Employer classification" includes the determination of whether an employer is a covered employer and whether a covered employer is a large employer. "Franchise" means an agreement, express or implied, oral or written by which: 1. A person is granted the right to engage in the business of offering, selling, or distributing goods or services under a marketing plan prescribed or suggested in substantial part by the grantor or its affiliate; 2. The operation of the business is substantially associated with a trademark, service mark, trade time, advertising, or other commercial symbol; designating, owned by, or licensed by the grantor or its affiliate; and 3. The person pays, agrees to pay, or is required to pay, directly or indirectly, a franchise fee. The term, "franchise fee" is meant to be construed broadly to include any instance in which the grantor or its affiliate derives income or profit from a person who enters into a franchise agreement with the grantor. "Hour worked within the City" is to be interpreted according to its ordinary meaning, including all hours worked within the geographic boundaries of the City, excluding time spent in the City solely for the purpose of traveling through the City from a point of origin outside the City to a destination outside the City, with no employment -related or commercial stops in the City except for refueling or the employee's personal meals or errands. "Large Employer" means all employers that employ more than 500 employees, regardless of where those employees are employed, and all franchisees associated with a franchisor or a network of franchises with franchisees that employ more than 500 employees in aggregate. "Other covered employer" means a covered employer that does not qualify as a large employer, "Service charge" is defined as set forth in RCW 49.46.160(2)(c). "Tips" means a verifiable sum to be presented by a customer as a gift or gratuity in recognition of some service performed for the customer by the employee receiving the tip. "Wage" is defined as set forth in RCW 49.46.010. Section 11. Other Legal Requirements. This ordinance shall not be construed to preempt, limit, or otherwise affect the applicability of any other law, regulation, requirement, policy, or standard that provides for greater wages or compensation; and nothing in this ordinance shall be interpreted or applied so as to create any power or duty in conflict with federal or state law. Section 12. Rulemaking. Within 180 days after the effective date, the City shall adopt rules and procedures to implement and ensure compliance with this chapter, which shall require employers to maintain adequate records and to annually certify compliance with this chapter. The City shall seek feedback from worker organizations and covered employers before finalizing the rules and procedures. Section 13. Constitutional Subject. For constitutional purposes, this measure's subject "concerns labor standards for certain employers." See File Foods, LLC v. City of SeaTac, 183 Wash. 2d 770, 783, 357 P.3d 1040, 1047 (2015) (upholding this statement of subject for an initiative that set a minimum wage and addressed employees' access to hours). Section 14. Codification. All sections of this ordinance except section 9 shall be codified in a new chapter of the Renton Municipal Code. Section 15. Election date. In the event that the election on this measure takes place later than November 7, 2023, the Finance Department must establish and publish the initial minimum wage within 30 days of the effective date. Section 16. Severability. The provisions of this ordinance are declared to be separate and severable. If any clause, sentence, paragraph, subdivision, section, subsection, or portion of this ordinance, or the application thereof to any employer, employee, or circumstance, is held to be invalid, it shall not affect the validity of the remainder of this ordinance, or the validity of its application to other persons or circumstances. Name Di k1a,ler Email and Ph 4110 Raising The Minimum Wage In Renton INITIATIVE PETITION FOR SUBMISSION TO THE RENTON CITY COUNCIL TO: The City Council of the City of Renton: ® sccnsr� 933-M nex�awew.vxm"' We, the undersigned registered voters of the City of Renton, State of Washington, residing at the addresses set forth opposite our respective names, being equal to fifteen percent (15%) of the total number of names of persons listed as registered voters within the City on the day of the last preceding City general election, respectfully request that the following ordinance be enacted by the City Council or, if not so enacted, be submitted to a vote of the residents of the City. The title of the said ordinance is as follows: ORDINANCE CONCERNING LABOR STANDARDS FOR CERTAIN EMPLOYEES A full, true and correct copy of the ordinance is attached to this Petition. Each of us for himself or herself says: I have personally signed this petition; I am a registered voter of the City of Renton, State of Washington; and my residence is correctly stated. Signature Printed Name Street and Number City Phone Number Email Date s `U0ft Printed Name 1234 Anywhere St. ` Renton i 206-555-1234 maria@something.org 4/10/2023 i. _�c ctVte .A -Alt Vvll/2vj oil Renton '� 2. }�"�i`�'.-/ W� � AfwQr Renton ��-vl � �3Zt-1 rkc ►ssQla�9 3. � 7)1 V j ,Renton f os �� Z / ( L1 Z5 Z f�3 Rentonj-308 4. l7) ` fill r x°1ZQ��a,l Lovh �S;oZ`23 s. � �7�( (341 n(—)1t A'1 ' S Renton Z jZ� 6. %C9RJ 57 s 13,-ortwqr ALj Renton 767 S-D 7 Kl-Zero Renton S PUr� n /�t4�/L��[ i� S Renton ��7 �liS'6y i 5121 i Renton r SYv"it��rr� v�. Renton (G665v �uSSelf � �cll�.ia 202� Warning Every person who signs this petition with any other than his or her true name, or who knowingly signs more than one of these petitions, or signs a petition seek- ing an election when he or she is not a legal voter, or signs a petition when he or she is otherwise not qualified to sign, or who makes herein any false statement, shall be guilty of a misdemeanor. 73 AN ORDINANCE concerning labor standards for certain employees. Section 1. Findings. 1. The people of the City of Renton hereby adopt this citizen initiative addressing labor standards for certain employees, for the purpose of ensuring that, to the extent reasonably practicable, people employed in Renton have good wages and access to sufficient hours of work. 2. The City of Renton is one of the largest job centers in Washington State, with thousands of shoppers and workers visiting daily to participate in the local economy. Renton is home to The Landing shopping center, the historic Downtown Urban Center, as well as retail and commercial office and warehouse districts around the Rainier/Grady Way Junction. The City is a net importer ofjobs, with nearly 60,000 employed workers. Renton has a wide may of both long established and new and evolving business sectors. Retail businesses, restaurants and bars, auto sales, hospitality, healthcare, and office workers are well represented. 3. The statewide minimum wage is not sufficient to afford rising rents and costs of living in Renton. According to the National Low Income Housing Coalition's Out of Reach 2022 report, a worker making Washington's minimum wage would have to work 72 hours each week (up from 70 hours each week in 2021) to afford a modest one -bedroom rental home at Fair Market Rent. 4. When working families earn insufficient income due to low wages and involuntary under -employment, they struggle to pay for basic necessities like health care, child care, and groceries, and they are more likely to be evicted and become homeless. 5. Nearby King County cities of SeaTac, Seattle, and Tukwila enacted higher minimum wages in 2013, 2014, and 2022 respectively, but until now Renton has not followed suit. 6. Children growing up in poverty experience insecurity with housing, nutrition, and health care while enduring other hardships that prevent their ability to learn in school. Full time working parents must be able to reasonably provide for their family to ensure access to the opportunities and promise of public education. Section 2. Intent. It is the intent of the people to establish fair labor standards and protect the rights of workers by: (1) ensuring that the vast majority of employees in the City of Renton receive a minimum wage comparable to employees in the nearby cities of Tukwila, SeaTac, and Seattle; (2) requiring covered employers to offer additional hours of work to qualified part-time employees before hiring new employees to fill those hours; and (3) adopting enforcement requirements. Section 3. Large Employers Shall Pay Minimum Wages Comparable to Those in Nearby Cities. 1. Effective July 1, 2024, every large employer shall pay to each employee an hourly wage of not less than the 2023 new minimum wage rate in the City of Tukwila, established by City of Tukwila Initiative Measure No. 1, approved by voters in November 2022, adjusted for 2024 by the annual rate of inflation. 2. On January 1, 2025, and on each January 1 thereafter, the hourly minimum wage shall increase by the ammo] rate of inflation to maintain employee purchasing power. 3. By December 31, 2023, and by October 15 of each year thereafter, the Finance Department shall establish and publish the applicable hourly minimum wage for the following year using the annual rate of inflation. 4. For purposes of this chapter, the annual rate of inflation means 100 percent of the annual average growth rate of the bi-monthly Seattle -Tacoma -Bellevue Area Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers, termed CPI-W, for the 12-month period ending in August, provided that the percentage increase shall not be less than zero. 5. An employer must pay to its employees: a. All tips and gratuities; and b. All service charges as defined under RCW 49.46.160 except those that, pursuant to RCW 49.46.160, are itemized as not being payable to the employee or employees servicing the customer. Tips and service charges paid to an employee are in addition to, and may not count towards, the employee's hourly minimum wage. Section 4. Other Covered Employers Shall Have a Multiyear Phase -In Period. Other covered employers shall phase in the new minimum wage, as follows: 1. Effective July 1, 2024, other covered employers shall pay employees not less than the hourly minimum wage established under Section 3 minus Two Dollars ($2) per hour. 2. Effective July 1, 2025, other covered employers shall pay employees not less than the hourly minimum wage established under Section 3 minus One Dollar ($1) per hour. 3. Effective July 1, 2026, and thereafter, all covered employers shall pay employees not less than the hourly minimum wage established under Section 3. Section 5. Coverage and Employer Classifications. 1. Covered employers must pay employees at least the minimum wage established by this chapter for each hour worked within the City. 2. Employer classification for the current calendar year will be calculated based upon the average number of employees during all weeks in the previous calendar year in which the employer had at ]east one employee. For employers that did not have any employees timing the previous calendar year, classification will be based upon the average number of employees during the most recent three months of the current year. In this determination, all employees will be counted, regardless of thew location, and including employees who worked in full-time employment, part-time employment, joint employment, temporary employment, or through the services of a temporary services or staffing agency or similar entity. 3. Employer classification for the current calendar year will be calculated based upon the gross revenue for the previous year. For employers that did not have gross revenue during the previous calendar year, annual gross revenue will be calculated from the gross revenue during the most recent three months of the current year. 4. For the purposes of employer classification, separate entities will be considered a single employer if they form an integrated enterprise or they are under joint control by one of those entities or a separate entity. The factors to consider in making this assessment include, but are not limited to: a. Degree of interrelation between the operations of multiple entities; b. Degree to which the entities share common management; C. Centralized control of labor relations; and d. Degree of common ownership or financial control over the entities. Section 6. Part -Time Employees Shall Have Fair Access to Additional Hours. 1. Before hiring additional employees or subcontractors, including hiring through the use of temporary services or staffing agencies, covered employers must offer additional horns of work to existing employees who, in the employer's good faith and reasonable judgment, have the skills and experience to perform the work, and shall use a reasonable, transparent, and nondiscriminatory process to distribute the hours of work among those existing employees. 2. This section shall not be construed to require any employer to offer an employee work hours if the employer would be required to compensate the employee at time -and -a -half or other premium rate under any law or collective bargaining agreement, nor to prohibit any employer from offering such work hours. Section 7. Retaliation Prohibited. 1. No employer or any other person shall interfere with, restrain, or deny the exercise of, or the attempt to exercise, any right protected under this chapter. 2. No employer or any other person shall take any adverse action against any person because the person has exercised in good faith the rights under this chapter. Such rights include but are not limited to the right to make inquiries about the rights protected trader this chapter; the right to inform others about their rights under this chapter; the right to inform the person's employer, union, or similar organization, and/or the person's legal counsel or any other person about an alleged violation of this chapter; the right to bring a civil action for an alleged violation of this chapter; the right to testify in a proceeding under or related to this chapter; the right to refuse to participate in an activity that would result in a violation of city, state, or federal law; and the right to oppose any policy, practice, or act that is unlawful under this chapter. 3. For the purposes of this section, an adverse action means denying ajob or promotion, demoting, terminating, failing to rehire after a seasonal interruption of work, threatening, penalizing, retaliating, engaging in unfair immigration -related practices, filing a false report with a government agency, changing an employee's status to nonemployee, decreasing or declining to provide additional work hours when they otherwise would have been offered, scheduling an employee for hours outside of their availability, or otherwise discriminating against any person for any reason prohibited by this chapter. "Adverse action" for an employee may involve any aspect of employment, including pay, work hours, responsibilities, or other material change in the terms and conditions of employment. 4. No employer or any other person shall communicate to a person exercising rights protected under this chapter, directly or indirectly, the willingness to inform a government employee that the person is not lawfully in the United States, or to report, or to make an implied or express assertion of a willingness to report, suspected citizenship or immigration status of the person or a family member of the person to a federal, state, or local agency because the person has exercised a right under this chapter. 5. There shall be a rebuttable presumption of unlawful retaliation if an employer or any other person takes an adverse action against a person within 90 days of the person's exercise of any right protected in this chapter, However, in the case of seasonal work that ended before the close of the 90-day period, the presumption also applies if the employer fails to rehire a former employee at the next opportunity for work in the same position. The employer may rebut the presumption with clear and convincing evidence that the adverse action was taken for a permissible purpose. 6. Standard of Proof. Proof of retaliation under this chapter shall be sufficient upon a showing that an employer or any other person has taken an adverse action against a person and the person's exercise of rights protected in this chapter was a motivating factor in the adverse action, unless the employer can prove that the action would have been taken in the absence of such protected activity. 7. The protections afforded under this section shall apply to any person who mistakenly but in good faith alleges violations of this chapter. Section S. Enforcement. 1. Any person or class of persons that suffers financial injury as a result of a violation of this chapter or is the subject of prohibited retaliation under this chapter, or any other individual or entity acting on their behalf, may bring a civil action in a court of competent jurisdiction against the employer or other person violating this chapter and, upon prevailing, shall be awarded reasonable attorney fees and costs and such legal or equitable relief as may be appropriate to remedy the violation including, without limitation, the payment of any unpaid wages plus interest due to the person and liquidated damages in an additional amount of up to twice the unpaid wages; compensatory damages; and a penalty payable to any aggrieved party of up to $5,000 if the aggrieved party was subject to prohibited retaliation. For the purposes of this section, an aggrieved party means an employee or other person who suffers tangible or intangible harm due to an employer or other person's violation of this chapter. Interest shall accrue from the date the unpaid wages were first due at the higher of twelve percent per arum or the maximum rate permitted under RCW 19.52.020. 2. For purposes of determining membership within a class of persons entitled to bring an action under this section, two or more employees are similarly situated if they: a. Are or were employed by the same employer or employers, whether concurrently or otherwise, at some point during the applicable statute of limitations period; b. Allege one or more violations that raise similar questions as to liability; and C. Seek similar forms of relief, d. Employees shall not be considered dissimilar solely because their claims seek damages that differ in meant, or theirjob titles or other means of classifying employees differ in ways that are unrelated to their claims. 3. Each covered employer shall retain records as required by RCW 49.46.070, as well as such information as the City may require to confirm compliance with this chapter. If an employer fails to retain such records, there shall be a presumption, rebuttable by clear and convincing evidence, that the employer violated this chapter for the periods and for each employee for whom records were not retained. 4. Employers shall permit authorized City representatives access to work sites and relevant records for the purpose of monitoring compliance with the chapter and investigating complaints of noncompliance, including production for inspection and copying of employment records. The City may designate representatives, including city contractors and representatives of unions or worker advocacy organizations, to access the worksite and relevant records. 5. Complaints that any provision of this chapter has been violated may also be presented to the City Attorney, who is hereby authorized to investigate and, if they deem appropriate, initiate legal or other action to remedy any violation of this chapter. 6. The City has the authority to issue administrative citations and to order injunctive relief including reinstatement, restitution, payment of back wages, or other forms of relief. 7. The City may, in the exercise of its authority and performance of its functions and services, agree by contract or otherwise to participate jointly or in cooperation with Washington State, King County, or any city, town, or other incorporated place, or subdivision thereof, or engage outside counsel, to enforce this chapter. 8. The remedies and penalties provided under this chapter are cumulative and are not intended to be exclusive of any other available remedies or penalties, including existing remedies for enforcement of Renton Municipal Code chapters. 9. The statute of limitations for any enforcement action shall be five (5) years. Section 9. A new section is added to Renton Municipal Code (RMC) Section 5-5.4 as follows: l . The Finance Director may deny, suspend, or revoke any license under this chapter for violation of this ordinance. 2. The Finance Director must deny, suspend, or revoke any license under this chapter for repeated intentional violations of this ordinance. 3. Any action by the Finance Director under this section shall be subject to the procedures and requirements of RMC subsection 5-5-3.E, as well as other due process rights that a court may require. Section 10. Definitions. For the purposes of this chapter, the following terms shall have the following meanings: "City" means the City of Renton. "Covered employer" means an employer that either (1) employs at least 15 employees regardless of where those employees are employed, or (2) has annual gross revenue over $2 million. "Effective date" is the effective date of this ordinance. "Employee" is defined as set forth in RCW 49.46.010. An employer bears the burden of proof that the individual is, as a matter of economic reality, in business for oneself rather than dependent upon the alleged employer. "Employer" is defined as set forth in RCW 49.46.010. "Employer classification" includes the determination of whether an employer is a covered employer and whether a covered employer is a large employer. "Franchise" means an agreement, express or implied, oral or written by which: 1. A person is granted the right to engage in the business of offering, selling, or distributing goods or services under a marketing plan prescribed or suggested in substantial part by the grantor or its affiliate; 2. The operation of the business is substantially associated with a trademark, service mark, trade time, advertising, or other commercial symbol; designating, owned by, or licensed by the grantor or its affiliate; and 3. The person pays, agrees to pay, or is required to pay, directly or indirectly, a franchise fee. The term, "franchise fee" is meant to be construed broadly to include any instance in which the grantor or its affiliate derives income or profit from a person who enters into a franchise agreement with the grantor. "Hour worked within the City" is to be interpreted according to its ordinary meaning, including all hours worked within the geographic boundaries of the City, excluding time spent in the City solely for the purpose of traveling through the City from a point of origin outside the City to a destination outside the City, with no employment -related or commercial stops in the City except for refueling or the employee's personal meals or errands. "Large Employer" means all employers that employ more than 500 employees, regardless of where those employees are employed, and all franchisees associated with a franchisor or a network of franchises with franchisees that employ more than 500 employees in aggregate. "Other covered employer" means a covered employer that does not qualify as a large employer. "Service charge" is defined as set forth in RCW 49.46.160(2)(c). "Tips" means a verifiable sum to be presented by a customer as a gift or gratuity in recognition of some service performed for the customer by the employee receiving the tip. "Wage" is defined as set forth in RCW 49.46.010. Section 11. Other Legal Requirements. This ordinance shall not be construed to preempt, limit, or otherwise affect the applicability of any other law, regulation, requirement, policy, or standard that provides for greater wages or compensation; and nothing in this ordinance shall be interpreted or applied so as to create any power or duty in conflict with federal or state law. Section 12. Rulemaking. Within 180 days after the effective date, the City shall adopt rules and procedures to implement and ensure compliance with this chapter, which shall require employers to maintain adequate records and to annually certify compliance with this chapter, The City shall seek feedback from worker organizations and covered employers before finalizing the rules and procedures. Section 13. Constitutional Subject. For constitutional purposes, this measure's subject "concerns labor standards for certain employers." See Filo Foods, LLC v. City of SeaTac, 183 Wash. 2d 770, 783, 357 P.3d 1040, 1047 (2015) (upholding this statement of subject for an initiative that set a minimum wage and addressed employees' access to hours). Section 14. Codification. All sections of this ordinance except section 9 shall be codified in a new chapter of the Renton Municipal Code. Section 15. Election date. In the event that the election on this measure takes place later than November 7, 2023, the Finance Department must establish and publish the initial minimum wage within 30 days of the effective date. Section 16. Severability. The provisions of this ordinance are declared to be separate and severable. If any clause, sentence, paragraph, subdivision, section, subsection, or portion of this ordinance, or the application thereof to any employer, employee, or circumstance, is held to be invalid, it shall not affect the validity of the remainder of this ordinance, or the validity of its application to other persons or circumstances. 4111 Raising The Minimum Wage In Renton INITIATIVE PETITION FOR SUBMISSION TO THE RENTON CITY COUNCIL TO: The City Council of the City of Renton: ® GCC/IBT 933-M We, the undersigned registered voters of the City of Renton, State of Washington, residing at the addresses set forth opposite our respective names, being equal to fifteen percent (15%) of the total number of names of persons listed as registered voters within the City on the day of the last preceding City general election, respectfully request that the following ordinance be enacted by the City Council or, if not so enacted, be submitted to a vote of the residents of the City. The title of the said ordinance is as follows: ORDINANCE CONCERNING LABOR STANDARDS FOR CERTAIN EMPLOYEES A full, true and correct copy of the ordinance is attached to this Petition. Each of us for himself or herself says: I have personally signed this petition; I am a registered voter of the City of Renton, State of Washington; and my residence is correctly stated. Signature Printed Name Street and Number City Phone Number Email Date Printed Name 1234 Anywhere St. Renton 206-555-1234 maria@something.org 4/10/2023 W\C) l 6(S / Renton 9'7 Zvi (wi-A-1 UALU, 2. LVA IQ-)05n Renton 5-(�02-33fo1 }�ke.b� �al, con 3�2� 3. Renton � � �7_ 4.t�Cy491 �} cJe S� Renton Gf2S 8`1 d 77� S�3/z 5. (�V S' �✓vr Renton "s Renton 3 23 7. �UwS �nJ� �V J��� Renton ������ �3(2� 8. i' 4 '- f C �C✓ �i��i0 ��� �� !� Renton 9. �Fi�Z. �fD� "7T Renton �C) to. ✓4��1�%' 12C%� /v iG��� :I Renton V/Z t65/'i3/�j Warning Every person who signs this petition with any other than his or her true name, or who knowingly signs more than one of these petitions, or signs a petition seek- ing an election when he or she is not a legal voter, or signs a petition when he or she is otherwise not qualified to sign, or who makes herein any false statement, shall be guilty of a misdemeanor. AN ORDINANCE concerning labor standards for certain employees. Section 1. Findings. 1. The people of the City of Renton hereby adopt this citizen initiative addressing labor standards for certain employees, for the purpose of ensuring that, to the extent reasonably practicable, people employed in Renton have good wages and access to sufficient hours of work. 2. The City of Renton is one of the largest job centers in Washington State, with thousands of shoppers and workers visiting daily to participate in the local economy. Renton is home to The Landing shopping center, the historic Downtown Urban Center, as well as retail and commercial office and warehouse districts around the Rainier/Grady Way Junction. The City is a net importer ofjobs, with nearly 60,000 employed workers. Renton has a wide array of both long established and new and evolving business sectors. Retail businesses, restaurants and bus, auto sales, hospitality, healthcare, and office workers are well represented. 3. The statewide minimum wage is not sufficient to afford rising rents and costs of living in Renton. According to the National Low Income Housing Coalition's Out of Reach 2022 report, a worker making Washington's minimum wage would have to work 72 hours each week (up from 70 hours each week in 2021) to afford a modest one -bedroom rental home at Fair Market Rent. 4. When working families earn insufficient income due to low wages and involuntary under -employment, they struggle to pay for basic necessities like health care, child care, and groceries, and they are more likely to be evicted and become homeless. 5. Nearby King County cities of SeaTac, Seattle, and Tukwila enacted higher minimum wages in 2013, 2014, and 2022 respectively, but until now Renton has not followed suit. 6. Children growing up in poverty experience insecurity with housing, nutrition, and health care while enduring other hardships that prevent their ability to learn in school. Full time working parents must be able to reasonably provide for their family to ensure access to the opportunities and promise of public education. Section 2. Intent. It is the intent of the people to establish fair labor standards and protect the rights of workers by: (1) ensuring that the vast majority of employees in the City of Renton receive a minimum wage comparable to employees in the nearby cities of Tukwila, SeaTac, and Seattle; (2) requiring covered employers to offer additional hours of work to qualified part-time employees before hiring new employees to fill those hours; and (3) adopting enforcement requirements. Section 3. Large Employers Shall Pay Minimum Wages Comparable to Those in Nearby Cities. 1. Effective July 1, 2024, every large employer shall pay to each employee an hourly wage of not less than the 2023 new minimum wage rate in the City of Tukwila, established by City of Tukwila Initiative Measure No. 1, approved by voters in November 2022, adjusted for 2024 by the annual rate of inflation. 2. On January 1, 2025, and on each January I thereafter, the hourly minimum wage shall increase by the annual rate of inflation to maintain employee purchasing power. 3. By December 31, 2023, and by October 15 of each year thereafter, the Finance Department shall establish and publish the applicable hourly minimum wage for the following year using the annual rate of inflation. 4. For purposes of this chapter, the annual rate of inflation means 100 percent of the annual average growth rate of the bi-monthly Seattle -Tacoma -Bellevue Area Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers, termed CPI-W, for the 12-month period ending in August, provided that the percentage increase shall not be less than zero. 5. An employer must pay to its employees: a. All tips and gratuities; and b. All service charges as defined under RCW 49.46.160 except those that, pursuant to RCW 49,46.160, are itemized as not being payable to the employee or employees servicing the customer. Tips and service charges paid to an employee are in addition to, and may not count towards, the employee's hourly minimum wage. Section 4. Other Covered Employers Shall Have a Multiyear Phase -In Period. Other covered employers shall phase in the new minimum wage, as follows: 1. Effective July 1, 2024, other covered employers shall pay employees not less than the hourly minimum wage established under Section 3 minus Two Dollars ($2) per hour. 2. Effective July 1, 2025, other covered employers shall pay employees not less than the hourly minimum wage established under Section 3 minus One Dollar ($1) per hour. 3. Effective July 1, 2026, and thereafter, all covered employers shall pay employees not less than the hourly minimum wage established under Section 3. Section 5. Coverage and Employer Classifications. 1. Covered employers must pay employees at least the minimum wage established by this chapter for each hour worked within the City. 2. Employer classification for the current calendar year will be calculated based upon the average number of employees during all weeks in the previous calendar year in which the employer had at least one employee. For employers that did not have any employees during the previous calendar year, classification will be based upon the average number of employees during the most recent three months of the current year. In this determination, all employees will be counted, regardless of their location, and including employees who worked in full-time employment, part-time employment, joint employment, temporary employment, or through the services of a temporary services or staffing agency or similar entity. 3. Employer classification for the current calendar year will be calculated based upon the gross revenue for the previous year. For employers that did not have gross revenue during the previous calendar year, annual gross revenue will be calculated from the gross revenue during the most recent three months of the current year. 4. For the purposes of employer classification, separate entities will be considered a single employer if they form an integrated enterprise or they me under joint control by one of those entities or a separate entity. The factors to consider in making this assessment include, but are not limited to: a. Degree of interrelation between the operations of multiple entities; b. Degree to which the entities share common management; C. Centralized control of labor relations; and d. Degree of common ownership or financial control over the entities. Section 6. Part -Time Employees Shall Have Fair Access to Additional Hours. 1. Before hiring additional employees or subcontractors, including hiring through the use of temporary services or staffing agencies, covered employers must offer additional hours of work to existing employees who, in the employer's good faith and reasonable judgment, have the skills and experience to perform the work, and shall use a reasonable, transparent, and nondiscriminatory process to distribute the hours of work among those existing employees. 2. This section shall not be construed to require any employer to offer an employee work hours if the employer would be required to compensate the employee at time -and -a -half or other premium rate under any law or collective bargaining agreement, nor to prohibit any employer from offering such work hours. Section 7. Retaliation Prohibited. I. No employer or any other person shall interfere with, restrain, or deny the exercise of, or the attempt to exercise, any right protected under this chapter. 2. No employer or any other person shall take any adverse action against any person because the person has exercised in good faith the rights under this chapter. Such rights include but are not limited to the right to make inquiries about the rights protected under this chapter; the right to inform others about their rights under this chapter; the right to inform the person's employer, union, or similar organization, and/or the person's legal counsel or any other person about an alleged violation of this chapter; the right to bring a civil action for an alleged violation of this chapter; the right to testify in a proceeding under or related to this chapter', the right to refuse to participate in an activity that would result in a violation of city, state, or federal law; and the right to oppose any policy, practice, or act that is unlawful under this chapter. 3. For the purposes of this section, an adverse action means denying ajob or promotion, demoting, terminating, failing to rehire after a seasonal interruption of work, threatening, penalizing, retaliating, engaging in unfair immigration -related practices, filing a false report with a government agency, changing an employee's status to nonemployee, decreasing or declining to provide additional work hours when they otherwise would have been offered, scheduling an employee for hours outside of their availability, or otherwise discriminating against any person for any reason prohibited by this chapter. "Adverse action" for an employee may involve any aspect of employment, including pay, work hours, responsibilities, or other material change in the terms and conditions of employment. 4. No employer or any other person shall communicate to a person exercising rights protected under this chapter, directly or indirectly, the willingness to inform a government employee that the person is not lawfully in the United States, or to report, or to make an implied or express assertion of a willingness to report, suspected citizenship or immigration status of the person or a family member of the person to a federal, state, or local agency because the person has exercised a right under this chapter. 5. There shall be a rebuttable presumption of unlawful retaliation if an employer or any other person takes an adverse action against a person within 90 days of the person's exercise of any right protected in this chapter. However, in the case of seasonal work that ended before the close of the 90-day period, the presumption also applies if the employer fails to rehire a former employee at the next opportunity for work in the same position. The employer may rebut the presumption with clear and convincing evidence that the adverse action was taken for a permissible purpose. 6. Standard of Proof. Proof of retaliation under this chapter shall be sufficient upon a showing that an employer or any other person has taken an adverse action against a person and the person's exercise of rights protected in this chapter was a motivating factor in the adverse action, unless the employer can prove that the action would have been taken in the absence of such protected activity. 7. The protections afforded under this section shall apply to any person who mistakenly but in good faith alleges violations of this chapter. Section 8. Enforcement. 1. Any person or class of persons that suffers financial injury as a result of a violation of this chapter or is the subject of prohibited retaliation under this chapter, or any other individual or entity acting on their behalf, may bring a civil action in a court of competent jurisdiction against the employer or other person violating this chapter and, upon prevailing, shall be awarded reasonable attorney fees and costs and such legal or equitable relief as may be appropriate to remedy the violation including, without limitation, the payment of any unpaid wages plus interest due to the person and liquidated damages in an additional amount of up to twice the unpaid wages; compensatory damages; and a penalty payable to any aggrieved party of up to $5,000 if the aggrieved party was subject to prohibited retaliation. For the purposes of this section, an aggrieved party means an employee or other person who suffers tangible or intangible harm due to an employer or other person's violation of this chapter. Interest shall accrue from the date the unpaid wages were first due at the higher of twelve percent per annum or the maximum rate permitted under RCW 19.52.020. 2. For purposes of determining membership within a class of persons entitled to bring an action under this section, two or more employees are similarly situated if they: a. Are or were employed by the same employer or employers, whether concurrently or otherwise, at some point during the applicable statute of limitations period; b. Allege one or more violations that raise similar questions as to liability; and C. Seek similar forms of relief. d. Employees shall not be considered dissimilar solely because their claims seek damages that differ in meant, or their job titles or other means of classifying employees differ in ways that we unrelated to their claims. 3. Each covered employer shall retain records as required by RCW 49.46.070, as well as such information as the City may require to confirm compliance with this chapter. If an employer fails to retain such records, there shall be a presumption, rebuttable by clear and convincing evidence, that the employer violated this chapter for the periods and for each employee for whom records were not retained. 4. Employers shall permit authorized City representatives access to work sites and relevant records for the purpose of monitoring compliance with the chapter and investigating complaints of noncompliance, including production for inspection and copying of employment records. The City may designate representatives, including city contractors and representatives of unions or worker advocacy organizations, to access the worksite and relevant records. 5. Complaints that any provision of this chapter has been violated may also be presented to the City Attorney, who is hereby authorized to investigate and, if they deem appropriate, initiate legal or other action to remedy any violation of this chapter. 6. The City has the authority to issue administrative citations and to order injunctive relief including reinstatement, restitution, payment of back wages, or other forms of relief. 7. The City may, in the exercise of its authority and performance of its functions and services, agree by contract or otherwise to participate jointly or in cooperation with Washington State, King County, or any city, town, or other incorporated place, or subdivision thereof, or engage outside counsel, to enforce this chapter. 8. The remedies and penalties provided under this chapter are cumulative and are not intended to be exclusive of any other available remedies or penalties, including existing remedies for enforcement of Renton Municipal Code chapters. 9. The statute of limitations for any enforcement action shall be five (5) years. Section 9. A new section is added to Renton Municipal Code (RMC) Section 5-5-4 as follows: I . The Finance Director may deny, suspend, or revoke any license under this chapter for violation of this ordinance. 2. The Finance Director must deny, suspend, or revoke any license under this chapter for repeated intentional violations of this ordinance. 3. Any action by the Finance Director under this section shall be subject to the procedures and requirements of RMC subsection 5-5-3.E, as well as other due process rights that a court may require. Section 10. Definitions. For the purposes of this chapter, the following terms shall have the following meanings: "City" means the City of Renton. "Covered employer" means an employer that either (1) employs at least 15 employees regardless of where those employees are employed, or (2) has annual gross revenue over $2 million. "Effective date" is the effective date of this ordinance. "Employee" is defined as set forth in RCW 49.46.010. An employer bears the burden of proof that the individual is, as a matter of economic reality, in business for oneself rather than dependent upon the alleged employer. "Employer" is defined as set forth in RCW 49.46.010. "Employer classification" includes the determination of whether an employer is a covered employer and whether a covered employer is a large employer. "Franchise" means an agreement, express or implied, oral or written by which: 1. A person is granted the right to engage in the business of offering, selling, or distributing goods or services under a marketing plan prescribed or suggested in substantial part by the grantor or its affiliate; 2. The operation of business is substantially associated with a trademark, service mark, trade time, advertising, or other commercial symbol; designating, owned by, or licensed by the grantor or its affiliate; and 3. The person pays, agrees to pay, or is required to pay, directly or indirectly, a franchise fee. The tern, "franchise fee" is meant to be construed broadly to include any instance in which the grantor or its affiliate derives income or profit from a person who enters into a franchise agreement with the grantor. "Hour worked within the City" is to be interpreted according to its ordinary meaning, including all hours worked within the geographic boundaries of the City, excluding time spent in the City solely for the purpose of traveling through the City from a point of origin outside the City to a destination outside the City, with no employment -related or commercial stops in the City except for refueling or the employee's personal meals or errands. "Large Employer" means all employers that employ more than 500 employees, regardless of where those employees are employed, and all franchisees associated with a franchisor or a network of franchises with franchisees that employ more than 500 employees in aggregate. "Other covered employer" means a covered employer that does not qualify as a large employer. "Service charge" is defined as set forth in RCW 49.46.160(2)(c). "Tips" means a verifiable sum to be presented by a customer as a gift or gratuity in recognition of some service performed for the customer by the employee receiving the tip. "Wage" is defined as set forth in RCW 49.46.010. Section 11. Other Legal Requirements. This ordinance shall not be construed to preempt, limit, or otherwise affect the applicability of any other law, regulation, requirement, policy, or standard that provides for greater wages or compensation; and nothing in this ordinance shall be interpreted or applied so as to create any power or duty in conflict with federal or state law. Section 12. Rulemaking. Within 180 days after the effective date, the City shall adopt rules and procedures to implement and ensure compliance with this chapter, which shall require employers to maintain adequate records and to annually certify compliance with this chapter. The City shall seek feedback from worker organizations and covered employers before finalizing the rules and procedures. Section 13. Constitutional Subject. For constitutional purposes, this measure's subject `concerns labor standards for certain employers." See Filo Foods, LLC v. City of SeaTac, 183 Wash. 2d 770, 783, 357 P.3d 1040, 1047 (2015) (upholding this statement of subjectfor an initiative that set a minimum wage and addressed employees' access to hours). Section 14. Codification. All sections of this ordinance except section 9 shall be codified in a new chapter of the Renton Municipal Code. Section 15. Election date. In the event that the election on this measure takes place later than November 7, 2023, the Finance Department must establish and publish the initial minimum wage within 30 days of the effective date. Section 16. Severability. The provisions of this ordinance are declared to be separate and severable. If any clause, sentence, paragraph, subdivision, section, subsection, or portion of this ordinance, or the application thereof to any employer, employee, or circumstance, is held to be invalid, it shall not affect the validity of the remainder of this ordinance, or the validity of its application to other persons or circumstances. . Name Of Canvasser: Date Canvassed: 'vasser Email and Phone Number: Raising The Minimum Wage In Renton 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. s. 9. 10. INITIATIVE PETITION FOR SUBMISSION TO THE RENTON CITY COUNCIL TO: The City Council of the City of Renton: ®—yccne� 933-M We, the undersigned registered voters of the City of Renton, State of Washington, residing at the addresses set forth opposite our respective names, being equal to fifteen percent (15%) of the total number of names of persons listed as registered voters within the City on the day of the last preceding City general election, respectfully request that the following ordinance be enacted by the City Council or, if not so enacted, be submitted to a vote of the residents of the City. The title of the said ordinance is as follows: ORDINANCE CONCERNING LABOR STANDARDS FOR CERTAIN EMPLOYEES A full, true and correct copy of the ordinance is attached to this Petition. Each of us for himself or herself says: I have personally signed this petition; I am a registered voter of the City of Renton, State of Washington; and my residence is correctly stated. Signature Printed Name Street and Number city Phone Number Email Date 5`Um5'r Printed Name 1234 Anywhere St. Renton 206-555-1234 maria@something.org 4/10/2023 W(q'ij .... ``- Renton VIVY ale V t L� `� �qqe i 1 611- �4 Renton Z 6 Va �i I C`e lsQ� P50 dU I Vl Ax Renton ���7f ��� ��� 20 � I /� Renton 4 C ` G Renton 1F 9�G�YeY���ii�o' {-�bGt ��f Z%GiYvl� s Renton ���6 �5 C, Z3 I L+ pU ael 4 A Renton Gt f K�V)Yl (,4--)2J P6AseF Renton 2- 2,-22% 1 S 2 Z.-3 C J� '1 ✓ �V�(�1� Renton 5(02Z1T 3 �0�✓� CJ�-4J1_ ��ID MbVV`1 /, 51 Renton �Z'7 Warning Every person who signs this petition with any other than his or her true name, or who knowingly signs more than one of these petitions, or signs a petition seek- ing an election when he or she is not a legal voter, or signs a petition when he or she is otherwise not qualified to sign, or who makes herein any false statement, shall be guilty of a misdemeanor. AN ORDINANCE concerning labor standards for certain employees. Section 1. Findings. 1. The people of the City of Renton hereby adopt this citizen initiative addressing labor standards for certain employees, for the purpose of ensuring that, to the extent reasonably practicable, people employed in Renton have good wages and access to sufficient hours of work. 2. The City of Renton is one of the largest job centers in Washington State, with thousands of shoppers and workers visiting daily to participate in the local economy. Renton is home to The Landing shopping center, the historic Downtown Urban Center, as well as retail and commercial office and warehouse districts around the Rainier/Grady Way Junction. The City is a net importer ofjobs, with nearly 60,000 employed workers. Renton has a wide may of both long established and new and evolving business sectors. Retail businesses, restaurants and bars, auto sales, hospitality, healthcare, and office workers are well represented. 3. The statewide minimum wage is not sufficient to afford rising rents and costs of living in Renton. According to the National Low Income Housing Coalition's Out of Reach 2022 report, a worker making Washington's minimum wage would have to work 72 hours each week (up from 70 hours each week in 2021) to afford a modest one -bedroom rental home at Fair Market Rent. 4. When working families earn insufficient income due to low wages and involuntary under -employment, they struggle to pay for basic necessities like health care, child care, and groceries, and they are more likely to be evicted and become homeless. 5. Nearby King County cities of SeaTac, Seattle, and Tukwila enacted higher minimum wages in 2013, 2014, and 2022 respectively, but until now Renton has not followed suit. 6. Children growing up in poverty experience insecurity with housing, nutrition, and health cue while enduring other hardships that prevent their ability to learn in school. Full time working parents must be able to reasonably provide for their family to ensure access to the opportunities and promise of public education. Section 2. Intent. It is the intent of the people to establish fair labor standards and protect the rights of workers by: (1) ensuring that the vast majority of employees in the City of Renton receive a minimum wage comparable to employees in the nearby cities of Tukwila, SeaTac, and Seattle; (2) requiring covered employers to offer additional hours of work to qualified part-time employees before hiring new employees to fill those hours; and (3) adopting enforcement requirements. Section 3. Large Employers Shall Pay Minimum Wages Comparable to Those in Nearby Cities. 1. Effective July 1, 2024, every large employer shall pay to each employee an hourly wage of not less than the 2023 new minimum wage rate in the City of Tukwila, established by City of Tukwila Initiative Measure No. 1, approved by voters in November 2022, adjusted for 2024 by the annual rate of inflation. 2. On January 1, 2025, and on each January 1 thereafter, the hourly minimum wage shall increase by the annual rate of inflation to maintain employee purchasing power. 3. By December 31, 2023, and by October 15 of each year thereafter, the Finance Department shall establish and publish the applicable hourly minimum wage for the following year using the annual rate of inflation. 4. For purposes of this chapter, the annual rate of inflation means 100 percent of the annual average growth rate of the bi-monthly Seattle -Tacoma -Bellevue Area Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Farmers and Clerical Workers, termed CPI-W, for the 12-month period ending in August, provided that the percentage increase shall not be less than zero. 5. An employer must pay to its employees: a. All tips and gratuities; and b. All service charges as defined under RCW 49.46.160 except those that, pursuant to RCW 49.46.160, are itemized as not being payable to the employee or employees servicing the customer. Tips and service charges paid to an employee are in addition to, and may not count towards, the employee's hourly minimum wage. Section 4. Other Covered Employers Shall Have a Multiyear Phase -In Period. Other covered employers shall phase in the new minimum wage, as follows: 1. Effective July 1, 2024, other covered employers shall pay employees not less than the hourly minimum wage established under Section 3 minus Two Dollars ($2) per how. 2. Effective July 1, 2025, other covered employers shall pay employees not less than the hourly minimum wage established under Section 3 minus One Dollar ($1) per how. 3. Effective July I, 2026, and thereafter, all covered employers shall pay employees not less than the hourly minimum wage established under Section 3. Section 5. Coverage and Employer Classifications. 1. Covered employers must pay employees at least the minimum wage established by this chapter for each how worked within the City. 2. Employer classification for the current calendar year will be calculated based upon the average number of employees during all weeks in the previous calendar year in which the employer had at least one employee. For employers that did not have any employees during the previous calendar year, classification will be based upon the average number of employees during the most recent three months of the current year. In this determination, all employees will be counted, regardless of their location, and including employees who worked in full-time employment, part-time employment, joint employment, temporary employment, or through the services of a temporary services or staffing agency or similar entity. 3. Employer classification for the current calendar year will be calculated based upon the gross revenue for the previous year. For employers that did not have gross revenue during the previous calendar year, annual gross revenue will be calculated from the gross revenue during the most recent three months of the current year. 4. For the purposes of employer classification, separate entities will be considered a single employer if they farm an integrated enterprise or they are under joint control by one of those entities or a separate entity. The factors to consider in making this assessment include, but are not limited to: a. Degree of interrelation between the operations of multiple entities; b. Degree to which the entities share common management C. Centralized control of labor relations; and d. Degree of common ownership or financial control over the entities. Section 6. Part -Time Employees Shall Have Fair Access to Additional Hours. 1. Before hiring additional employees or subcontractors, including hiring through the use of temporary services or staffing agencies, covered employers must offer additional hours of work to existing employees who, in the employer's good faith and reasonable judgment, have the skills and experience to perform the work, and shall use a reasonable, transparent, and nondiscriminatory process to distribute the hours of work among those existing employees. 2. This section shall not be construed to require any employer to offer an employee work hours if the employer would be required to compensate the employee at time -and -a -half or other premium rate under any law or collective bargaining agreement, nor to prohibit any employer from offering such work hours. Section 7. Retaliation Prohibited. 1. No employer or any other person shall interfere with, restrain, or deny the exercise of, or the attempt to exercise, any right protected under this chapter. 2. No employer or any other person shall take any adverse action against any person because the person has exercised in good faith the rights under this chapter. Such rights include but we not limited to the right to make inquiries about the rights protected under this chapter; the right to inform others about their rights under this chapter, the right to inform the person's employer, union, or similar organization, and/or the person's legal counsel or any other person about an alleged violation of this chapter; the right to bring a civil action for an alleged violation of this chapter; the right to testify in a proceeding under or related to this chapter; the right to refuse to participate in an activity that would result in a violation of city, state, or federal law; and the right to oppose any policy, practice, or act that is unlawful under this chapter. 3. For the purposes of this section, an adverse action means denying a job or promotion, demoting, terminating, failing to rehire after a seasonal interruption of work, threatening, penalizing, retaliating, engaging in unfair immigration -related practices, filing a false report with a government agency, changing an employee's status to nonemployee, decreasing or declining to provide additional work hours when they otherwise would have been offered, scheduling an employee for hours outside of their availability, or otherwise discriminating against any person for any reason prohibited by this chapter, "Adverse action" for an employee may involve any aspect of employment, including pay, work hours, responsibilities, or other material change in the terms and conditions of employment. 4. No employer or any other person shall communicate to a person exercising rights protected under this chapter, directly or indirectly, the willingness to inform a government employee that the person is not lawfully in the United States, or to report, or to make an implied or express assertion of a willingness to report, suspected citizenship or immigration status of the person or a family member of the person to a federal, state, or local agency because the person has exercised a right under this chapter. 5. There shall be a rebuttable presumption of unlawful retaliation if an employer or any other person takes an adverse action against a person within 90 days of the person's exercise of any right protected in this chapter. However, in the case of seasonal work that ended before the close of the 90-day period, the presumption also applies if the employer fails to rehire a former employee at the next opportunity for work in the same position. The employer may rebut the presumption with clear and convincing evidence that the adverse action was taken for a permissible purpose. 6. Standard of Proof. Proof of retaliation under this chapter shall be sufficient upon a showing that an employer or any other person has taken an adverse action against a person and the person's exercise of rights protected in this chapter was a motivating factor in the adverse action, unless the employer can prove that the action would have been taken in the absence of such protected activity. 7. The protections afforded under this section shall apply to any person who mistakenly but in good faith alleges violations of this chapter. Section 8. Enforcement. 1. Any person or class of persons that suffers financial injury as a result of a violation of this chapter or is the subject of prohibited retaliation under this chapter, or any other individual or entity acting on their behalf, may bring a civil action in a court of competent jurisdiction against the employer or other person violating this chapter and, upon prevailing, shall be awarded reasonable attorney fees and costs and such legal or equitable relief as may be appropriate to remedy the violation including, without limitation, the payment of any unpaid wages plus interest due to the person and liquidated damages in an additional amount of up to twice the unpaid wages; compensatory damages; and a penalty payable to any aggrieved party of up to $5,000 if the aggrieved party was subject to prohibited retaliation. For the purposes of this section, an aggrieved party means an employee or other person who suffers tangible or intangible harm due to an employer or other person's violation of this chapter. Interest shall accrue from the date the unpaid wages were first due at the higher of twelve percent per arum or the maximum rate permitted under RCW 19.52.020. 2. For purposes of determining membership within a class of persons entitled to bring an action under this section, two or more employees are similarly situated if they: a. Are or were employed by the same employer or employers, whether concurrently or otherwise, at some point during the applicable statute of limitations period; b. Allege one or more violations that raise similar questions as to liability; and C. Seek similar forms of relief. d. Employees shall not be considered dissimilar solely because their claims seek damages that differ in amount, or their job titles or other means of classifying employees differ in ways that are unrelated to their claims. 3. Each covered employer shall retain records as required by RCW 49.46.070, as well as such information as the City may require to confirm compliance with this chapter. If an employer fails to retain such records, there shall be a presumption, rebuttable by clear and convincing evidence, that the employer violated this chapter for the periods and for each employee for whom records were not retained. 4. Employers shall permit authorized City representatives access to work sites and relevant records for the purpose of monitoring compliance with the chapter and investigating complaints of noncompliance, including production for inspection and copying of employment records. The City may designate representatives, including city contractors and representatives of unions or worker advocacy organizations, to access the worksite and relevant records. 5. Complaints that any provision of this chapter has been violated may also be presented to the City Attorney, who is hereby authorized to investigate and, if they deem appropriate, initiate legal or other action to remedy any violation of this chapter. 6. The City has the authority to issue administrative citations and to order injunctive relief including reinstatement, restitution, payment of back wages, or other forms of relief. 7. The City may, in the exercise of its authority and performance of its functions and services, agree by contract or otherwise to participate jointly or in cooperation with Washington State, King County, or any city, town, or other incorporated place, or subdivision thereof, or engage outside counsel, to enforce this chapter. 8. The remedies and penalties provided under this chapter are cumulative and are not intended to be exclusive of any other available remedies or penalties, including existing remedies for enforcement of Renton Municipal Code chapters. 9. The statute of limitations for any enforcement action shall be five (5) years. Section 9. A new section is added to Renton Municipal Code (RMC) Section 5-5-4 as follows: 1. The Finance Director may deny, suspend, or revoke any license under this chapter for violation of this ordinance. 2. The Finance Director must deny, suspend, or revoke any license under this chapter for repeated intentional violations of this ordinance. 3. Any action by the Finance Director under this section shall be subject to the procedures and requirements of RMC subsection 5-5-3.E, as. well as other due process rights that a court may require. Section 10. Definitions. For the purposes of this chapter, the following terms shall have the following meanings: "City" means the City of Renton. "Covered employer" means an employer that either (1) employs at least 15 employees regardless of where those employees are employed, or (2) has annual gross revenue over $2 million. "Effective date" is the effective date of this ordinance. "Employee" is defined as set forth in RCW 49.46.010. An employer bears the burden of proof that the individual is, as a matter of economic reality, in business for oneself rather than dependent upon the alleged employer. "Employer" is defined as set forth in RCW 49.46.010. "Employer classification" includes the determination of whether an employer is a covered employer and whether a covered employer is a large employer. "Franchise" means an agreement, express or implied, oral or written by which: 1. A person is granted the right to engage in the business of offering, selling, or distributing goods or services under a marketing plan prescribed or suggested in substantial part by the grantor or its affiliate; 2. The operation of the business is substantially associated with a trademark, service mark, trade time, advertising, or other commercial symbol; designating, owned by, or licensed by the grantor or its affiliate; and 3. The person pays, agrees to pay, or is required to pay, directly or indirectly, a franchise fee. The term, "franchise fee" is meant to be construed broadly to include any instance in which the grantor or its affiliate derives income or profit from a person who enters into a franchise agreement with the grantor. "How worked within the City" is to be interpreted according to its ordinary meaning, including all hours worked within the geographic boundaries of the City, excluding time spent in the City solely for the purpose of traveling through the City from a point of origin outside the City to a destination outside the City, with no employment -related or commercial stops in the City except for refueling or the employee's personal meals or erands. "Large Employer" means all employers that employ more than 500 employees, regardless of where those employees are employed, and all franchisees associated with a franchisor or a network of franchises with franchisees that employ more than 500 employees in aggregate. "Other covered employer" means a covered employer that does not qualify as a large employer. "Service charge" is defined as set forth in RCW 49.46.160(2)(c). "Tips" means a verifiable sum to be presented by a customer as a gift or gratuity in recognition of some service performed for the customer by the employee receiving the tip. "Wage" is defined as set forth in RCW 49.46.010. Section 11. Other Legal Requirements. This ordinance shall not be construed to preempt, limit, or otherwise affect the applicability of any other law, regulation, requirement, policy, or standard that provides for greater wages or compensation; and nothing in this ordinance shall be interpreted or applied so as to create any power or duty in conflict with federal or state law. Section 12. Rulemaking. Within 180 days after the effective date, the City shall adopt roles and procedures to implement and ensure compliance with this chapter, which shall require employers to maintain adequate records and to annually certify compliance with this chapter. The City shall seek feedback from worker organizations and covered employers before finalizing the rules and procedures. Section 13. Constitutional Subject. For constitutional purposes, this measure's subject "concerns labor standards for certain employers." See Filo Foods, LLC v. City of SeaTac, 183 Wash. 2d 770, 783, 357 P.3d 1040, 1047 (2015) (upholding this statement of subject for an initiative that set a minimum wage and addressed employees' access to hems). Section 14. Codification. All sections of this ordinance except section 9 shall be codified in a new chapter of the Renton Municipal Code. Section 15. Election date. In the event that the election on this measure takes place later than November 7, 2023, the Finance Department must establish and publish the initial minimum wage within 30 days of the effective date. Section 16. Severability. The provisions of this ordinance are declared to be separate and severable. If any clause, sentence, paragraph, subdivision, section, subsection, or portion of this ordinance, or the application thereof to any employer, employee, or circumstance, is held to be invalid, it shall not affect the validity of the remainder of this ordinance, or the validity of its application to other persons or circumstances. 10 Raising The Minimum Wage In Renton INITIATIVE PETITION FOR SUBMISSION TO THE RENTON CITY COUNCIL TO: The City Council of the City of Renton: ® c_51;1 � 933-M We, the undersigned registered voters of the City of Renton, State of Washington, residing at the addresses set forth opposite our respective names, being equal to fifteen percent (15%) of the total number of names of persons listed as registered voters within the City on the day of the last preceding City general election, respectfully request that the following ordinance be enacted by the City Council or, if not so enacted, be submitted to a vote of the residents of the City. The title of the said ordinance is as follows: ORDINANCE CONCERNING LABOR STANDARDS FOR CERTAIN EMPLOYEES A full, true and correct copy of the ordinance is attached to this Petition. Each of us for himself or herself says: I have personally signed this petition; I am a registered voter of the City of Renton, State of Washington; and my residence is correctly stated. Signature SalgA& `form Printed Name Printed Name Street and Number 1234 Anywhere St. city Renton Phone Number 206-555-1234 Email maria@something.org Date 4/10/2023 5�2&_� 7 //�2� c �G sd�, G d 1 9iT✓`K f�//� S Renton E 9. 10 Renton �W(;K"n (L I )t't\`wR( Ave � Renton I ZI ) CA;NM fV W ° S vwl +--fv&k AjQ S Warning Renton Every person who signs this petition with any other than his or her true name, or who knowingly signs more than one of these petitions, or signs a petition seek- ing an election when he or she is not a legal voter, or signs a petition when he or she is otherwise not qualified to sign, or who makes herein any false statement, shall be guilty of a misdemeanor. IL AN ORDINANCE concerning labor standards for certain employees. Section 1. Findings. I. The people of the City of Renton hereby adopt this citizen initiative addressing labor standards for certain employees, for the purpose of ensuring that, to the extent reasonably practicable, people employed in Renton have good wages and access to sufficient hours of work. 2. The City of Renton is one of the largestjob centers in Washington State, with thousands of shoppers and workers visiting daily to participate in the local economy. Renton is home to The Landing shopping center, the historic Downtown Urban Center, as well as retail and commercial office and warehouse districts around the Rainier/Grady Way Junction. The City is a net importer ofjobs, with nearly 60,000 employed workers. Renton has a wide may of both long established and new and evolving business sectors. Retail businesses, restaurants and bus, auto sales, hospitality, healthcare, and office workers me well represented, 3. The statewide minimum wage is not sufficient to afford rising rents and costs of living in Renton. According to the National Low Income Housing Coalition's Out of Reach 2022 report, a worker making Washington's minimum wage would have to work 72 hours each week (up from 70 hours each week in 2021) to afford a modest one -bedroom rental home at Fair Market Rent. 4. When working families earn insufficient income due to low wages and involuntary under -employment, they struggle to pay for basic necessities like health care, child cue, and groceries, and they are more likely to be evicted and become homeless. 5. Nearby King County cities of SeaTac, Seattle, and Tukwila enacted higher minimum wages in 2013, 2014, and 2022 respectively, but until now Renton has not followed suit. 6. Children growing up in poverty experience insecurity with housing, nutrition, and health cue while enduring other hardships that prevent their ability to learn in school. Full time working parents must be able to reasonably provide for their family to ensure access to the opportunities and promise of public education. Section 2. Intent. It is the intent of the people to establish fair labor standards and protect the rights of workers by: (1) ensuring that the vast majority of employees in the City of Renton receive a minimum wage comparable to employees in the nearby cities of Tukwila, SeaTac, and Seattle; (2) requiring covered employers to offer additional hours of work to qualified part-time employees before hiring new employees to fill those hours; and (3) adopting enforcement requirements. Section 3. Large Employers Shall Pay Minimum Wages Comparable to Those in Nearby Cities. 1. Effective July 1, 2024, every large employer shall pay to each employee an hourly wage of not less than the 2023 new minimum wage rate in the City of Tukwila, established by City of Tukwila Initiative Measure No. 1, approved by voters in November 2022, adjusted for 2024 by the annual rate of inflation. 2. On January 1, 2025, and on each January 1 thereafter, the hourly minimum wage shall increase by the annual rate of inflation to maintain employee purchasing power. 3. By December 31, 2023, and by October 15 of each year thereafter, the Finance Department shall establish and publish the applicable hourly minimum wage for the following year using the annual rate of inflation. 4. For purposes of this chapter, the annual rate of inflation means 100 percent of the annual average growth rate of the bi-monthly Seattle -Tacoma -Bellevue Area Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers, termed CPI-W, for the 12-month period ending in August, provided that the percentage increase shall not be less than zero. 5. An employer must pay to its employees: a. All tips and gratuities; and b. All service charges as defined under RCW 49.46.160 except those that, pursuant to RCW 49.46.160, we itemized as not being payable to the employee or employees servicing the customer. Tips and service charges paid to an employee are in addition to, and may not count towards, the employee's hourly minimum wage. Section 4. Other Covered Employers Shall Have a Multiyear Phase -In Period. Other covered employers shall phase in the new minimum wage, as follows: 1. Effective July 1, 2024, other covered employers shall pay employees not less than the hourly minimum wage established under Section 3 minus Two Dollars ($2) per how. 2. Effective July 1, 2025, other covered employers shall pay employees not less than the hourly minimum wage established under Section 3 minus One Dollar ($1) per hour. 3. Effective July 1, 2026, and thereafter, all covered employers shall pay employees not less than the hourly minimum wage established under Section 3. Section 5. Coverage and Employer Classifications. 1. Covered employers must pay employees at least the minimum wage established by this chapter for each hour worked within the City. 2. Employer classification for the current calendar year will be calculated based upon the average number of employees during all weeks in the previous calendar yew in which the employer had at least one employee. For employers that did not have any employees during the previous calendar year, classification will be based upon the average number of employees during the most recent three months of the current year. In this determination, all employees will be counted, regardless of thew location, and including employees who worked in full-time employment, part-time employment, joint employment, temporary employment, or through the services of a temporary services or staffing agency or similar entity. 3. Employer classification for the current calendar year will be calculated based upon the gross revenue for the previous yea. For employers that did not have gross revenue during the previous calendar year, annual gross revenue will be calculated from the gross revenue during the most recent three months of the current yew. 4. For the purposes of employer classification, separate entities will be considered a single employer if they form an integrated enterprise or they are underjoint control by one of those entities or a separate entity. The factors to consider in making this assessment include, but are not limited to: a. Degree of interrelation between the operations of multiple entities; b. Degree to which the entities share common management; C. Centralized control of labor relations; and d. Degree of common ownership or financial control over the entities. Section 6. Part -Time Employees Shall Have Fair Access to Additional Hours. 1. Before hiring additional employees or subcontractors, including hiring through the use of temporary services or staffing agencies, covered employers must offer additional hours of work to existing employees who, in the employer's good faith and reasonable judgment, have the skills and experience to perform the work, and shall use a reasonable, transparent, and nondiscriminatory process to distribute the hours of work among those existing employees. 2. This section shall not be construed to require any employer to offer an employee work hours if the employer would be required to compensate the employee at time -and -a -half or other premium rate under any law or collective bargaining agreement, nor to prohibit any employer from offering such work hours. Section 7. Retaliation Prohibited. 1. No employer or any other person shall interfere with, restrain, or deny the exercise of, or the attempt to exercise, any right protected under this chapter. 2. No employer or any other person shall take any adverse action against any person because the person has exercised in good faith the rights under this chapter. Such rights include but are not limited to the right to make inquiries about the rights protected under this chapter; the right to inform others about their rights under this chapter; the right to inform the person's employer, union, or similar organization, and/or the person's legal counsel or any other person about an alleged violation of this chapter; the right to bring a civil action for an alleged violation of this chapter; the right to testify in a proceeding under or related to this chapter; the right to refuse to participate in an activity that would result in a violation of city, state, or federal law; and the right to oppose any policy, practice, or act that is unlawful under this chapter. 3. For the purposes of this section, an adverse action means denying a job or promotion, demoting, terminating, failing to rehire after a seasonal interruption of work, threatening, penalizing, retaliating, engaging in unfair immigration -related practices, filing a false report with a government agency, changing an employee's status to nonemployee, decreasing or declining to provide additional work hours when they otherwise would have been offered, scheduling an employee for hours outside of their availability, or otherwise discriminating against any person for any reason prohibited by this chapter. "Adverse action" for an employee may involve any aspect of employment, including pay, work hours, responsibilities, or other material change in the terns and conditions of employment. 4. No employer or any other person shall communicate to a person exercising rights protected under this chapter, directly or indirectly, the willingness to inform a government employee that the person is not lawfully in the United States, or to report, or to make an implied or express assertion of a willingness to report, suspected citizenship or immigration status of the person or a family member of the person to a federal, state, or local agency because the person has exercised a right under this chapter, 5. There shall be a rebuttable presumption of unlawful retaliation if an employer or any other person takes an adverse action against a person within 90 days of the person's exercise of any right protected in this chapter. However, in the case of seasonal work that ended before the close of the 90-day period, the presumption also applies if the employer fails to rehire a former employee at the next opportunity for work in the same position. The employer may rebut the presumption with clear and convincing evidence that the adverse action was taken for a permissible purpose. 6. Standard of Proof. Proof of retaliation under this chapter shall be sufficient upon a showing that an employer or any other person has taken an adverse action against a person and the person's exercise of rights protected in this chapter was a motivating factor in the adverse action, unless the employer can prove that the action would have been taken in the absence of such protected activity. 7. The protections afforded under this section shall apply to any person who mistakenly but in good faith alleges violations of this chapter. Section 8. Enforcement. 1. Any person or class of persons that suffers financial injury as a result of a violation of this chapter or is the subject of prohibited retaliation under this chapter, or any other individual or entity acting on their behalf, may bring a civil action in a court of competent jurisdiction against the employer or other person violating this chapter and, upon prevailing, shall be awarded reasonable attorney fees and costs and such legal or equitable relief as may be appropriate to remedy the violation including, without limitation, the payment of any unpaid wages plus interest due to the person and liquidated damages in an additional amount of up to twice the unpaid wages; compensatory damages; and a penalty payable to any aggrieved party of up to $5,000 if the aggrieved party was subject to prohibited retaliation. For the purposes of this section, an aggrieved party means an employee or other person who suffers tangible or intangible harm due to an employer or other person's violation of this chapter. Interest shall accrue from the date the unpaid wages were first due at the higher of twelve percent per antrum or the maximum rate permitted under RCW 19.52.020. 2. For purposes of determining membership within a class of persons entitled to bring an action under this section, two or more employees are similarly situated if they: a. Are or were employed by the same employer or employers, whether concurrently or otherwise, at some point during the applicable statute of limitations period; b. Allege one or more violations that raise similar questions as to liability; and C. Seek similar forms of relief. d. Employees shall not be considered dissimilar solely because their claims seek damages that differ in amount, or theirjob titles or other means of classifying employees differ in ways that are unrelated to their claims. 3. Each covered employer shall retain records as required by RCW 49.46.070, as well as such information as the City may require to confirm compliance with this chapter. If an employer fails to retain such records, there shall be a presumption, rebuttable by clear and convincing evidence, that the employer violated this chapter for the periods and for each employee for whom records were not retained. 4. Employers shall permit authorized City representatives access to work sites and relevant records for the purpose of monitoring compliance with the chapter and investigating complaints of noncompliance, including production for inspection and copying of employment records. The City may designate representatives, including city contractors and representatives of unions or worker advocacy organizations, to access the worksite and relevant records. 5. Complaints that any provision of this chapter has been violated may also be presented to the City Attorney, who is hereby authorized to investigate and, if they deem appropriate, initiate legal or other action to remedy any violation of this chapter. 6. The City has the authority to issue administrative citations and to order injunctive relief including reinstatement, restitution, payment of back wages, or other forms of relief. 7. The City may, in the exercise of its authority and performance of its functions and services, agree by contract or otherwise to participate jointly or in cooperation with Washington State, King County, or any city, town, or other incorporated place, or subdivision thereof, or engage outside counsel, to enforce this chapter. 8. The remedies and penalties provided under this chapter are cumulative and are not intended to be exclusive of any other available remedies or penalties, including existing remedies for enforcement of Renton Municipal Code chapters. 9. The statute of limitations for any enforcement action shall be five (5) years. Section 9. A new section is added to Renton Municipal Code (RMC) Section 5-5-4 as follows: I . The Finance Director may deny, suspend, or revoke any license under this chapter for violation of this ordinance. 2. The Finance Director must deny, suspend, or revoke any license under this chapter for repeated intentional violations of this ordinance. 3. Any action by the Finance Director under this section shall be subject to the procedures and requirements of RMC subsection 5-5-3.E, as well as other due process rights that a court may require. Section 10. Definitions. For the purposes of this chapter, the following terms shall have the following meanings: "City" means the City of Renton. "Covered employer" means an employer that either (1) employs at least 15 employees regardless of where those employees are employed, or (2) has annual gross revenue over $2 million. "Effective date" is the effective date of this ordinance. "Employee" is defined as set forth in RCW 49.46.010. An employer bears the burden of proof that the individual is, as a matter of economic reality, in business for oneself rather than dependent upon the alleged employer. "Employer" is defined as set forth in RCW 49.46.010. "Employer classification" includes the determination of whether an employer is a covered employer and whether a covered employer is a large employer. "Franchise" means an agreement, express or implied, am] or written by which: 1. A person is granted the right to engage in the business of offering, selling, or distributing goods or services under a marketing plan prescribed or suggested in substantial part by the grantor or its affiliate; 2. The operation of the business is substantially associated with a trademark, service mark, trade name, advertising, or other commercial symbol; designating, owned by, or licensed by the grantor or its affiliate; and 3. The person pays, agrees to pay, or is required to pay, directly or indirectly, a franchise fee. The term, "franchise fee" is meant to be construed broadly to include any instance in which the grantor or its affiliate derives income or profit from a person who enters into a franchise agreement with the grantor. "Hour worked within the City" is to be interpreted according to its ordinary meaning, including all hours worked within the geographic boundaries of the City, excluding time spent in the City solely for the purpose of traveling through the City from a point of origin outside the City to a destination outside the City, with no employment -related or commercial stops in the City except for refueling or the employee's personal meals or errands. "Large Employer" means all employers that employ more than 500 employees, regardless of where those employees are employed, and all franchisees associated with a franchisor or a network of franchises with franchisees that employ more than 500 employees in aggregate. "Other covered employer" means a covered employer that does not qualify as a large employer. "Service charge" is defined as set forth in RCW 49.46.160(2)(c). "Tips" means a verifiable sum to be presented by a customer as a gift or gratuity in recognition of some service performed for the customer by the employee receiving the tip. "Wage" is defined as set forth in RCW 49.46.010. Section 11. Other Legal Requirements. This ordinance shall not be construed to preempt, limit, or otherwise affect the applicability of any other law, regulation, requirement, policy, or standard that provides for greater wages or compensation; and nothing in this ordinance shall be interpreted or applied so as to create any power or duty in conflict with federal or state law. Section 12. Rulemaking. Within 180 days after the effective date, the City shall adopt rules and procedures to implement and ensure compliance with this chapter, which shall require employers to maintain adequate records and to annually certify compliance with this chapter. The City shall seek feedback from worker organizations and covered employers before finalizing the rates and procedures. Section 13. Constitutional Subject. For constitutional purposes, this measure's subject "concerns labor standards for certain employers." See Filo Foods, LLC v. City of SeaTac, 183 Wash. 2d 770, 783, 357 RM 1040, 1047 (2015) (upholding this statement of subject for an initiative that set a minimum wage and addressed employees' access to hows). Section 14. Codification. All sections of this ordinance except section 9 shall be codified in a new chapter of the Renton Municipal Code. Section 15. Election date. In the event that the election on this measure takes place later than November 7, 2023, the Finance Department must establish and publish the initial minimum wage within 30 days of the effective date. Section 16. Severability. The provisions of this ordinance are declared to be separate and severable. If any clause, sentence, paragraph, subdivision, section, subsection, or portion of this ordinance, or the application thereof to any employer, employee, or circumstance, is held to be invalid, it shall not affect the validity of the remainder of this ordinance, or the validity of its application to other persons or circumstances. 40 Raising The Minimum Wage In Renton INITIATIVE PETITION FOR SUBMISSION TO THE RENTON CITY COUNCIL TO: The City Council of the City of Renton: We, the undersigned registered voters of the City of Renton, State of Washington, residing at the addresses set forth opposite our respective names, being equal to fifteen percent (15%) of the total number of names of persons listed as registered voters within the City on the day of the last preceding City general election, respectfully request that the following ordinance be enacted by the City Council or, if not so enacted, be submitted to a vote of the residents of the City. The title of the said ordinance is as follows: ORDINANCE CONCERNING LABOR STANDARDS FOR CERTAIN EMPLOYEES A full, true and correct copy of the ordinance is attached to this Petition. Each of us for himself or herself says: I have personally signed this petition; I am a registered voter of the City of Renton, State of Washington; and my residence is correctly stated. Signature Printed Name Street and Number I City Phone Number Email Date Printed Name 1234 Anywhere St. Renton 206-555-1234 maria@something.org 4/10/2023 2. 3. 4. 5. Q 7 8. : V/L/�4 G 10. 6k's lnrl of LX,,,jr �lo WI��.��15 4y( kiO Renton !�7 C/J/� i A(ti5em 110 W.11;(Xvvvs .Q �c -413 Renton q Sq - 177� 1l qqe >aU.I cr>w� S- 43 /d V Il(„Q. �� Q�Sbh, R'LU6 S, 1 U(v-k Renton 5/3%a3 pa/��� 2>7 S ��T Renton 13 I o)J P A�IIQrj(lQ-� 71 C-40S �A Renton 53()1 NC- �h�� �,�h ►�;�.=-ten + Renton 9-3— Renton 5.3 _ ,-,)3 A-W W'e Renton s-3-a3 -T'�EI/r A/x-, l 1.5 W., V (5 /Ue '('t C) dY Renton Renton 3103 5/3 Warning Every person who signs this petition with any other than his or her true name, or who knowingly signs more than one of these petitions, or signs a petition seek- ing an election when he or she is not a legal voter, or signs a petition when he or she is otherwise not qualified to sign, or who makes herein any false statement, shall be guilty of a misdemeanor. ®=-�CC/IBT••- 933-M AN ORDINANCE concerning labor standards for certain employees. Section 1. Findings. 1. The people of the City of Renton hereby adopt this citizen initiative addressing labor standards for certain employees, for the purpose of ensuring that, to the extent reasonably practicable, people employed in Renton have good wages and access to sufficient hours of work. 2. The City of Renton is one of the largest job centers in Washington State, with thousands of shoppers and workers visiting daily to participate in the local economy. Renton is home to The Landing shopping center, the historic Downtown Urban Center, as well as retail and commercial office and warehouse districts around the Rainier/Grady Way Junction. The City is a net importer ofjobs, with nearly 60,000 employed workers. Renton has a wide array of both long established and new and evolving business sectors. Retail businesses, restaurants and bars, auto sales, hospitality, healthcare, and office workers are well represented. 3. The statewide minimum wage is not sufficient to afford rising rents and costs of living in Renton. According to the National Low Income Housing Coalition's Out of Reach 2022 report, a worker making Washington's minimum wage would have to work 72 hours each week (up from 70 hours each week in 2021) to afford a modest one -bedroom rental home at Fair Market Rent. 4. When working families earn insufficient income due to low wages and involuntary under -employment, they struggle to pay for basic necessities like health care, child care, and groceries, and they are more likely to be evicted and become homeless. 5. Nearby King County cities of SeaTac, Seattle, and Tukwila enacted higher minimum wages in 2013, 2014, and 2022 respectively, but until now Renton has not followed suit. 6. Children growing up in poverty experience insecurity with housing, nutrition, and health care while enduring other hardships that prevent their ability to learn in school. Full time working parents must be able to reasonably provide for their family to ensure access to the opportunities and promise of public education. Section 2. Intent. It is the intent of the people to establish fair labor standards and protect the rights of workers by: (1) ensuring that the vast majority of employees in the City of Renton receive a minimum wage comparable to employees in the nearby cities of Tukwila, SeaTac, and Seattle; (2) requiring covered employers to offer additional hours of work to qualified part-time employees before hiring new employees to fill those hours; and (3) adopting enforcement requirements. Section 3. Large Employers Shall Pay Minimum Wages Comparable to Those in Nearby Cities. 1. Effective July 1, 2024, every large employer shall pay to each employee an hourly wage of not less than the 2023 new minimum wage rate in the City of Tukwila, established by City of Tukwila Initiative Measure No. 1, approved by voters in November 2022, adjusted for 2024 by the annual rate of inflation. 2. On January 1, 2025, and on each January 1 thereafter, the hourly minimum wage shall increase by the annual rate of inflation to maintain employee purchasing power. 3. By December 31, 2023, and by October 15 of each year thereafter, the Finance Department shall establish and publish the applicable hourly minimum wage for the following year using the annual rate of inflation. 4. For purposes of this chapter, the annual rate of inflation means 100 percent of the annual average growth rate of the bi-monthly Seattle -Tacoma -Bellevue Area Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers, termed CPI-W, for the 12-month period ending in August, provided that the percentage increase shall not be less than zero. 5. An employer must pay to its employees: a. All tips and gratuities; and b. All service charges as defined under RCW 49.46.160 except those that, pursuant to RCW 49.46.160, are itemized as not being payable to the employee or employees servicing the customer. Tips and service charges paid to an employee are in addition to, and may not count towards, the employee's hourly minimum wage. Section 4. Other Covered Employers Shall Have a Multiyear Phase -In Period. Other covered employers shall phase in the new minimum wage, as follows: 1. Effective July 1, 2024, other covered employers shall pay employees not less than the hourly minimum wage established under Section 3 minus Two Dollars ($2) per hour. 2. Effective July 1, 2025, other covered employers shall pay employees not less than the hourly minimum wage established under Section 3 minus One Dollar ($1) per hour. 3. Effective July 1, 2026, and thereafter, all covered employers shall pay employees not less than the hourly minimum wage established under Section 3. Section 5. Coverage and Employer Classifications. 1. Covered employers must pay employees at least the minimum wage established by this chapter for each hour worked within the City. 2. Employer classification for the current calendar year will be calculated based upon the average number of employees during all weeks in the previous calendar year in which the employer had at least one employee. For employers that did not have any employees during the previous calendar year, classification will be based upon the average number of employees during the most recent three months of the current year. In this determination, all employees will be counted, regardless of their location, and including employees who worked in full-time employment, part-time employment, joint employment, temporary employment, or through the services of a temporary services or staffing agency or similar entity. 3. Employer classification for the current calendar year will be calculated based upon the gross revenue for the previous year. For employers that did not have gross revenue during the previous calendar year, annual gross revenue will be calculated from the gross revenue during the most recent three months of the current year. 4. For the purposes of employer classification, separate entities will be considered a single employer if they form an integrated enterprise or they are underjoint control by one of those entities or a separate entity. The factors to consider in making this assessment include, but are not limited to: a. Degree of interrelation between the operations of multiple entities; b. Degree to which the entities share common management; C. Centralized control of labor relations; and it. Degree of common ownership or financial control over the entities. Section 6. Part -Time Employees Shall Have Fair Access to Additional Hours. L Before hiring additional employees or subcontractors, including hiring through the use of temporary services or staffing agencies, covered employers must offer additional hours of work to existing employees who, in the employer's good faith and reasonable judgment, have the skills and experience to perform the work, and shall use a reasonable, transparent, and nondiscriminatory process to distribute the hours of work among those existing employees. 2. This section shall not be construed to require any employer to offer an employee work hours if the employer would be required to compensate the employee at time -and -a -half or other premium rate under any law or collective bargaining agreement, nor to prohibit any employer from offering such work hours. Section 7. Retaliation Prohibited. 1. No employer or any other person shall interfere with, restrain, or deny the exercise of, or the attempt to exercise, any right protected under this chapter. 2. No employer or any other person shall take any adverse action against any person because the person has exercised in good faith the rights under this chapter. Such rights include but are not limited to the right to make inquiries about the rights protected under this chapter; the right to inform others about their rights under this chapter; the right to inform the person's employer, union, or similar organization, and/or the person's legal counsel or any other person about an alleged violation of this chapter; the right to bring a civil action for an alleged violation of this chapter; the right to testify in a proceeding under or related to this chapter; the right to refuse to participate in an activity that would result in a violation of city, state, or federal law; and the right to oppose any policy, practice, or act that is unlawful under this chapter. 3. For the purposes of this section, an adverse action means denying a job or promotion, demoting, terminating, failing to rehire after a seasonal interruption of work, threatening, penalizing, retaliating, engaging in unfair immigration -related practices, filing a false report with a government agency, changing an employee's status to nonemployee, decreasing or declining to provide additional work hours when they otherwise would have been offered, scheduling an employee for hours outside of their availability, or otherwise discriminating against any person for any reason prohibited by this chapter. "Adverse action" for an employee may involve any aspect of employment, including pay, work hours, responsibilities, or other material change in the terms and conditions of employment. 4. No employer or any other person shall communicate to a person exercising rights protected under this chapter, directly or indirectly, the willingness to inform a government employee that the person is not lawfully in the United States, or to report, or to make an implied or express assertion of a willingness to report, suspected citizenship or immigration status of the person or a family member of the person to a federal, state, or local agency because the person has exercised a right under this chapter. 5. There shall be a rebuttable presumption of unlawful retaliation if an employer or any other person takes an adverse action against a person within 90 days of the person's exercise of any right protected in this chapter. However, in the case of seasonal work that ended before the close of the 90-day period, the presumption also applies if the employer fails to rehire a former employee at the next opportunity for work in the same position. The employer may rebut the presumption with clear and convincing evidence that the adverse action was taken for a permissible purpose. 6. Standard of Proof. Proof of retaliation under this chapter shall be sufficient upon a showing that an employer or any other person has taken an adverse action against a person and the person's exercise of rights protected in this chapter was a motivating factor in the adverse action, unless the employer can prove that the action would have been taken in the absence of such protected activity. 7. The protections afforded under this section shall apply to any person who mistakenly but in good faith alleges violations of this chapter. Section 8. Enforcement. I. Any person or class of persons that suffers financial injury as a result of a violation of this chapter or is the subject of prohibited retaliation under this chapter, or any other individual or entity acting on their behalf, may bring a civil action in a court of competentjurisdiction against the employer or other person violating this chapter and, upon prevailing, shall be awarded reasonable attorney fees and costs and such legal or equitable relief as may be appropriate to remedy the violation including, without limitation, the payment of any unpaid wages plus interest due to the person and liquidated damages in an additional amount of up to twice the unpaid wages; compensatory damages; and a penalty payable to any aggrieved party of up to $5,000 if the aggrieved party was subject to prohibited retaliation. For the purposes of this section, an aggrieved party means an employee or other person who suffers tangible or intangible harm due to an employer or other person's violation of this chapter. Interest shall accrue from the date the unpaid wages were first due at the higher of twelve percent per armum or the maximum rate permitted under RCW 19.52.020. 2. For purposes of determining membership within a class of persons entitled to bring an action under this section, two or more employees are similarly situated if they: a. Are or were employed by the same employer or employers, whether concurrently or otherwise, at some point during the applicable statute of limitations period; b. Allege one or more violations that raise similar questions as to liability; and C. Seek similar forms of relief. d. Employees shall not be considered dissimilar solely because their claims seek damages that differ in amount, or theirjob titles or other means of classifying employees differ in ways that are unrelated to their claims. 3. Each covered employer shall retain records as required by RCW 49.46.070, as well as such information as the City may require to confirm compliance with this chapter. If an employer fails to retain such records, there shall be a presumption, rebuttable by clear and convincing evidence, that the employer violated this chapter for the periods and for each employee for whom records were not retained. 4. Employers shall permit authorized City representatives access to work sites and relevant records for the purpose of monitoring compliance with the chapter and investigating complaints of noncompliance, including production for inspection and copying of employment records. The City may designate representatives, including city contractors and representatives of unions or worker advocacy organizations, to access the worksite and relevant records. 5. Complaints that any provision of this chapter has been violated may also be presented to the City Attorney, who is hereby authorized to investigate and, if they deem appropriate, initiate legal or other action to remedy any violation of this chapter. 6. The City has the authority to issue administrative citations and to order injunctive relief including reinstatement, restitution, payment of back wages, or other forms of relief. 7. The City may, in the exercise of its authority and performance of its functions and services, agree by contract or otherwise to participate jointly or in cooperation with Washington State, King County, or any city, town, or other incorporated place, or subdivision thereof, or engage outside counsel, to enforce this chapter. 8. The remedies and penalties provided under this chapter are cumulative and are not intended to be exclusive of any other available remedies or penalties, including existing remedies for enforcement of Renton Municipal Code chapters. 9. The statute of limitations for any enforcement action shall be five (5) years. Section 9. A new section is added to Renton Municipal Code (RMC) Section 5-5-4 as follows: 1. The Finance Director may deny, suspend, or revoke any license under this chapter for violation of this ordinance. 2. The Finance Director must deny, suspend, or revoke any license under this chapter for repeated intentional violations of this ordinance. 3. Any action by the Finance Director under this section shall be subject to the procedures and requirements of RMC subsection 5-5-3.E, as well as other due process rights that a court may require. Section 10. Definitions. For the purposes of this chapter, the following terms shall have the following meanings: "City" means the City of Renton. "Covered employer" means an employer that either (1) employs at least 15 employees regardless of where those employees are employed, or (2) has annual gross revenue over $2 million. "Effective date" is the effective date of this ordinance. "Employee" is defined as set forth in RCW 49.46.010. An employer bears the burden of proof that the individual is, as a matter of economic reality, in business for oneself rather than dependent upon the alleged employer. "Employer" is defined as set forth in RCW 49.46.010. "Employer classification" includes the determination of whether an employer is a covered employer and whether a covered employer is a large employer. "Franchise" means an agreement, express or implied, oral or written by which: 1. A person is granted the right to engage in the business of offering, selling, or distributing goods or services under a marketing plan prescribed or suggested in substantial part by the grantor or its affiliate; 2. The operation of the business is substantially associated with a trademark, service mark, trade time, advertising, or other commercial symbol; designating, owned by, or licensed by the grantor or its affiliate; and 3. The person pays, agrees to pay, or is required to pay, directly or indirectly, a franchise fee. The term, "franchise fee" is meant to be construed broadly to include any instance in which the grantor or its affiliate derives income or profit from a person who enters into a franchise agreement with the grantor. "Hour worked within the City" is to be interpreted according to its ordinary meaning, including all hours worked within the geographic boundaries of the City, excluding time spent in the City solely for the purpose of traveling through the City from a point of origin outside the City to a destination outside the City, with no employment -related or commercial stops in the City except for refueling or the employee's personal meals or errands. "Large Employer" means all employers that employ more than 500 employees, regardless of where those employees are employed, and all franchisees associated with a franchisor or a network of franchises with franchisees that employ more than 500 employees in aggregate. "Other covered employer" means a covered employer that does not qualify as a large employer. "Service charge" is defined as set forth in RCW 49.46.160(2)(c). "Tips" means a verifiable sum to be presented by a customer as a gift or gratuity in recognition of some service performed for the customer by the employee receiving the tip. "Wage" is defined as set forth in RCW 49.46.010. Section 11. Other Legal Requirements. This ordinance shall not be construed to preempt, limit, or otherwise affect the applicability of any other law, regulation, requirement, policy, or standard that provides for greater wages or compensation; and nothing in this ordinance shall be interpreted or applied so as to create any power or duty in conflict with federal or state law. Section 12. Rulemaking. Within 180 days after the effective date, the City shall adopt rules and procedures to implement and ensure compliance with this chapter, which shall require employers to maintain adequate records and to annually certify compliance with this chapter. The City shall seek feedback from worker organizations and covered employers before finalizing the rules and procedures. Section 13. Constitutional Subject. For constitutional purposes, this measure's subject "concerns labor standards for certain employers." See File Foods, LLC v. City of SeaTac, 183 Wash. 2d 770, 783, 357 P.3d 1040, 1047 (2015) (upholding this statement of subject for an initiative that set a minimum wage and addressed employees' access to hours). Section 14. Codification. All sections of this ordinance except section 9 shall be codified in a new chapter of the Renton Municipal Code. Section 15. Election date. In the event that the election on this measure takes place later than November 7, 2023, the Finance Department must establish and publish the initial minimum wage within 30 days of the effective date. Section 16. Severability. The provisions of this ordinance are declared to be separate and severable. If any clause, sentence, paragraph, subdivision, section, subsection, or portion of this ordinance, or the application thereof to any employer, employee, or circumstance, is held to be invalid, it shall not affect the validity of the remainder of this ordinance, or the validity of its application to other persons or circumstances. Name Of Canvasser: Date Canvassed: Canvasser Email and Phone Number: Ca Raising The Minimum Wage In Renton 1. 2. 3. 4. — 5. _ 6. 7. ,y 8. _ 9. 10. INITIATIVE PETITION FOR SUBMISSION TO THE RENTON CITY COUNCIL TO: The City Council of the City of Renton: ® accnaT 933-M 1.wwn"0 We, the undersigned registered voters of the City of Renton, State of Washington, residing at the addresses set forth opposite our respective names, being equal to fifteen percent (15%) of the total number of names of persons listed as registered voters within the City on the day of the last preceding City general election, respectfully request that the following ordinance be enacted by the City Council or, if not so enacted, be submitted to a vote of the residents of the City. The title of the said ordinance is as follows: ORDINANCE CONCERNING LABOR STANDARDS FOR CERTAIN EMPLOYEES A full, true and correct copy of the ordinance is attached to this Petition. Each of us for himself or herself says: I have personally signed this petition; I am a registered voter of the City of Renton, State of Washington; and my residence is correctly stated. Signature Printed Name Street and umber City Phone Number Email Sacrre`Uotai Printed Name 1234 Anywhere St. Renton 206-555-1234 maria@something.org L �c . L' (e IAA 6c, Renton L. 6 `i` I �33, Renton iJ � �C )SS Gca Y����d l f Renton z� a 11 t37 Renton Renton � i (I �{ �ln inn � � �.3 �6 �.e. ti r• (� ` T � Renton ��� (n L �` ✓ 6� v I�� ti o� I Q l� Renton '��G� VI {� % Vyl {�✓� LAI) D5 Renton Renton /A,tA 1 -/rn !\Renton c crlLG11y Te _ Gna I -C" LL Date 4/10/2023 2 I /,zoa �5/4�/_�:7 Warning Every person who signs this petition with any other than his or her true name, or who knowingly signs more than one of these petitions, or signs a petition seek- ing an election when he or she is not a legal voter, or signs a petition when he or she is otherwise not qualified to sign, or who makes herein any false statement, shall be guilty of a misdemeanor. AN ORDINANCE concerning labor standards for certain employees. Section 1. Findings. 1. The people of the City of Renton hereby adopt this citizen initiative addressing labor standards for certain employees, for the purpose of ensuring that, to the extent reasonably practicable, people employed in Renton have good wages and access to sufficient hours of work. 2. The City of Renton is one of the largest job centers in Washington State, with thousands of shoppers and workers visiting daily to participate in the local economy. Renton is home to The Landing shopping center, the historic Downtown Urban Center, as well as retail and commercial office and warehouse districts around the Rainier/Grady Way Junction. The City is a net importer ofjobs, with nearly 60,000 employed workers. Renton has a wide may of both long established and new and evolving business sectors. Retail businesses, restaurants and bars, auto sales, hospitality, healthcare, and office workers we well represented. 3. The statewide minimum wage is not sufficient to afford rising rents and costs of living in Renton. According to the National Low Income Housing Coalition's Out of Reach 2022 report, a worker making Washington's minimum wage would have to work 72 hours each week (up from 70 hours each week in 2021) to afford a modest one -bedroom rental home at Fair Market Rent. 4. When working families earn insufficient income due to low wages and involuntary under -employment, they struggle to pay for basic necessities like health care, child care, and groceries, and they are more likely to be evicted and become homeless. 5. Nearby King County cities of SeaTac, Seattle, and Tukwila enacted higher minimum wages in 2013, 2014, and 2022 respectively, but until now Renton has not followed suit. 6. Children growing up in poverty experience insecurity with housing, nutrition, and health care while enduring other hardships that prevent their ability to learn in school. Full time working parents must be able to reasonably provide for their family to ensure access to the opportunities and promise of public education. Section 2. Intent. It is the intent of the people to establish fair labor standards and protect the rights of workers by: (1) ensuring that the vast majority of employees in the City of Renton receive a minimum wage comparable to employees in the nearby cities of Tukwila, SeaTac, and Seattle; (2) requiring covered employers to offer additional hours of work to qualified part-time employees before hiring new employees to fill those hours; and (3) adopting enforcement requirements. Section 3. Large Employers Shall Pay Minimum Wages Comparable to Those in Nearby Cities. 1. Effective July 1, 2024, every large employer shall pay to each employee an hourly wage of not less than the 2023 new minimum wage rate in the City of Tukwila, established by City of Tukwila Initiative Measure No. 1, approved by voters in November 2022, adjusted for 2024 by the annual rate of inflation. 2. On January 1, 2025, and on each January 1 thereafter, the hourly minimum wage shall increase by the annual rate of inflation to maintain employee purchasing power. 3. By December 31, 2023, and by October 15 of each yew thereafter, the Finance Department shall establish and publish the applicable hourly minimum wage for the following year using the annual rate of inflation. 4. For purposes of this chapter, the annual rate of inflation means 100 percent of the annual average growth rate of the bi-monthly Seattle -Tacoma -Bellevue Area Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers, termed CPI-W, for the 12-month period ending in August, provided that the percentage increase shall not be less than zero. 5. An employer must pay to its employees: a. All tips and gratuities; and b. All service charges as defined under RCW 49.46.160 except those that, pursuant to RCW 49.46.160, are itemized as not being payable to the employee or employees servicing the customer. Tips and service charges paid to an employee are in addition to, and may not count towards, the employee's hourly minimum wage. Section 4. Other Covered Employers Shall Have a Multiyear Phase -In Period. Other covered employers shall phase in the new minimum wage, as follows: 1. Effective July 1, 2024, other covered employers shall pay employees not less than the hourly minimum wage established under Section 3 minus Two Dollars ($2) per hour. 2. Effective July 1, 2025, other covered employers shall pay employees not less than the hourly minimum wage established under Section 3 minus One Dollar ($1) per hour. 3. Effective July 1, 2026, and thereafter, all covered employers shall pay employees not less than the hourly minimum wage established under Section 3. Section S. Coverage and Employer Classifications. 1. Covered employers must pay employees at least the minimum wage established by this chapter for each hour worked within the City. 2. Employer classification for the current calendar year will be calculated based upon the average number of employees during all weeks in the previous calendar year in which the employer had at least one employee. For employers that did not have any employees during the previous calendar year, classification will be based upon the average number of employees during the most recent three months of the current year. In this determination, all employees will be counted, regardless of their location, and including employees who worked in full-time employment, part-time employment, joint employment, temporary employment, or through the services of a temporary services or staffing agency or similar entity. 3. Employer classification for the current calendar year will be calculated based upon the gross revenue for the previous you. For employers that did not have gross revenue during the previous calendar year, annual gross revenue will be calculated from the gross revenue during the most recent three months of the current year. 4. For the purposes of employer classification, separate entities will be considered a single employer if they form an integrated enterprise or they are under joint control by one of those entities or a separate entity. The factors to consider in making this assessment include, but are not limited to: a. Degree of interrelation between the operations of multiple entities; b. Degree to which the entities share common management; C. Centralized control of labor relations; and d. Degree of common ownership or financial control over the entities. Section 6. Part -Time Employees Shall Have Fair Access to Additional Hours. 1. Before hiring additional employees or subcontractors, including hiring through the use of temporary services or staffing agencies, covered employers must offer additional hours of work to existing employees who, in the employer's good faith and reasonable judgment, have the skills and experience to perform the work, and shall use a reasonable, transparent, and nondiscriminatory process to distribute the hours of work among those existing employees. 2. This section shall not be construed to require any employer to offer an employee work hours if the employer would be required to compensate the employee at time -and -a -half or other premium rate under any law or collective bargaining agreement, nor to prohibit any employer from offering such work hours. Section 7. Retaliation Prohibited. L No employer or any other person shall interfere with, restrain, or deny the exercise of, or the attempt to exercise, any right protected under this chapter. 2. No employer or any other person shall take any adverse action against any person because the person has exercised in good faith the rights under this chapter. Such rights include but are not limited to the right to make inquiries about the rights protected under this chapter; the right to inform others about their rights under this chapter; the right to inform the person's employer, union, or similar organization, and/or the person's legal counsel or any other person about an alleged violation of this chapter; the right to bring a civil action for an alleged violation of this chapter; the right to testify in a proceeding under or related to this chapter, the right to refuse to participate in an activity that would result in a violation of city, state, or federal law; and the right to oppose any policy, practice, or act that is unlawful under this chapter. 3. For the purposes of this section, an adverse action means denying a job or promotion, demoting, terminating, failing to rehire after a seasonal interruption of work, threatening, penalizing, retaliating, engaging in unfair immigration -related practices, filing a false report with a government agency, changing an employee's status to nonemployee, decreasing or declining to provide additional work hours when they otherwise would have been offered, scheduling an employee for hours outside of their availability, or otherwise discriminating against any person for any reason prohibited by this chapter. "Adverse action" for an employee may involve any aspect of employment, including pay, work hours, responsibilities, or other material change in the terms and conditions of employment. 4. No employer or any other person shall communicate to a person exercising rights protected under this chapter, directly or indirectly, the willingness to inform a government employee that the person is not lawfully in the United States, or to report, or to make an implied or express assertion of a willingness to report, suspected citizenship or immigration status of the person or a family member of the person to a federal, state, or local agency because the person has exercised a right under this chapter. 5. There shall be a rebuttable presumption of unlawful retaliation if an employer or any other person takes an adverse action against a person within 90 days of the person's exercise of any right protected in this chapter. However, in the case of seasonal work that ended before the close of the 90-day period, the presumption also applies if the employer fails to rehire a former employee at the next opportunity for work in the same position. The employer may rebut the presumption with clear and convincing evidence that the adverse action was taken for a permissible purpose. 6. Standard of Proof. Proof of retaliation under this chapter shall be sufficient upon a showing that an employer or any other person has taken an adverse action against a person and the person's exercise of rights protected in this chapter was a motivating factor in the adverse action, unless the employer can prove that the action would have been taken in the absence of such protected activity. 7. The protections afforded under this section shall apply to any person who mistakenly but in good faith alleges violations of this chapter. Section S. Enforcement. 1. Any person or class of persons that suffers financial injury as a result of a violation of this chapter or is the subject of prohibited retaliation under this chapter, or any other individual or entity acting on their behalf, may bring a civil action in a court of competentjurisdiction against the employer or other person violating this chapter and, upon prevailing, shall be awarded reasonable attorney fees and costs and such legal or equitable relief as may be appropriate to remedy the violation including, without limitation, the payment of any unpaid wages plus interest due to the person and liquidated damages in an additional amount of up to twice the unpaid wages; compensatory damages; and a penalty payable to any aggrieved party of up to $5,000 if the aggrieved party was subject to prohibited retaliation. For the purposes of this section, an aggrieved party means an employee or other person who suffers tangible or intangible harm due to an employer or other person's violation of this chapter. Interest shall accrue from the date the unpaid wages were first due at the higher of twelve percent per annum or the maximum rate permitted under RCW 19.52.020. 2. For purposes of determining membership within a class of persons entitled to bring an action under this section, two or more employees are similarly situated if they: a. Are or were employed by the same employer or employers, whether concurrently or otherwise, at some point during the applicable statute of limitations period; b. Allege one or more violations that raise similar questions as to liability; and C. Seek similar forms of relief. d. Employees shall not be considered dissimilar solely because their claims seek damages that differ in amount, or their job titles or other means of classifying employees differ in ways that are unrelated to their claims. 3. Each covered employer shall retain records as required by RCW 49.46.070, as well as such information as the City may require to confirm compliance with this chapter. If an employer fails to retain such records, there shall be a presumption, rebuttable by clear and convincing evidence, that the employer violated this chapter for the periods and for each employee for whom records were not retained. 4. Employers shall permit authorized City representatives access to work sites and relevant records for the purpose of monitoring compliance with the chapter and investigating complaints of noncompliance, including production for inspection and copying of employment records. The City may designate representatives, including city contractors and representatives of unions or worker advocacy organizations, to access the worksite and relevant records. 5. Complaints that any provision of this chapter has been violated may also be presented to the City Attorney, who is hereby authorized to investigate and, if they deem appropriate, initiate legal or other action to remedy any violation of this chapter. 6. The City has the authority to issue administrative citations and to order injunctive relief including reinstatement, restitution, payment of back wages, or other forms of relief. 7. The City may, in the exercise of its authority and performance of its functions and services, agree by contract or otherwise to participate jointly or in cooperation with Washington State, King County, or any city, town, or other incorporated place, or subdivision thereof, or engage outside counsel, to enforce this chapter. 8. The remedies and penalties provided under this chapter are cumulative and are not intended to be exclusive of any other available remedies or penalties, including existing remedies for enforcement of Renton Municipal Code chapters. 9. The statute of limitations for any enforcement action shall be five (5) yews. Section 9. A new section is added to Renton Municipal Code (RMC) Section 5-5-4 as follows: 1. The Finance Director may deny, suspend, or revoke any license under this chapter for violation of this ordinance. 2. The Finance Director must deny, suspend, or revoke any license under this chapter for repeated intentional violations of this ordinance. 3. Any action by the Finance Director under this section shall be subject to the procedures and requirements of RMC subsection 5-5-3.E, as well as other due process rights that a court may require. Section 10. Definitions. For the purposes of this chapter, the following terms shall have the following meanings: "City" means the City of Renton. "Covered employer" means an employer that either (1) employs at least 15 employees regardless of where those employees are employed, or (2) has annual gross revenue over $2 million. "Effective date" is the effective date of this ordinance. "Employee" is defined as set forth in RCW 49.46.010. An employer bears the burden of proof that the individual is, as a matter of economic reality, in business for oneself rather than dependent upon the alleged employer. "Employer" is defined as set forth in RCW 49.46.010. "Employer classification" includes the determination of whether an employer is a covered employer and whether a covered employer is a large employer. "Franchise" means an agreement, express or implied, oral or written by which: 1. A person is granted the right to engage in the business of offering, selling, or distributing goods or services under a marketing plan prescribed or suggested in substantial part by the grantor or its affiliate; 2. The operation of the business is substantially associated with a trademark, service mark, trade time, advertising, or other commercial symbol; designating, owned by, or licensed by the grantor or its affiliate; and 3. The person pays, agrees to pay, or is required to pay, directly or indirectly, a franchise fee. The term, "franchise fee" is meant to be construed broadly to include any instance in which the grantor or its affiliate derives income or profit from a person who enters into a franchise agreement with the grantor. "Hour worked within the City" is to be interpreted according to its ordinary meaning, including all hours worked within the geographic boundaries of City, excluding time spent in the City solely for the purpose of traveling through the City from a point of origin outside the City to a destination outside the City, with no employment -related or commercial stops in the City except for refueling or the employee's personal meals or errands. "Large Employer" means all employers that employ more than 500 employees, regardless of where those employees are employed, and all franchisees associated with a franchisor or a network of franchises with franchisees that employ more than 500 employees in aggregate. "Other covered employer" means a covered employer that does not qualify as a large employer. "Service charge" is defined as set forth in RCW 49.46.160(2)(c). "Tips" means a verifiable sum to be presented by a customer as a gift or gratuity in recognition of some service performed for the customer by the employee receiving the tip. "Wage" is defined as set forth in RCW 49.46.010. Section 11. Other Legal Requirements. This ordinance shall not be construed to preempt, limit, or otherwise affect the applicability of any other law, regulation, requirement, policy, or standard that provides for greater wages or compensation; and nothing in this ordinance shall be interpreted or applied so as to create any power or duty in conflict with federal or state law. Section 12. Rulemaking. Within 180 days after the effective date, the City shall adopt rules and procedures to implement and ensure compliance with this chapter, which shall require employers to maintain adequate records and to annually certify compliance with this chapter. The City shall seek feedback from worker organizations and covered employers before finalizing the rules and procedures. Section 13. Constitutional Subject. For constitutional purposes, this measure's subject "concerns labor standards for certain employers." See File Foods, LLC v. City of SeaTac, 183 Wash. 2d 770, 783, 357 P.3d 1040, 1047 (2015) (upholding this statement of subject for an initiative that set a minimum wage and addressed employees' access to hours). Section 14. Codification. All sections of this ordinance except section 9 shall be codified in a new chapter of the Renton Municipal Code. Section 15. Election date. In the event that the election on this measure takes place later than November 7, 2023, the Finance Department must establish and publish the initial minimum wage within 30 days of the effective date. Section 16. SeverabiEty. The provisions of this ordinance are declared to be separate and severable. If any clause, sentence, paragraph, subdivision, section, subsection, or portion of this ordinance, or the application thereof to any employer, employee, or circumstance, is held to be invalid, it shall not affect the validity of the remainder of this ordinance, or the validity of its application to other persons or circumstances. kanvasser Email Raising The Minimum Wage In Renton INITIATIVE PETITION FOR SUBMISSION TO THE RENTON CITY COUNCIL TO: The City Council of the City of Renton: 933-M We, the undersigned registered voters of the City of Renton, State of Washington, residing at the addresses set forth opposite our respective names, being equal to fifteen percent (15%) of the total number of names of persons listed as registered voters within the City on the day of the last preceding City general election, respectfully request that the following ordinance be enacted by the City Council or, if not so enacted, be submitted to a vote of the residents of the City. The title of the said ordinance is as follows: ORDINANCE CONCERNING LABOR STANDARDS FOR CERTAIN EMPLOYEES A full, true and correct copy of the ordinance is attached to this Petition. Each of us for himself or herself says: I have personally signed this petition; I am a registered voter of the City of Renton, State of Washington; and my residence is correctly stated. Signature Printed Name Street and Number City Phone Number Email Date S ` &'t Printed Name 1234 Anywhere St. Renton 206-555-1234 maria@something.org 4/10/2023 1. IN J 9 6. 7. K. aVCas ) VC fe"_ 8. _1G(u.��vii� 9. 10. f�'D t'1i (ctiu rix�+ w� Renton D 3 cS� 7.� LId Ar Renton (Z06 ory� 9 /S�- a� s I Iq23 lsk avQ S 31SUv.S'c4 (FLU D �A �605 2?Z4 L-a C-e,(, Cr a d'J , Ive 33 y� GV%o.� e-i V C/ v e 7 ADJ 06 - 24 Renton�� Renton &'.�� Renton C(25 - 2 `"_ e-73 —6, Renton 2D6--Zfol-q(I( Renton -Oq- 0 J V-'Qs Renton 1r2S 9rt�� (fig Renton Renton 4 3,, -,6Sj v 9 �Jcud.Lw coru Warning Every person who signs this petition with any other than his or her true name, or who knowingly signs more than one of these petitions, or signs a petition seek- ing an election when he or she is not a legal voter, or signs a petition when he or she is otherwise not qualified to sign, or who makes herein any false statement, shall be guilty of a misdemeanor. AN ORDINANCE concerning labor standards for certain employees. Section 1. Findings. 1. The people of the City of Renton hereby adopt this citizen initiative addressing labor standards for certain employees, for the purpose of ensuring that, to the extent reasonably practicable, people employed in Renton have good wages and access to sufficient hours of work. 2. The City of Renton is one of the largest job centers in Washington State, with thousands of shoppers and workers visiting daily to participate in the local economy. Renton is home to The Landing shopping center, the historic Downtown Urban Center, as well as retail and commercial office and warehouse districts around the Rainier/Grady Way Junction. The City is a net importer ofjobs, with nearly 60,000 employed workers. Renton has a wide array of both long established and new and evolving business sectors. Retail businesses, restaurants and bars, auto sales, hospitality, healthcare, and office workers are well represented. 3. The statewide minimum wage is not sufficient to afford rising rents and costs of living in Renton. According to the National Low Income Housing Coalition's Out of Reach 2022 report, a worker making Washington's minimum wage would have to work 72 hours each week (up from 70 hours each week in 2021) to afford a modest one -bedroom rental home at Fair Market Rent. 4. When working families earn insufficient income due to low wages and involuntary under -employment, they struggle to pay for basic necessities like health care, child cue, and groceries, and they we more likely to be evicted and become homeless. 5. Nearby King County cities of SeaTac, Seattle, and Tukwila enacted higher minimum wages in 2013, 2014, and 2022 respectively, but until now Renton has not followed suit. 6. Children growing up in poverty experience insecurity with housing, nutrition, and health care while enduring other hardships that prevent their ability to learn in school. Full time working parents must be able to reasonably provide for their family to ensure access to the opportunities and promise of public education. Section 2. Intent. It is the intent of the people to establish fair labor standards and protect the rights of workers by: (1) ensuring that the vast majority of employees in the City of Renton receive a minimum wage comparable to employees in the nearby cities of Tukwila, SeaTac, and Seattle; (2) requiring covered employers to offer additional hours of work to qualified part-time employees before hiring new employees to fill those hours; and (3) adopting enforcement requirements. Section 3. Large Employers Shall Pay Minimum Wages Comparable to Those in Nearby Cities. 1. Effective July 1, 2024, every large employer shall pay to each employee an hourly wage of not less than the 2023 new minimum wage rate in the City of Tukwila, established by City of Tukwila Initiative Measure No. 1, approved by voters in November 2022, adjusted for 2024 by the annual rate of inflation. 2. On January 1, 2025, and on each January 1 thereafter, the hourly minimum wage shall increase by the annual rate of inflation to maintain employee purchasing power. 3. By December 31, 2023, and by October 15 of each year thereafter, the Finance Department shall establish and publish the applicable hourly minimum wage for the following year using the annual rate of inflation. 4. For purposes of this chapter, the annual rate of inflation means 100 percent of the annual average growth rate of the bi-monthly Seattle -Tacoma -Bellevue Area Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers, termed CPI-W, for the 12-month period ending in August, provided that the percentage increase shall not be less than zero. 5. An employer must pay to its employees: a. All tips and gratuities; and b. All service charges as defined under RCW 49.46.160 except those that, pursuant to RCW 49.46.160, me itemized as not being payable to the employee or employees servicing the customer. Tips and service charges paid to an employee are in addition to, and may not count towards, the employee's hourly minimum wage. Section 4. Other Covered Employers Shall Have a Multiyear Phase -In Period. Other covered employers shall phase in the new minimum wage, as follows: 1. Effective July 1, 2024, other covered employers shall pay employees not less than the hourly minimum wage established under Section 3 minus Two Delius ($2) per how. 2. Effective July 1, 2025, other covered employers shall pay employees not less than the hourly minimum wage established under Section 3 minus One Dollar ($1) per hour. 3. Effective July 1, 2026, and thereafter, all covered employers shall pay employees not less than the hourly minimum wage established under Section 3. Section 5. Coverage and Employer Classifications. 1. Covered employers must pay employees at least the minimum wage established by this chapter for each how worked within the City. 2. Employer classification for the current calendar year will be calculated based upon the average number of employees during all weeks in the previous calendar yew in which the employer had at least one employee. For employers that did not have any employees timing the previous calendar year, classification will be based upon the average number of employees during the most recent three months of the current year. In this determination, all employees will be counted, regardless of their location, and including employees who worked in full-time employment, part-time employment, joint employment, temporary employment, or through the services of a temporary services or staffing agency or similar entity. 3. Employer classification for the current calendar year will be calculated based upon the gross revenue for the previous year. For employers that did not have gross revenue during the previous calendar year, annual gross revenue will be calculated from the gross revenue during the most recent three months of the current year. 4. For the purposes of employer classification, separate entities will be considered a single employer if they form an integrated enterprise or they we under joint control by one of those entities or a separate entity. The factors to consider in making this assessment include, but are not limited to: a. Degree of interrelation between the operations of multiple entities; b. Degree to which the entities shore common management; C. Centralized control of labor relations; and d. Degree of common ownership or financial control over the entities. Section 6. Part -Time Employees Shall Have Fair Access to Additional Hours. 1. Before hiring additional employees or subcontractors, including hiring through the use of temporary services or staffing agencies, covered employers must offer additional hours of work to existing employees who, in the employer's good faith and reasonable judgment, have the skills and experience to perform the work, and shall use a reasonable, transparent, and nondiscriminatory process to distribute the hours of work among those existing employees. 2. This section shall not be construed to require any employer to offer an employee work hours if the employer would be required to compensate the employee at time -and -a -half or other premium rate under any law or collective bargaining agreement, nor to prohibit any employer from offering such work hours. Section 7. Retaliation Prohibited. 1. No employer or any other person shall interfere with, restrain, or deny the exercise of, or the attempt to exercise, any right protected under this chapter. 2. No employer or any other person shall take any adverse action against any person because the person has exercised in good faith the rights under this chapter. Such rights include but are not limited to the right to make inquiries about the rights protected under this chapter; the right to inform others about their rights under this chapter; the right to inform the person's employer, union, or similar organization, and/or the person's legal counsel or any other person about an alleged violation of this chapter; the right to bring a civil action for an alleged violation of this chapter; the right to testify in a proceeding under or related to this chapter•, the right to refuse to participate in an activity that would result in a violation of city, state, or federal law; and the right to oppose any policy, practice, or act that is unlawful under this chapter. 3. For the purposes of this section, an adverse action means denying ajob or promotion, demoting, terminating, failing to rehire after a seasonal interruption of work, threatening, penalizing, retaliating, engaging in unfair immigration -related practices, filing a false report with a government agency, changing an employee's status to nonemployee, decreasing or declining to provide additional work hours when they otherwise would have been offered, scheduling an employee for hours outside of their availability, or otherwise discriminating against any person for any reason prohibited by this chapter. "Adverse action" for an employee may involve any aspect of employment, including pay, work hours, responsibilities, or other material change in the terms and conditions of employment. 4. No employer or any other person shall communicate to a person exercising rights protected under this chapter, directly or indirectly, the willingness to inform a government employee that the person is not lawfully in the United States, or to report, or to make an implied or express assertion of a willingness to report, suspected citizenship or immigration status of the person or a family member of the person to a federal, state, or local agency because the person has exercised a right under this chapter. 5. There shall be a rebuttable presumption of unlawful retaliation if an employer or any other person takes an adverse action against a person within 90 days of the person's exercise of any right protected in this chapter. However, in the case of seasonal work that ended before the close of the 90-day period, the presumption also applies if the employer fails to rehire a former employee at the next opportunity for work in the same position. The employer may rebut the presumption with clear and convincing evidence that the adverse action was taken for a permissible purpose. 6. Standard of Proof. Proof of retaliation under this chapter shall be sufficient upon a showing that an employer or any other person has taken an adverse action against a person and the person's exercise of rights protected in this chapter was a motivating factor in the adverse action, unless the employer can prove that the action would have been taken in the absence of such protected activity. 7. The protections afforded under this section shall apply to any person who mistakenly but in good faith alleges violations of this chapter. Section 8. Enforcement. 1. Any person or class of persons that suffers financial injury as a result of a violation of this chapter or is the subject of prohibited retaliation under this chapter, or any other individual or entity acting on their behalf, may bring a civil action in a court of competent jurisdiction against the employer or other person violating this chapter and, upon prevailing, shall be awarded reasonable attorney fees and costs and such legal or equitable relief as may be appropriate to remedy the violation including, without limitation, the payment of any unpaid wages plus interest due to the person and liquidated damages in an additional amount of up to twice the unpaid wages; compensatory damages; and a penalty payable to any aggrieved party of up to $5,000 if the aggrieved party was subject to prohibited retaliation. For the purposes of this section, an aggrieved party means an employee or other person who suffers tangible or intangible harm due to an employer or other person's violation of this chapter, Interest shall accrue from the date the unpaid wages were first due at the higher of twelve percent per annum or the maximum rate permitted under RCW 19.52.020. 2. For purposes of determining membership within a class of persons entitled to bring an action under this section, two or more employees are similarly situated if they: a. Are or were employed by the same employer or employers, whether concurrently or otherwise, at some point during the applicable statute of limitations period; b. Allege one or more violations that raise similar questions as to liability; and C. Seek similar forms of relief. d. Employees shall not be considered dissimilar solely because their claims seek damages that differ in amount, or theirjob titles or other means of classifying employees differ in ways that we unrelated to their claims. 3. Each covered employer shall retain records as required by RCW 49.46.070, as well as such information as the City may require to confirm compliance with this chapter. If an employer fails to retain such records, there shall be a presumption, rebuttable by clear and convincing evidence, that the employer violated this chapter for the periods and for each employee for whom records were not retained. 4. Employers shall permit authorized City representatives access to work sites and relevant records for the purpose of monitoring compliance with the chapter and investigating complaints of noncompliance, including production for inspection and copying of employment records. The City may designate representatives, including city contractors and representatives of unions or worker advocacy organizations, to access the worksite and relevant records. 5. Complaints that any provision of this chapter has been violated may also be presented to the City Attorney, who is hereby authorized to investigate and, if they deem appropriate, initiate legal or other action to remedy any violation of this chapter. 6. The City has the authority to issue administrative citations and to order injunctive relief including reinstatement, restitution, payment of back wages, or other forms of relief. 7. The City may, in the exercise of its authority and performance of its functions and services, agree by contract or otherwise to participate jointly or in cooperation with Washington State, King County, or any city, town, or other incorporated place, or subdivision thereof, or engage outside counsel, to enforce this chapter. 8. The remedies and penalties provided under this chapter me cumulative and are not intended to be exclusive of any other available remedies or penalties, including existing remedies for enforcement of Renton Municipal Code chapters. 9. The statute of limitations for any enforcement action shall be five (5) years. Section 9. A new section is added to Renton Municipal Code (RMC) Section 5-5-4 as follows: 1. The Finance Director may deny, suspend, or revoke any license under this chapter for violation of this ordinance. 2. The Finance Director must deny, suspend, or revoke any license under this chapter for repeated intentional violations of this ordinance. 3. Any action by the Finance Director under this section shall be subject to the procedures and requirements of RMC subsection 5-5-3.E, as well as other due process rights that a court may require. Section 10. Definitions. For the purposes of this chapter, the following terms shall have the following meanings: "City" means the City of Renton. "Covered employer" means an employer that either (1) employs at least 15 employees regardless of where those employees are employed, or (2) has annual gross revenue over $2 million. "Effective date" is the effective date of this ordinance. "Employee" is defined as set forth in RCW 49.46.010. An employer bears the burden of proof that the individual is, as a matter of economic reality, in business for oneself rather than dependent upon the alleged employer. "Employer" is defined as set forth in RCW 49.46.010, "Employer classification" includes the determination of whether an employer is a covered employer and whether a covered employer is a large employer. "Franchise" means an agreement, express or implied, oral or written by which: 1. A person is granted the right to engage in the business of offering, selling, or distributing goods or services under a marketing plan prescribed or suggested in substantial part by the grantor or its affiliate; 2. The operation of the business is substantially associated with a trademark, service mark, trade time, advertising, or other commercial symbol; designating, owned by, or licensed by the grantor or its affiliate; and 3. The person pays, agrees to pay, or is required to pay, directly or indirectly, a franchise fee. The term, "franchise fee" is meant to be construed broadly to include any instance in which the grantor or its affiliate derives income or profit from a person who enters into a franchise agreement with the grantor. "How worked within the City" is to be interpreted according to its ordinary meaning, including all hours worked within the geographic boundaries of the City, excluding time spent in the City solely for the purpose of traveling through the City from a point of origin outside the City to a destination outside the City, with no employment -related or commercial stops in the City except for refueling or the employee's personal meals or errands. "Large Employer" means all employers that employ more than 500 employees, regardless of where those employees we employed, and all franchisees associated with a franchisor or a network of franchises with franchisees that employ more than 500 employees in aggregate. "Other covered employer" means a covered employer that does not qualify as a large employer. "Service charge" is defined as set forth in RCW 49.46.160(2)(c). "Tips" means a verifiable sum to be presented by a customer as a gift or gratuity in recognition of some service performed for the customer by the employee receiving the tip. "Wage" is defined as set forth in RCW 49.46.010. Section 11. Other Legal Requirements. This ordinance shall not be construed to preempt, limit, or otherwise affect the applicability of any other law, regulation, requirement, policy, or standard that provides for greater wages or compensation; and nothing in this ordinance shall be interpreted or applied so as to create any power or duty in conflict with federal or state law. Section 12. Rulemaking. Within 180 days after the effective date, the City shall adopt rules and procedures to implement and ensure compliance with this chapter, which shall require employers to maintain adequate records and to annually certify compliance with this chapter. The City shall seek feedback from worker organizations and covered employers before finalizing the rules and procedures. Section 13. Constitutional Subject. For constitutional purposes, this measure's subject "concerns labor standards for certain employers." See File Foods, LLC v. City of SeaTac, 183 Wash. 2d 770, 783, 357 P.3d 1040, 1047 (2015) (upholding this statement of subject for an initiative that set a minimum wage and addressed employees' access to hours). Section 14. Codification. All sections of this ordinance except section 9 shall be codified in a new chapter of the Renton Municipal Code. Section 15. Election date. In the event that the election on this measure takes place later than November 7, 2023, the Finance Department must establish and publish the initial minimum wage within 30 days of the effective date. Section 16. Severability. The provisions of this ordinance are declared to be separate and severable. If any clause, sentence, paragraph, subdivision, section, subsection, or portion of this ordinance, or the application thereof to any employer, employee, or circumstance, is held to be invalid, it shall not affect the validity of the remainder of this ordinance, or the validity of its application to other persons or circumstances. 4111 Raising The Minimum Wage In Renton INITIATIVE PETITION FOR SUBMISSION TO THE RENTON CITY COUNCIL TO: The City Council of the City of Renton: 0 9BWcccnaTw 933-M 4WBMYmm" We, the undersigned registered voters of the City of Renton, State of Washington, residing at the addresses set forth opposite our respective names, being equal to fifteen percent (15%) of the total number of names of persons listed as registered voters within the City on the day of the last preceding City general election, respectfully request that the following ordinance be enacted by the City Council or, if not so enacted, be submitted to a vote of the residents of the City. The title of the said ordinance is as follows: ORDINANCE CONCERNING LABOR STANDARDS FOR CERTAIN EMPLOYEES A full, true and correct copy of the ordinance is attached to this Petition. Each of us for himself or herself says: I have personally signed this petition; I am a registered voter of the City of Renton, State of Washington; and my residence is correctly stated. Signature Printed Name Street and Number City Phone Number Email Date S`V0r0t Printed Name 1234 Anywhere St. Renton 206-555-1234 maria@something.org 4/10/2023 ,V i "'t , .GSI� S4 �,�scs�e Renton L1-� ! R 2,`IS� 2. �C wl� (. Je Renton 3.G �irr�+^ �Ir1',' ;v �i}S� Renton >_vuU �� ?.� 4. Renton %(SiQ 2� I ✓I �p l C Jf i 5. S� 0-7- OLD i Renton 11 �j 5 l.d �� INas(ti,' %off N '�ni f C� 363 `✓�%,� a,_ ' Ja miv�� GaLcc��v► �1805(� Renton fob-014g)-.4110( jgx'&' `��r(.Co� 5�/(V-2 6. i MLizz Renton 11 10. 10 6'3 o /'7 2 n'j r7UC s Renton �Q(� �ZZ I�(v`J ���v123 Renton i106-Sal-/-Cb�g7 516-, P012 32��3 S wriCof'1( 5� Renton Z`�- 7��'/LZ3 23 Warning Every person who signs this petition with any other than his or her true name, or who knowingly signs more than one of these petitions, or signs a petition seek- ing an election when he or she is not a legal voter, or signs a petition when he or she is otherwise not qualified to sign, or who makes herein any false statement, shall be guilty of a misdemeanor. AN ORDINANCE concerning labor standards for certain employees. Section 1. Findings. 1. The people of the City of Renton hereby adopt this citizen initiative addressing labor standards for certain employees, for the purpose of ensuring that, to the extent reasonably practicable, people employed in Renton have good wages and access to sufficient hours of work. 2. The City of Renton is one of the largest job centers in Washington State, with thousands of shoppers and workers visiting daily to participate in the local economy. Renton is home to The Landing shopping center, the historic Downtown Urban Center, as well as retail and commercial office and warehouse districts around the Rainier/Grady Way Junction. The City is a net importer ofjobs, with nearly 60,000 employed workers. Renton has a wide may of both long established and new and evolving business sectors. Retail businesses, restaurants and bars, auto sales, hospitality, healthcare, and office workers are well represented. 3. The statewide minimum wage is not sufficient to afford rising rents and costs of living in Renton. According to the National Low Income Housing Coalition's Out of Reach 2022 report, a worker making Washington's minimum wage would have to work 72 hours each week (up from 70 hours each week in 2021) to afford a modest one -bedroom rental home at Fair Market Rent. 4. When working families earn insufficient income due to low wages and involuntary under -employment, they struggle to pay for basic necessities like health care, child care, and groceries, and they are more likely to be evicted and become homeless. 5. Nearby King County cities of SeaTac, Seattle, and Tukwila enacted higher minimum wages in 2013, 2014, and 2022 respectively, but until now Renton has not followed suit. 6. Children growing up in poverty experience insecurity with housing, nutrition, and health cue while enduring other hardships that prevent their ability to learn in school. Full time working parents must be able to reasonably provide for their family to ensure access to the opportunities and promise of public education. Section 2. Intent. It is the intent of the people to establish fair labor standards and protect the rights of workers by: (1) ensuring that the vast majority of employees in the City of Renton receive a minimum wage comparable to employees in the nearby cities of Tukwila, SeaTac, and Seattle; (2) requiring covered employers to offer additional hours of work to qualified part-time employees before hiring new employees to fill those hours; and (3) adopting enforcement requirements. Section 3. Large Employers Shall Pay Minimum Wages Comparable to Those in Nearby Cities. 1. Effective July 1, 2024, every large employer shall pay to each employee an hourly wage of not less than the 2023 new minimum wage rate in the City of Tukwila, established by City of Tukwila Initiative Measure No. 1, approved by voters in November 2022, adjusted for 2024 by the annual rate of inflation. 2. On January 1, 2025, and on each January 1 thereafter, the hourly minimum wage shall increase by the annual rate of inflation to maintain employee purchasing power. 3. By December 31, 2023, and by October 15 of each year thereafter, the Finance Department shall establish and publish the applicable hourly minimum wage for the following year using the annual rate of inflation. 4. For purposes of this chapter, the annual rate of inflation means 100 percent of the annual average growth rate of the bi-monthly Seattle -Tacoma -Bellevue Area Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers, termed CPI-W, for the 12-month period ending in August, provided that the percentage increase shall not be less than zero. 5. An employer must pay to its employees: a. All tips and gratuities; and b. All service charges as defined under RCW 49.46.160 except those that, pursuant to RCW 49.46.160, are itemized as not being payable to the employee or employees servicing the customer. Tips and service charges paid to an employee are in addition to, and may not count towards, the employee's hourly minimum wage. Section 4. Other Covered Employers Shall Have a Multiyear Phase -In Period. Other covered employers shall phase in the new minimum wage, as follows: 1. Effective July 1, 2024, other covered employers shall pay employees not less than the hourly minimum wage established under Section 3 minus Two Dollars ($2) per hour. 2. Effective July 1, 2025, other covered employers shall pay employees not less than the hourly minimum wage established under Section 3 minus One Dollar ($1) per hour. 3. Effective July 1, 2026, and thereafter, all covered employers shall pay employees not less than the hourly minimum wage established under Section 3. Section 5. Coverage and Employer Classifications. I. Covered employers must pay employees At least the minimum wage established by this chapter for each hour worked within the City. 2. Employer classification for the current calendar year will be calculated based upon the average number of employees during all weeks in the previous calendar year in which the employer had at least one employee. For employers that did not have any employees during the previous calendar year, classification will be based upon the average number of employees during the most recent three months of the current year. In this determination, all employees will be counted, regardless of their location, and including employees who worked in full-time employment, part-time employment, joint employment, temporary employment, or through the services of a temporary services or staffing agency or similar entity. 3. Employer classification for the current calendar year will be calculated based upon the gross revenue for the previous year. For employers that did not have gross revenue during the previous calendar year, annual gross revenue will be calculated from the gross revenue during the most recent three months of the current year. 4. For the purposes of employer classification, separate entities will be considered a single employer if they form an integrated enterprise or they are under joint control by one of those entities or a separate entity. The factors to consider in making this assessment include but are not limited to: a. Degree of interrelation between the operations of multiple entities; b. Degree to which the entities share common management; C. Centralized control of labor relations; and d. Degree of common ownership or financial control over the entities. Section 6. Part -Time Employees Shall Have Fair Access to Additional Hours. 1. Before hiring additional employees or subcontractors, including hiring through the use of temporary services or staffing agencies, covered employers must offer additional hours of work to existing employees who, in the employer's good faith and reasonable judgment, have the skills and experience to perform the work, and shall use a reasonable, transparent, and nondiscriminatory process to distribute the hours of work among those existing employees. 2. This section shall not be construed to require any employer to offer an employee work hours if the employer would be required to compensate the employee at time -and -a -half or other premium rate under any law or collective bargaining agreement, nor to prohibit any employer from offering such work hours. Section 7. Retaliation Prohibited. I. No employer or any other person shall interfere with, restrain, or deny the exercise of, or the attempt to exercise, any right protected under this chapter. 2. No employer or any other person shall take any adverse action against any person because the person has exercised in good faith the rights under this chapter. Such rights include but are not limited to the right to make inquiries about the rights protected under this chapter; the right to inform others about their rights under this chapter; the right to inform the person's employer, union, or similar organization, and/or the person's legal counsel or any other person about an alleged violation of this chapter; the right to bring a civil action for an alleged violation of this chapter; the right to testify in a proceeding under or related to this chapter; the right to refuse to participate in an activity that would result in a violation of city, state, or federal law; and the right to oppose any policy, practice, or act that is unlawful under this chapter. 3. For the purposes of this section, an adverse action means denying ajob or promotion, demoting, terminating, failing to rehire after a seasonal interruption of work, threatening, penalizing, retaliating, engaging in unfair immigration -related practices, filing a false report with a government agency, changing an employee's status to nonemployee, decreasing or declining to provide additional work hours when they otherwise would have been offered, scheduling an employee for hours outside of their availability, or otherwise discriminating against any person for any reason prohibited by this chapter. "Adverse action" for an employee may involve any aspect of employment, including pay, work hours, responsibilities, or other material change in the terms and conditions of employment. 4. No employer or any other person shall communicate to a person exercising rights protected under this chapter, directly or indirectly, the willingness to inform a government employee that the person is not lawfully in the United States, or to report, or to make an implied or express assertion of a willingness to report, suspected citizenship or immigration status of the person or a family member of the person to a federal, state, or local agency because the person has exercised a right under this chapter. 5. There shall be a rebuttable presumption of unlawful retaliation if an employer or any other person takes an adverse action against a person within 90 days of the person's exercise of any right protected in this chapter. However, in the case of seasonal work that ended before the close of the 90-day period, the presumption also applies if the employer fails to rehire a former employee at the next opportunity for work in the same position. The employer may rebut the presumption with clear and convincing evidence that the adverse action was taken for a permissible purpose. 6. Standard of Proof Proof of retaliation under this chapter shall be sufficient upon a showing that an employer or any other person has taken an adverse action against a person and the person's exercise of rights protected in this chapter was a motivating factor in the adverse action, unless the employer can prove that the action would have been taken in the absence of such protected activity. 7. The protections afforded under this section shall apply to any person who mistakenly but in good faith alleges violations of this chapter. Section 8. Enforcement. 1. Any person or class of persons that suffers financial injury as a result of a violation of this chapter or is the subject of prohibited retaliation under this chapter, or any other individual or entity acting on thew behalf, may bring a civil action in a court of competentjurisdiction against the employer or other person violating this chapter and, upon prevailing, shall be awarded reasonable attorney fees and costs and such legal or equitable relief as may be appropriate to remedy the violation including, without limitation, the payment of any unpaid wages plus interest due to the person and liquidated damages in an additional amount of up to twice the unpaid wages; compensatory damages; and a penalty payable to any aggrieved party of up to $5,000 if the aggrieved party was subject to prohibited retaliation. For the purposes of this section, an aggrieved party means an employee or other person who suffers tangible or intangible harm due to an employer or other person's violation of this chapter. Interest shall accrue from the date the unpaid wages were first due at the higher of twelve percent per annum or the maximum rate permitted under RCW 19.52.020. 2. For purposes of determining membership within a class of persons entitled to bring an action under this section, two or more employees are similarly situated if they: a. Are or were employed by the same employer or employers, whether concurrently or otherwise, at some point during the applicable statute of limitations period; b. Allege one or more violations that raise similar questions as to liability; and C. Seek similar forms of relief, d. Employees shall not be considered dissimilar solely because their claims seek damages that differ in amount, or their job titles or other means of classifying employees differ in ways that are unrelated to their claims. 3. Each covered employer shall retain records as required by RCW 49.46.070, as well as such information as the City may require to confirm compliance with this chapter. If an employer fails to retain such records, there shall be a presumption, rebuttable by clear and convincing evidence, that the employer violated this chapter for the periods And for each employee for whom records were not retained. 4. Employers shall permit authorized City representatives access to work sites and relevant records for the purpose of monitoring compliance with the chapter and investigating complaints of noncompliance, including production for inspection and copying of employment records. The City may designate representatives, including city contractors and representatives of unions or worker advocacy organizations, to access the worksite and relevant records. 5. Complaints that any provision of this chapter has been violated may also be presented to the City Attorney, who is hereby authorized to investigate and, if they deem appropriate, initiate legal or other action to remedy any violation of this chapter. 6. The City has the authority to issue administrative citations and to order injunctive relief including reinstatement, restitution, payment of back wages, or other forms of relief. 7. The City may, in the exercise of its authority and performance of its functions and services, agree by contract or otherwise to participate jointly or in cooperation with Washington State, King County, or any city, town, or other incorporated place, or subdivision thereof, or engage outside counsel, to enforce this chapter. 8. The remedies and penalties provided under this chapter are cumulative and are not intended to be exclusive of any other available remedies or penalties, including existing remedies for enforcement of Renton Municipal Code chapters. 9. The statute of limitations for any enforcement action shall be five (5) years. Section 9. A new section is added to Renton Municipal Code (RMC) Section 5-5-4 as follows: 1. The Finance Director may deny, suspend, or revoke any license under this chapter for violation of this ordinance. 2. The Finance Director must deny, suspend, or revoke any license under this chapter for repeated intentional violations of this ordinance. 3. Any action by the Finance Director under this section shall be subject to the procedures and requirements of RMC subsection 5-5-3,E, as well as other due process rights that a court may require. Section 10. Definitions. For the purposes of this chapter, the following terms shall have the following meanings: "City" means the City of Renton. "Covered employer" means an employer that either (1) employs at least 15 employees regardless of where those employees are employed, or (2) has annual gross revenue over $2 million. "Effective date" is the effective date of this ordinance. "Employee" is defined as set forth in RCW 49.46.010. An employer bears the burden of proof that the individual is, as a matter of economic reality, in business for oneself rather than dependent upon the alleged employer. "Employer" is defined as set forth in RCW 49.46.010. "Employer classification" includes the determination of whether an employer is a covered employer and whether a covered employer is a large employer. "Franchise" means an agreement, express or implied, oral or written by which: 1. A person is granted the right to engage in the business of offering, selling, or distributing goods or services under a marketing plan prescribed or suggested in substantial part by the grantor or its affiliate; 2. The operation of the business is substantially associated with a trademark, service mark, trade name, advertising, or other commercial symbol; designating, owned by, or licensed by the grantor or its affiliate; and 3. The person pays, agrees to pay, or is required to pay, directly or indirectly, a franchise fee. The term, "franchise fee" is meant to be construed broadly to include any instance in which the grantor or its affiliate derives income or profit from a person who enters into a franchise agreement with the grantor. "Hour worked within the City" is to be interpreted according to its ordinary meaning, including all hours worked within the geographic boundaries of the City, excluding time spent in the City solely for the purpose of traveling through the City from a point of origin outside the City to a destination outside the City, with no employment -related or commercial stops in the City except for refueling or the employee's personal meals or errands. "Large Employer" means all employers that employ more than 500 employees, regardless of where those employees are employed, and all franchisees associated with a franchisor or a network of franchises with franchisees that employ more than 500 employees in aggregate. "Other covered employer" means a covered employer that does not qualify as a large employer. "Service charge" is defined as set forth in RCW 49.46.160(2)(c). "Tips" means a verifiable sum to be presented by a customer as a gift or gratuity in recognition of some service performed for the customer by the employee receiving the tip. "Wage" is defined as set forth in RCW 49.46.010. Section 11. Other Legal Requirements. This ordinance shall not be construed to preempt, limit, or otherwise affect the applicability of any other law, regulation, requirement, policy, or standard that provides for greater wages or compensation; and nothing in this ordinance shall be interpreted or applied so as to create any power or duty in conflict with federal or state law. Section 12. Rulemaking. Within 180 days after the effective date, the City shall adopt rules and procedures to implement and ensure compliance with this chapter, which shall require employers to maintain adequate records and to annually certify compliance with this chapter. The City shall seek feedback from worker organizations and covered employers before finalizing the rules and procedures. Section 13. Constitutional Subject. For constitutional purposes, this measure's subject "concerns labor standards for certain employers." See Filo Foods, LLC v. City of SeaTac, 183 Wash. 2d 770, 783, 357 Pad 1040, 1047 (2015) (upholding this statement of subject for an initiative that set a minimum wage and addressed employees' access to hours). Section 14. Codification. All sections of this ordinance except section 9 shall be codified in a new chapter of the Renton Municipal Code. Section 15. Election date. In the event that the election on this measure takes place later than November 7, 2023, the Finance Department must establish and publish the initial minimum wage within 30 days of the effective date. Section 16. Severability. The provisions of this ordinance are declared to be separate and severable. If any clause, sentence, paragraph, subdivision, section, subsection, or portion of this ordinance, or the application thereof to any employer, employee, or circumstance, is held to be invalid, it shall not affect the validity of the remainder of this ordinance, or the validity of its application to other persons or circumstances. OF.. Name Of Canvasser: Date Canvassed: vasset Email and Phone Number: Raising The Minimum Wage In Renton INITIATIVE PETITION FOR SUBMISSION TO THE RENTON CITY COUNCIL To: The City Council of the City of Renton: ®osccn'eT 933-M We, the undersigned registered voters of the City of Renton, State of Washington, residing at the addresses set forth opposite our respective names, being equal to fifteen percent (15%) of the total number of names of persons listed as registered voters within the City on the day of the last preceding City general election, respectfully request that the following ordinance be enacted by the City Council or, if not so enacted, be submitted to a vote of the residents of the City. The title of the said ordinance is as follows: ORDINANCE CONCERNING LABOR STANDARDS FOR CERTAIN EMPLOYEES A full, true and correct copy of the ordinance is attached to this Petition. Each of us for himself or herself says: I have personally signed this petition; I am a registered voter of the City of Renton, State of Washington; and my residence is correctly stated. Printed Name Printed Name Gary Ar+,LtY Kl I-e t,I )U K Street and Number 1234 Anywhere St. i631. QI er _ }iJe . S"E 131'�'5�40e, >21-5� City Renton Renton Renton i i Renton Renton Phone Number Email 206-555-1234 maria@something.org r 06 -� 9 a6G z45 6912- (�17)231-ZL2� �A3o1 1 , S C)7� S pate 4/10/2023 6 1zo ol,l S1(1202 3 JOsc 'v 9-26 ADS M'tk L Renton (U2Si. 1191- U�i�(ZJ USA VLtDctl C `L Q �� Renton � DPJ1M l j Renton i _ 0 g3 0(3 5 I _ LL Renton , mh lce %%� �J�o�7 /.(/4�Ckj� I' h �. a Rent 9����� s g57 0Md 6 M it s; an � ( 0vr V`lp Renton V Warning Every person who signs this petition with any other than his or her true name, or who knowingly signs more than one of these petitions, or signs a petition seek- ing an election when he or she is not a legal voter, or signs a petition when he or she is otherwise not qualified to sign, or who makes herein any false statement, shall be guilty of a misdemeanor. 5 AN ORDINANCE concerning labor standards for certain employees. Section 1. Findings. 1. The people of the City of Renton hereby adopt this citizen initiative addressing labor standards for certain employees, for the purpose of ensuring that, to the extent reasonably practicable, people employed in Renton have good wages and access to sufficient hours of work. 2. The City of Renton is one of the largest job centers in Washington State, with thousands of shoppers and workers visiting daily to participate in the local economy. Renton is home to The Landing shopping center, the historic Downtown Urban Center, as well as retail and commercial office and warehouse districts around the Rainier/Grady Way Junction. The City is a net importer ofjobs, with nearly 60,000 employed workers. Renton has a wide may of both long established and new and evolving business sectors. Retail businesses, restaurants and bars, auto sales, hospitality, healthcare, and office workers are well represented. 3. The statewide minimum wage is not sufficient to afford rising rents and costs of living in Renton. According to the National Low Income Housing Coalition's Out of Reach 2022 report, a worker making Washington's minimum wage would have to work 72 hours each week (up from 70 hours each week in 2021) to afford a modest one -bedroom rental home at Fair Market Rent. 4. When working families earn insufficient income due to low wages and involuntary under -employment, they struggle to pay for basic necessities like health care, child care, and groceries, and they are more likely to be evicted and become homeless. 5. Nearby King County cities of SeaTac, Seattle, and Tukwila enacted higher minimum wages in 2013, 2014, and 2022 respectively, but until now Renton has not followed suit. 6. Children growing up in poverty experience insecurity with housing, nutrition, and health care while enduring other hardships that prevent their ability to learn in school, Full time working parents must be able to reasonably provide for their family to ensure access to the opportunities and promise of public education. Section 2. Intent. It is the intent of the people to establish fair labor standards and protect the rights of workers by: (1) ensuring that the vast majority of employees in the City of Renton receive a minimum wage comparable to employees in the nearby cities of Tukwila, SeaTac, and Seattle; (2) requiring covered employers to offer additional hours of work to qualified part-time employees before hiring new employees to fill those hours; and (3) adopting enforcement requirements. Section 3. Large Employers Shall Pay Minimum Wages Comparable to Those in Nearby Cities. 1. Effective July 1, 2024, every large employer shall pay to each employee an hourly wage of not less than the 2023 new minimum wage rate in the City of Tukwila, established by City of Tukwila Initiative Measure No. 1, approved by voters in November 2022, adjusted for 2024 by the annual rate of inflation. 2. On January 1, 2025, and on each January 1 thereafter, the hourly minimum wage shall increase by the annual rate of inflation to maintain employee purchasing power. 3. By December 31, 2023, and by October 15 of each year thereafter, the Finance Department shall establish and publish the applicable hourly minimum wage for the following year using the annual rate of inflation. 4. For purposes of this chapter, the annual rate of inflation means 100 percent of the annual average growth rate of the bi-monthly Seattle -Tacoma -Bellevue Area Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers, termed CPI-W, for the 12-month period ending in August, provided that the percentage increase shall not be less than zero. 5. An employer must pay to its employees: a. All tips and gratuities; and b. All service charges as defined under RCW 49.46.160 except those that, pursuant to RCW 49.46.160, are itemized as not being payable to the employee or employees servicing the customer. Tips and service charges paid to an employee are in addition to, and may not count towards, the employee's hourly minimum wage. Section 4. Other Covered Employers Shall Have a Multiyear Phase -In Period. Other covered employers shall phase in the new minimum wage, as follows: 1. Effective July 1, 2024, other covered employers shall pay employees not less than the hourly minimum wage established under Section 3 minus Two Dollars ($2) per hour. 2. Effective July 1, 2025, other covered employers shall pay employees not less than the hourly minimum wage established under Section 3 minus One Dollar ($1) per hour. 3. Effective July 1, 2026, and thereafter, all covered employers shall pay employees not less than the hourly minimum wage established under Section 3. Section 5. Coverage and Employer Classifications. 1. Covered employers must pay employees at least the minimum wage established by this chapter for each hour worked within the City. 2. Employer classification for the current calendar year will be calculated based upon the average number of employees during all weeks in the previous calendar year in which the employer had at least one employee. For employers that did not have any employees during the previous calendar year, classification will be based upon the average number of employees during the most recent three months of the current year. In this determination, all employees will be counted, regardless of their location, and including employees who worked in full-time employment, part-time employment, joint employment, temporary employment, or through the services of a temporary services or staffing agency or similar entity. 3. Employer classification for the current calendar year will be calculated based upon the gross revenue for the previous year. For employers that did not have gross revenue during the previous calendar year, annual gross revenue will be calculated from the gross revenue during the most recent three months of the current year. 4. For the purposes of employer classification, separate entities will be considered a single employer if they form an integrated enterprise or they are under joint control by one of those entities or a separate entity. The factors to consider in making this assessment include, but ment limited to: a. Degree of interrelation between the operations of multiple entities; b. Degree to which the entities share common management; C. Centralized control of labor relations; and d. Degree of common ownership or financial control over the entities. Section 6. Part -Time Employees Shall Have Fair Access to Additional Hours. 1. Before hiring additional employees or subcontractors, including hiring through the use of temporary services or staffing agencies, covered employers must offer additional hours of work to existing employees who, in the employer's good faith and reasonable judgment, have the skills and experience to perform the work, and shall use a reasonable, transparent, and nondiscriminatory process to distribute the hours of work among those existing employees. 2. This section shall not be construed to require any employer to offer an employee work hours if the employer would be required to compensate the employee at time -and -a -half or other premium rate under any law or collective bargaining agreement, nor to prohibit any employer from offering such work hours. Section 7. Retaliation Prohibited. 1. No employer or any other person shall interfere with, restrain, or deny the exercise of, or the attempt to exercise, any right protected under this chapter. 2. No employer or any other person shall take any adverse action against any person because the person has exercised in good faith the rights under this chapter. Such rights include but are not limited to the right to make inquiries about the rights protected under this chapter; the right to inform others about their rights under this chapter; the right to inform the person's employer, union, or similar organization, and/or the person's legal counsel or any other person about an alleged violation of this chapter, the right to bring a civil action for an alleged violation of this chapter; the right to testify in a proceeding under or related to this chapter; the right to refuse to participate in an activity that would result in a violation of city, state, or federal law; and the right to oppose any policy, practice, or act that is unlawful under this chapter. 3. For the purposes of this section, an adverse action means denying ajob or promotion, demoting, terminating, failing to rehire after a seasonal interruption of work, threatening, penalizing, retaliating, engaging in unfair immigration -related practices, filing a false report with a government agency, changing an employee's status to nonemployee, decreasing or declining to provide additional work hours when they otherwise would have been offered, scheduling an employee for hours outside of their availability, or otherwise discriminating against any person for any reason prohibited by this chapter. "Adverse action" for an employee may involve any aspect of employment, including pay, work hours, responsibilities, or other material change in the terms and conditions of employment. 4. No employer or any other person shall communicate to a person exercising rights protected under this chapter, directly or indirectly, the willingness to inform a government employee that the person is not lawfully in the United States, or to report, or to make an implied or express assertion of a willingness to report, suspected citizenship or immigration status of the person or a family member of the person to a federal, state, or local agency because the person has exercised a right under this chapter. 5. There shall be a rebuttable presumption of unlawful retaliation if an employer or any other person takes an adverse action against a person within 90 days of the person's exercise of any right protected in this chapter. However, in the case of seasonal work that ended before the close of the 90-day period, the presumption also applies if the employer fails to rehire a former employee at the next opportunity for work in the same position. The employer may rebut the presumption with clear and convincing evidence that the adverse action was taken for a permissible purpose. 6. Standard of Proof. Proof of retaliation under this chapter shall be sufficient upon a showing that an employer or any other person has taken an adverse action against a person and the person's exercise of rights protected in this chapter was a motivating factor in the adverse action, unless the employer can prove that the action would have been taken in the absence of such protected activity. 7. The protections afforded under this section shall apply to any person who mistakenly but in good faith alleges violations of this chapter. Section 8. Enforcement. 1. Any person or class of persons that suffers financial injury as a result of a violation of this chapter or is the subject of prohibited retaliation under this chapter, or any other individual or entity acting on their behalf, may bring a civil action in a court of competent jurisdiction against the employer or other person violating this chapter and, upon prevailing, shall be awarded reasonable attorney fees and costs and such legal or equitable relief as may be appropriate to remedy the violation including, without limitation, the payment of any unpaid wages plus interest due to the person and liquidated damages in an additional amount of up to twice the unpaid wages; compensatory damages; and a penalty payable to any aggrieved party of up to $5,000 if the aggrieved party was subject to prohibited retaliation. For the purposes of this section, an aggrieved party means an employee or other person who suffers tangible or intangible harm due to an employer or other person's violation of this chapter. Interest shall accrue from the date the unpaid wages were first due at the higher of twelve percent per annum or the maximum rate permitted under RCW 19.52.020. 2. For purposes of determining membership within a class of persons entitled to bring an action under this section, two or more employees are similarly situated if they: a. Are or were employed by the same employer or employers, whether concurrently or otherwise, at some point during the applicable statute of limitations period; b. Allege one or more violations that raise similar questions as to liability; and C. Seek similar forms of relief. d. Employees shall not be considered dissimilar solely because their claims seek damages that differ in meant, or theirjob titles or other means of classifying employees differ in ways that me unrelated to their claims. 3. Each covered employer shall retain records as required by RCW 49.46,070, as well as such information as the City may require to confirm compliance with this chapter. If an employer fails to retain such records, there shall be a presumption, rebuttable by clear and convincing evidence, that the employer violated this chapter for the periods and for each employee for whom records were not retained. 4. Employers shall permit authorized City representatives access to work sites and relevant records for the purpose of monitoring compliance with the chapter and investigating complaints of noncompliance, including production for inspection and copying of employment records. The City may designate representatives, including city contractors and representatives of unions or worker advocacy organizations, to access the workshe and relevant records. 5. Complaints that any provision of this chapter has been violated may also be presented to the City Attorney, who is hereby authorized to investigate and, if they deem appropriate, initiate legal or other action to remedy any violation of this chapter. 6. The City has the authority to issue administrative citations and to order injunctive relief including reinstatement, restitution, payment of back wages, or other forms of relief. 7. The City may, in the exercise of its authority and performance of its functions and services, agree by contract or otherwise to participate jointly or in cooperation with Washington State, King County, or any city, town, or other incorporated place, or subdivision thereof, or engage outside counsel, to enforce this chapter. 8. The remedies and penalties provided under this chapter are cumulative and are not intended to be exclusive of any other available remedies or penalties, including existing remedies for enforcement of Renton Municipal Code chapters. 9. The statute of limitations for any enforcement action shall be five (5) years. Section 9. A new section is added to Renton Municipal Code (RMC) Section 5-5-4 as follows: 1. The Finance Director may deny, suspend, or revoke any license under this chapter for violation of this ordinance. 2. The Finance Director must deny, suspend, or revoke any license under this chapter for repeated intentional violations of this ordinance. 3. Any action by the Finance Director under this section shall be subject to the procedures and requirements of RMC subsection 5-5-3.E, as well as other due process rights that a court may require. Section 10. Definitions. For the purposes of this chapter, the following terms shall have the following meanings: "City" means the City of Renton. "Covered employer" means an employer that either (1) employs at least 15 employees regardless of where those employees are employed, or (2) has annual gross revenue over $2 million. "Effective date" is the effective date of this ordinance. "Employee" is defined as set forth in RCW 49.46.010. An employer bears the burden of proof that the individual is, as a matter of economic reality, in business for oneself rather than dependent upon the alleged employer. "Employer" is defined as set forth in RCW 49.46.010. "Employer classification" includes the determination of whether an employer is a covered employer and whether a covered employer is a large employer. "Franchise" means an agreement, express or implied, oral or written by which: 1, A person is granted the right to engage in the business of offering, selling, or distributing goods or services under a marketing plan prescribed or suggested in substantial part by the grantor or its affiliate; 2. The operation of the business is substantially associated with a trademark, service mark, trade time, advertising, or other commercial symbol; designating, owned by, or licensed by the grantor or its affiliate; and 3. The person pays, agrees to pay, or is required to pay, directly or indirectly, a franchise fee. The term, "franchise fee" is meant to be construed broadly to include any instance in which the grantor or its affiliate derives income or profit from a person who enters into a franchise agreement with the grantor. "Hour worked within the City" is to be interpreted according to its ordinary meaning, including all hours worked within the geographic boundaries of the City, excluding time spent in the City solely for the purpose of traveling through the City from a point of origin outside the City to a destination outside the City, with no employment -related or commercial stops in the City except for refueling or the employee's personal meals or errands. "Large Employer" means all employers that employ more than 500 employees, regardless of where those employees are employed, and all franchisees associated with a franchisor or a network of franchises with franchisees that employ more than 500 employees in aggregate. "Other covered employer" means a covered employer that does not qualify as a large employer. "Service charge" is defined as set forth in RCW 49.46.160(2)(c). "Tips" means a verifiable sum to be presented by a customer as a gift or gratuity in recognition of some service performed for the customer by the employee receiving the tip. "Wage" is defined as set forth in RCW 49.46.010. Section 11. Other Legal Requirements. This ordinance shall not be construed to preempt, limit, or otherwise affect the applicability of any other law, regulation, requirement, policy, or standard that provides for greater wages or compensation; and nothing in this ordinance shall be interpreted or applied so as to create any power or duty in conflict with federal or state law. Section 12. Rulemaking. Within 180 days after the effective date, the City shall adopt rules and procedures to implement and ensure compliance with this chapter, which shall require employers to maintain adequate records and to annually certify compliance with this chapter. The City shall seek feedback from worker organizations and covered employers before finalizing the rules and procedures. Section 13. Constitutional Subject. For constitutional purposes, this measure's subject "concerns labor standards for certain employers." See File Foods, LLC v. City of SeaTac, 183 Wash. 2d 770, 783, 357 P.3d 1040, 1047 (2015) (upholding this statement of subject for an initiative that set a minimum wage and addressed employees' access to hours). Section 14. Codification. All sections of this ordinance except section 9 shall be codified in a new chapter of the Renton Municipal Code. Section 15. Election date. In the event that the election on this measure takes place later than November 7, 2023, the Finance Department must establish and publish the initial minimum wage within 30 days of the effective date. Section 16. Severability. The provisions of this ordinance are declared to be separate and severable. If any clause, sentence, paragraph, subdivision, section, subsection, or portion of this ordinance, or the application thereof to any employer, employee, or circumstance, is held to be invalid, it shall not affect the validity of the remainder of this ordinance, or the validity of its application to other persons or circumstances. Name Of Canvas Date Canvassed: `vasser Email and Phone Number: Raising The Minimum Wage In Renton 1 2. 3 INITIATIVE PETITION FOR SUBMISSION TO THE RENTON CITY COUNCIL TO: The City Council of the City of Renton: ® cccR 933-M �>wuwwnrux�"° We, the undersigned registered voters of the City of Renton, State of Washington, residing at the addresses set forth opposite our respective names, being equal to fifteen percent (15%) of the total number of names of persons listed as registered voters within the City on the day of the last preceding City general election, respectfully request that the following ordinance be enacted by the City Council or, if not so enacted, be submitted to a vote of the residents of the City. The title of the said ordinance is as follows: ORDINANCE CONCERNING LABOR STANDARDS FOR CERTAIN EMPLOYEES A full, true and correct copy of the ordinance is attached to this Petition. Each of us for himself or herself says: I have personally signed this petition; I am a registered voter of the City of Renton, State of Washington; and my residence is correctly stated. Signature Printed Name Street and Number City Phone Number Email Date same-?/C&r Printed Name 1234 Anywhere St. Renton 206-555-1234 maria@something.org 4/10/2023 Renton A(If�1 / / `tUl. l Am\, Ocnnq '11VnP'1 i t1 Ie S Renton 20 a✓y\\l Cep 5in6G 7 /b Renton — -- ot,mcid k (cJ J CCIM l 4. -' A-1I" Farr! /� 5. 7. Y�� Ue►���5� a 7 10. 73 J` IS7 Renton Renton �j U tie q pZ_ Renton qt)� - S 10 j K 67, NG Z �'9t Renton olou)Gggl'�uG 01S aloe Sw vi t ur Renton, Renton Renton `J/ l ' Warning Every person who signs this petition with any other than his or her true name, or who knowingly signs more than one of these petitions, or signs a petition seek- ing an election when he or she is not a legal voter, or signs a petition when he or she is otherwise not qualified to sign, or who makes herein any false statement, shall be guilty of a misdemeanor. AN ORDINANCE concerning labor standards for certain employees. Section 1. Findings. 1. The people of the City of Renton hereby adopt this citizen initiative addressing labor standards for certain employees, for the purpose of ensuring that, to the extent reasonably practicable, people employed in Renton have good wages and access to sufficient hours of work. 2. The City of Renton is one of the largest job centers in Washington State, with thousands of shoppers and workers visiting daily to participate in the local economy. Renton is home to The Landing shopping center, the historic Downtown Urban Center, as well as retail and commercial office and warehouse districts around the Rainier/Grady Way Junction. The City is a net importer ofjobs, with nearly 60,000 employed workers. Renton has a wide army of both long established and new and evolving business sectors. Retail businesses, restaurants and bars, auto sales, hospitality, healthcare, and office workers are well represented. 3. The statewide minimum wage is not sufficient to afford rising rents and costs of living in Renton. According to the National Low Income Housing Coalition's Out of Reach 2022 report, a worker making Washington's minimum wage would have to work 72 hours each week (up from 70 hours each week in 2021) to afford a modest one -bedroom rental home at Fair Market Rent. 4. When working families earn insufficient income due to low wages and involuntary under -employment, they struggle to pay for basic necessities like health cue, child one, and groceries, and they are more likely to be evicted and become homeless. 5. Nearby King County cities of SeaTac, Seattle, and Tukwila enacted higher minimum wages in 2013, 2014, and 2022 respectively, but until now Renton has not followed suit. 6. Children growing up in poverty experience insecurity with housing, nutrition, and health cue while enduring other hardships that prevent their ability to learn in school. Full time working parents must be able to reasonably provide for their family to ensure access to the opportunities and promise of public education. Section 2. Intent. It is the intent of the people to establish fair labor standards and protect the rights of workers by: (1) ensuring that the vast majority of employees in the City of Renton receive a minimum wage comparable to employees in the nearby cities of Tukwila, SeaTac, and Seattle; (2) requiring covered employers to offer additional hours of work to qualified part-time employees before hiring new employees to fill those hours; and (3) adopting enforcement requirements. Section 3. Large Employers Shall Pay Minimum Wages Comparable to Those in Nearby Cities. 1. Effective July 1, 2024, every large employer shall pay to each employee an hourly wage of not less than the 2023 new minimum wage rate in the City of Tukwila, established by City of Tukwila Initiative Measure No. 1, approved by voters in November 2022, adjusted for 2024 by the annual rate of inflation. 2. On January 1, 2025, and on each January 1 thereafter, the hourly minimum wage shall increase by the annual rate of inflation to maintain employee purchasing power. 3. By December 31, 2023, and by October 15 of each year thereafter, the Finance Department shall establish and publish the applicable hourly minimum wage for the following year using the annual rate of inflation. 4. For purposes of this chapter, the annual rate of inflation means 100 percent of the annual average growth rate of the bi-monthly Seattle -Tacoma -Bellevue Area Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers, termed CPI-W, for the 12-month period ending in August, provided that the percentage increase shall not be less than zero. 5. An employer must pay to its employees: a. All tips and gratuities; and b. All service charges as defined under RCW 49.46.160 except those that, pursuant to RCW 49.46.160, are itemized as not being payable to the employee or employees servicing the customer. Tips and service charges paid to an employee are in addition to, and may not count towards, the employee's hourly minimum wage. Section 4. Other Covered Employers Shall Have a Multiyear Phase -In Period. Other covered employers shall phase in the new minimum wage, as follows: 1. Effective July 1, 2024, other covered employers shall pay employees not less than the hourly minimum wage established under Section 3 minus Two Dollars ($2) per hour. 2. Effective July 1, 2025, other covered employers shall pay employees notless than the hourly minimum wage established under Section 3 minus One Dollar ($1) per hour. 3. Effective July 1, 2026, and thereafter, all covered employers shall pay employees not less than the hourly minimum wage established under Section 3. Section 5. Coverage and Employer Classifications. 1. Covered employers must pay employees at least the minimum wage established by this chapter for each hour worked within the City. 2. Employer classification for the current calendar year will be calculated based upon the average number of employees during all weeks in the previous calendar year in which the employer had at least one employee. For employers that did not have any employees during the previous calendar year, classification will be based upon the average number of employees during the most recent three months of the current year. In this determination, all employees will be counted, regardless of their location, and including employees who worked in full-time employment, part-time employment, joint employment, temporary employment, or through the services of a temporary services or staffing agency or similar entity. 3. Employer classification for the current calendar yew will be calculated based upon the gross revenue for the previous year. For employers that did not have gross revenue during the previous calendar yea, annual gross revenue will be calculated from the gross revenue during the most recent three months of the current year. 4. For the purposes of employer classification, separate entities will be considered a single employer if they form an integrated enterprise or they are underjoint control by one of those entities or a separate entity. The factors to consider in making this assessment include, but are not limited to: a. Degree of interrelation between the operations of multiple entities; b. Degree to which the entities share common management; C. Centralized control of labor relations; and d. Degree of common ownership or financial control over the entities. Section 6. Part -Time Employees Shall Have Fair Access to Additional Hours. 1. Before hiring additional employees or subcontractors, including hiring through the use of temporary services or staffing agencies, covered employers must offer additional hours of work to existing employees who, in the employer's good faith and reasonable judgment, have the skills and experience to perform the work, and shall use a reasonable, transparent, and nondiscriminatory process to distribute the hours of work among those existing employees. 2. This section shall not be construed to require any employer to offer an employee work hours if the employer would be required to compensate the employee at time -and -a -half or other premium rate under any law or collective bargaining agreement, nor to prohibit any employer from offering such work hours, Section 7. Retaliation Prohibited. 1. No employer or any other person shall interfere with, restrain, or deny the exercise of, or the attempt to exercise, any right protected under this chapter. 2. No employer or any other person shall take any adverse action against any person because the person has exercised in good faith the rights under this chapter. Such rights include but are not limited to the right to make inquiries about the rights protected under this chapter; the right to inform others about their rights under this chapter; the right to inform the person's employer, union, or similar organization, and/or the person's legal counsel or any other person about an alleged violation of this chapter; the right to bring a civil action for an alleged violation of this chapter•, the right to testify in a proceeding under or related to this chapter; the right to refuse to participate in an activity that would result in a violation of city, state, or federal law; and the right to oppose any policy, practice, or act that is unlawful under this chapter. 3. For the purposes of this section, an adverse action means denying ajob or promotion, demoting, terminating, failing to rehire after a seasonal interruption of work, threatening, penalizing, retaliating, engaging in unfair immigration -related practices, filing a false report with a government agency, changing an employee's status to nonemployee, decreasing or declining to provide additional work hours when they otherwise would have been offered, scheduling an employee for hours outside of their availability, or otherwise discriminating against any person for any reason prohibited by this chapter. "Adverse action" for an employee may involve any aspect of employment, including pay, work hours, responsibilities, or other material change in the terms and conditions of employment. 4. No employer or any other person shall communicate to a person exercising rights protected under this chapter, directly or indirectly, the willingness to inform a government employee that the person is not lawfully in the United States, or to report, or to make an implied or express assertion of a willingness to report, suspected citizenship or immigration status of the person or a family member of the person to a federal, state, or local agency because the person has exercised a right under this chapter. 5. There shall be a rebuttable presumption of unlawful retaliation if an employer or any other person takes an adverse action against a person within 90 days of the person's exercise of any right protected in this chapter. However, in the case of seasonal work that ended before the close of the 90-day period, the presumption also applies if the employer fails to rehire a former employee at the next opportunity for work in the same position. The employer may rebut the presumption with clear and convincing evidence that the adverse action was taken for a permissible purpose. 6. Standard of Proof. Proof of retaliation under this chapter shall be sufficient upon a showing that an employer or any other person has taken an adverse action against a person and the person's exercise of rights protected in this chapter was a motivating factor in the adverse action, unless the employer can prove that the action would have been taken in the absence of such protected activity. 7. The protections afforded under this section shall apply to any person who mistakenly but in good faith alleges violations of this chapter. Section S. Enforcement. 1. Any person or class of persons that suffers financial injury as a result of a violation of this chapter or is the subject of prohibited retaliation under this chapter, or any other individual or entity acting on their behalf, may bring a civil action in a court of competent jurisdiction against the employer or other person violating this chapter and, upon prevailing, shall be awarded reasonable attorney fees and costs and such legal or equitable relief as may be appropriate to remedy the violation including, without limitation, the payment of any unpaid wages plus interest due to the person and liquidated damages in an additional amount of up to twice the unpaid wages; compensatory damages; and a penalty payable to any aggrieved party of up to $5,000 if the aggrieved party was subject to prohibited retaliation. For the purposes of this section, an aggrieved party means an employee or other person who suffers tangible or intangible harm due to an employer or other person's violation of this chapter. Interest shall accrue from the date the unpaid wages were first due at the higher of twelve percent per annum or the maximum rate permitted under RCW 19.52.020. 2. For purposes of determining membership within a class of persons entitled to bring an action under this section, two or more employees are similarly situated if they: a. Are or were employed by the same employer or employers, whether concurrently or otherwise, at some point during the applicable statute of limitations period; b. Allege one or more violations that raise similar questions as to liability; and C. Seek similar forms of relief. d. Employees shall not be considered dissimilar solely because their claims seek damages that differ in meant, or their job titles or other means of classifying employees differ in ways that are unrelated to their claims. 3. Each covered employer shall retain records as required by RCW 49.46.070, as well as such information as the City may require to confirm compliance with this chapter. If an employer fails to retain such records, there shall be a presumption, rebuttable by clear and convincing evidence, that the employer violated this chapter for the periods and for each employee for whom records were not retained. 4. Employers shall permit authorized City representatives access to work sites and relevant records for the purpose of monitoring compliance with the chapter and investigating complaints of noncompliance, including production for inspection and copying of employment records. The City may designate representatives, including city contractors and representatives of unions or worker advocacy organizations, to access the worksite and relevant records. 5. Complaints that any provision of this chapter has been violated may also be presented to the City Attorney, who is hereby authorized to investigate and, if they deem appropriate, initiate legal or other action to remedy any violation of this chapter. 6. The City has the authority to issue administrative citations and to order injunctive relief including reinstatement, restitution, payment of back wages, or other forms of relief. 7. The City may, in the exercise of its authority and performance of its functions and services, agree by contract or otherwise to participate jointly or in cooperation with Washington State, King County, or any city, town, or other incorporated place, or subdivision thereof, or engage outside counsel, to enforce this chapter. 8. The remedies and penalties provided under this chapter are cumulative and we not intended to be exclusive of any other available remedies or penalties, including existing remedies for enforcement of Renton Municipal Code chapters. 9. The statute of limitations for any enforcement action shall be five (5) years. Section 9. A new section is added to Renton Municipal Code (RMC) Section 5-5-4 as follows: 1. The Finance Director may deny, suspend, or revoke any license under this chapter for violation of this ordinance. 2. The Finance Director must deny, suspend, or revoke any license under this chapter for repeated intentional violations of this ordinance. 3. Any action by the Finance Director under this section shall be subject to the procedures and requirements of RMC subsection 5-5-3.E, as well as other due process rights that a court may require. Section 10. Definitions. For the purposes of this chapter, the following terms shall have the following meanings: "City" means the City of Renton. "Covered employer" means an employer that either (1) employs at least 15 employees regardless of where those employees are employed, or (2) has annual gross revenue over $2 million. "Effective date" is the effective date of this ordinance. "Employee" is defined as set forth in RCW 49.46.010. An employer bears the burden of proof that the individual is, as a matter of economic reality, in business for oneself rather than dependent upon the alleged employer. "Employer" is defined as set forth in RCW 49.46.010. "Employer classification" includes the determination of whether an employer is a covered employer and whether a covered employer is a large employer. "Franchise" means an agreement, express or implied, oral or written by which: I. A person is granted the right to engage in the business of offering, selling, or distributing goods or services under a marketing plan prescribed or suggested in substantial part by the grantor or its affiliate; 2. The operation of the business is substantially associated with a trademark, service mark, trade time, advertising, or other commercial symbol; designating, owned by, or licensed by the grantor or its affiliate; and 3. The person pays, agrees to pay, or is required to pay, directly or indirectly, a franchise fee. The term, "franchise fee" is meant to be construed broadly to include any instance in which the grantor or its affiliate derives income or profit from a person who enters into a franchise agreement with the grantor. "Hour worked within the City" is to be interpreted according to its ordinary meaning, including all hours worked within the geographic boundaries of the City, excluding time spent in the City solely for the purpose of traveling through the City from a point of origin outside the City to a destination outside the City, with no employment -related or commercial stops in the City except for refueling or the employee's personal meals or errands. "Large Employer" means all employers that employ more than 500 employees, regardless of where those employees we employed, and all franchisees associated with a franchisor or a network of franchises with franchisees that employ more than 500 employees in aggregate. "Other covered employer" means a covered employer that does not qualify as a large employer. "Service charge" is defined as set forth in RCW 49.46.160(2)(c). "Tips" means a verifiable sum to be presented by a customer as a gift or gratuity in recognition of some service performed for the customer by the employee receiving the tip. "Wage" is defined as set forth in RCW 49.46.010. Section 11. Other Legal Requirements. This ordinance shall not be construed to preempt, limit, or otherwise affect the applicability of any other law, regulation, requirement, policy, or standard that provides for greater wages or compensation; and nothing in this ordinance shall be interpreted or applied so as to create any power or duty in conflict with federal or state law. Section 12. Rulemaking. Within 180 days after the effective date, the City shall adopt rules and procedures to implement and ensure compliance with this chapter, which shall require employers to maintain adequate records and to annually certify compliance with this chapter. The City shall seek feedback from worker organizations and covered employers before finalizing the rules and procedures. Section 13. Constitutional Subject. For constitutional purposes, this measure's subject `concerns labor standards for certain employers." See File Foods, LLC v, City of SeaTac, 183 Wash. 2d 770, 783, 357 RM 1040, 1047 (2015) (upholding this statement of subject for an initiative that set a minmum wage and addressed employees' access to hours). Section 14. Codification. All sections of this ordinance except section 9 shall be codified in a new chapter of the Renton Municipal Code. Section 15. Election date. In the event that the election on this measure takes place later than November 7, 2023, the Finance Department must establish and publish the initial minimum wage within 30 days of the effective date. Section 16. Severability. The provisions of this ordinance are declared to be separate and severable. If any clause, sentence, paragraph, subdivision, section, subsection, or portion of this ordinance, or the application thereof to any employer, employee, or circumstance, is held to be invalid, it shall not affect the validity of the remainder of this ordinance, or the validity of its application to other persons or circumstances. Name Of Date F�aa,er Email and Phon 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. Raising The Minimum Wage In Renton INITIATIVE PETITION FOR SUBMISSION TO THE RENTON CITY COUNCIL TO: The City Council of the City of Renton: We, the undersigned registered voters of the City of Renton, State of Washington, residing at the addresses set forth opposite our respective names, being equal to fifteen percent (15%) of the total number of names of persons listed as registered voters within the City on the day of the last preceding City general election, respectfully request that the following ordinance be enacted by the City Council or, if not so enacted, be submitted to a vote of the residents of the City. The title of the said ordinance is as follows: ORDINANCE CONCERNING LABOR STANDARDS FOR CERTAIN EMPLOYEES A full, true and correct copy of the ordinance is attached to this Petition. Each of us for himself or herself says: I have personally signed this petition; I am a registered voter of the City of Renton, State of Washington; and my residence is correctly stated. Signature Printed Name Street and Number City Phone Number Email Date S-?I0em Printed Name 1234 Anywhere St. Renton 206-555-1234 maria@something.org 4/10/2023 Renton o?06'a4S=So6y jca4,k. V �s'•ro.% S' 7-23 �a� (n/o�Yl�lt°iV �_ 1��//u Gf�Yi ✓v d� ri Renton 7�10 017,3ql G�ea�i, �0 /�yyJ S'�l-?i� Warning Every person who signs this petition with any other than his or her true name, or who knowingly signs more than one of these petitions, or signs a petition seek- ing an election when he or she is not a legal voter, or signs a petition when he or she is otherwise not qualified to sign, or who makes herein any false statement, shall be guilty of a misdemeanor. AN ORDINANCE concerning labor standards for certain employees. Section 1. Findings. 1. The people of the City of Renton hereby adopt this citizen initiative addressing labor standards for certain employees, for the purpose of ensuring that, to the extent reasonably practicable, people employed in Renton have good wages and access to sufficient hours of work. 2. The City of Renton is one of the largestjob centers in Washington State, with thousands of shoppers and workers visiting daily to participate in the local economy. Renton is home to The Landing shopping center, the historic Downtown Urban Center, as well as retail and commercial office and warehouse districts around the Rainier/Grady Way Junction. The City is a net importer ofjobs, with nearly 60,000 employed workers. Renton has a wide may of both long established and new and evolving business sectors. Retail businesses, restaurants and has, auto sales, hospitality, healthcare, and office workers are well represented. 3. The statewide minimum wage is not sufficient to afford rising rents and costs of living in Renton. According to the National Low Income Housing Coalition's Out of Reach 2022 report, a worker making Washington's minimum wage would have to work 72 hours each week (up from 70 hours each week in 2021) to afford a modest one -bedroom rental home at Fair Market Rent. 4. When working families earn insufficient income due to low wages and involuntary under -employment, they struggle to pay for basic necessities like health care, child care, and groceries, and they are more likely to be evicted and become homeless. 5. Nearby King County cities of SeaTac, Seattle, and Tukwila enacted higher minimum wages in 2013, 2014, and 2022 respectively, but until now Renton has not followed suit. 6. Children growing up in poverty experience insecurity with housing, nutrition, and health care while enduring other hardships that prevent their ability to learn in school. Full time working parents must be able to reasonably provide for their family to ensure access to the opportunities and promise of public education. Section 2. Intent. It is the intent of the people to establish fair labor standards and protect the rights of workers by: (1) ensuring that the vast majority of employees in the City of Renton receive a minimum wage comparable to employees in the nearby cities of Tukwila, SeaTac, and Seattle; (2) requiring covered employers to offer additional hours of work to qualified part-time employees before hiving new employees to fill those hours; and (3) adopting enforcement requirements. Section 3. Large Employers Shall Pay Minimum Wages Comparable to Those in Nearby Cities. 1. Effective July 1, 2024, every large employer shall pay to each employee an hourly wage of not less than the 2023 new minimum wage rate in the City of Tukwila, established by City of Tukwila Initiative Measure No. 1, approved by voters in November 2022, adjusted for 2024 by the annual rate of inflation. 2. On January 1, 2025, and on each January 1 thereafter, the hourly minimum wage shall increase by the annual rate of inflation to maintain employee purchasing power. 3. By December 31, 2023, and by October 15 of each year thereafter, the Finance Department shall establish and publish the applicable hourly minimum wage for the following year using the annual rate of inflation. 4. For purposes of this chapter, the annual rate of inflation means 100 percent of the annual average growth rate of the bi-monthly Seattle -Tacoma -Bellevue Area Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers, termed CPI-W, for the 12-month period ending in August, provided that the percentage increase shall not be less than zero. 5. An employer must pay to its employees: a. All tips and gratuities; and b. All service charges as defined under RCW 49.46.160 except those that, pursuant to RCW 49.46.160, are itemized as not being payable to the employee or employees servicing the customer. Tips and service charges paid to an employee are in addition to, and may not count towards, the employee's hourly minimum wage. Section 4. Other Covered Employers Shall Have a Multiyear Phase -In Period. Other covered employers shall phase in the new minimum wage, as follows: 1. Effective July 1, 2024, other covered employers shall pay employees not less than the hourly minimum wage established under Section 3 minus Two Dollars ($2) per hour. 2. Effective July 1, 2025, other covered employers shall pay employees not less than the hourly minimum wage established under Section 3 minus One Dollar ($1) per hour. 3. Effective July 1, 2026, and thereafter, all covered employers shall pay employees not less than the hourly minimum wage established under Section 3. Section 5. Coverage and Employer Classifications. 1. Covered employers must pay employees at least the minimum wage established by this chapter for each hour worked within the City. 2. Employer classification for the current calendar year will be calculated based upon the average number of employees during all weeks in the previous calendar year in which the employer had at least one employee. For employers that did not have any employees during the previous calendar year, classification will be based upon the average number of employees during the most recent three months of the current year. In this determination, all employees will be counted, regardless of their location, and including employees who worked in full-time employment, part-time employment, joint employment, temporary employment, or through the services of a temporary services or staffing agency or similar entity. 3. Employer classification for the current calendar year will be calculated based upon the gross revenue for the previous year. For employers that did not have gross revenue during the previous calendar year, annual gross revenue will be calculated from the gross revenue during the most recent three months of the current year. 4. For the purposes of employer classification, separate entities will be considered a single employer if they form an integrated enterprise or they are underjoint control by one of those entities or a separate entity. The factors to consider in making this assessment include, but are not limited to: a. Degree of interrelation between the operations of multiple entities; b. Degree to which the entities share common management; C. Centralized control of labor relations; and d. Degree of common ownership or financial control over the entities. Section 6. Part -Time Employees Shall Have Fair Access to Additional Hours. 1. Before hiring additional employees or subcontractors, including hiring through the use of temporary services or staffing agencies, covered employers must offer additional hours of work to existing employees who, in the employer's good faith and reasonable judgment, have the skills and experience to perform the work, and shall use a reasonable, transparent, and nondiscriminatory process to distribute the hours of work among those existing employees. 2. This section shall not be construed to require any employer to offer an employee work hours if the employer would be required to compensate the employee at time -and -a -half or other premium rate under any law or collective bargaining agreement, nor to prohibit any employer from offering such work hours. Section 7. Retaliation Prohibited. 1. No employer or any other person shall interfere with, restrain, or deny the exercise of, or the attempt to exercise, any right protected under this chapter. 2. No employer or any other person shall take any adverse action against any person because the person has exercised in good faith the rights under this chapter. Such rights include but are not limited to the right to make inquiries about the rights protected under this chapter; the right to inform others about their rights under this chapter; the right to inform the person's employer, union, or similar organization, and/or the person's legal counsel or any other person about an alleged violation of this chapter; the right to bring a civil action for an alleged violation of this chapter; the right to testify in a proceeding under or related to this chapter; the right to refuse to participate in an activity that would result in a violation of city, state, or federal law; and the right to oppose any policy, practice, or act that is unlawful under this chapter. 3. For the purposes of this section, an adverse action means denying a job or promotion, demoting, terminating, failing to rehire after a seasonal interruption of work, threatening, penalizing, retaliating, engaging in unfair immigration -related practices, filing a false report with a government agency, changing an employee's status to nonemployee, decreasing or declining to provide additional work hours when they otherwise would have been offered, scheduling an employee for hours outside of their availability, or otherwise discriminating against any person for any reason prohibited by this chapter. "Adverse action" for an employee may involve any aspect of employment, including pay, work hours, responsibilities, or other material change in the terms and conditions of employment. 4. No employer or any other person shall communicate to a person exercising rights protected under this chapter, directly or indirectly, the willingness to inform a government employee that the person is not lawfully in the United States, or to report, or to make an implied or express assertion of a willingness to report, suspected citizenship or immigration status of the person or a family member of the person to a federal, state, or local agency because the person has exercised a right under this chapter. 5. There shall be a rebuttable presumption of unlawful retaliation if an employer or any other person takes an adverse action against a person within 90 days of the person's exercise of any right protected in this chapter. However, in the case of seasonal work that ended before the close of the 90-day period, the presumption also applies if the employer fails to rehire a former employee at the next opportunity for work in the same position. The employer may rebut the presumption with clear and convincing evidence that the adverse action was taken for a permissible purpose, 6. Standard of Proof, Proof of retaliation under this chapter shall be sufficient upon a showing that an employer or any other person has taken an adverse action against a person and the person's exercise of rights protected in this chapter was a motivating factor in the adverse action, unless the employer can prove that the action would have been taken in the absence of such protected activity. 7. The protections afforded under this section shall apply to any person who mistakenly but in good faith alleges violations of this chapter. Section 8. Enforcement. 1. Any person or class of persons that suffers financial injury as a result of a violation of this chapter or is the subject of prohibited retaliation under this chapter, or any other individual or entity acting on their behalf, may bring a civil action in a court of competentjurisdiction against the employer or other person violating this chapter and, upon prevailing, shall be awarded reasonable attorney fees and costs and such legal or equitable relief as may be appropriate to remedy the violation including, without limitation, the payment of any unpaid wages plus interest due to the person and liquidated damages in an additional amount of up to twice the unpaid wages; compensatory damages; and a penalty payable to any aggrieved party of up to $5,000 if the aggrieved party was subject to prohibited retaliation. For the purposes of this section, an aggrieved party means an employee or other person who suffers tangible or intangible harm due to an employer or other person's violation of this chapter. Interest shall accrue from the date the unpaid wages were first due at the higher of twelve percent per annum or the maximum rate permitted under RCW 19.52.020. 2. For purposes of determining membership within a class of persons entitled to bring an action under this section, two or more employees are similarly situated if they: a. Are or were employed by the same employer or employers, whether concurrently or otherwise, at some point during the applicable statute of limitations period; b. Allege one or more violations that raise similar questions as to liability; and C. Seek similar forms of relief. d. Employees shall not be considered dissimilar solely because their claims seek damages that differ in amount, or their job titles or other means of classifying employees differ in ways that are unrelated to their claims. 3. Each covered employer shall retain records as required by RCW 49.46.070, as well as such information as the City may require to confine compliance with this chapter. If an employer fails to retain such records, there shall be a presumption, rebuttable by clear and convincing evidence, that the employer violated this chapter for the periods and for each employee for whom records were not retained. 4. Employers shall permit authorized City representatives access to work sites and relevant records for the purpose of monitoring compliance with the chapter and investigating complaints of noncompliance, including production for inspection and copying of employment records. The City may designate representatives, including city contractors and representatives of unions or worker advocacy organizations, to access the worksite and relevant records. 5. Complaints that any provision of this chapter has been violated may also be presented to the City Attorney, who is hereby authorized to investigate and, if they deem appropriate, initiate legal or other action to remedy any violation of this chapter. 6. The City has the authority to issue administrative citations and to order injunctive relief including reinstatement, restitution, payment of back wages, or other forms of relief. 7. The City may, in the exercise of its authority and performance of its functions and services, agree by contract or otherwise to participate jointly or in cooperation with Washington State, King County, or any city, town, or other incorporated place, or subdivision thereof, or engage outside counsel, to enforce this chapter. 8. The remedies and penalties provided under this chapter are cumulative and are not intended to be exclusive of any other available remedies or penalties, including existing remedies for enforcement of Renton Municipal Code chapters. 9. The statute of limitations for any enforcement action shall be five (5) years. Section 9. A new section is added to Renton Municipal Code (RMC) Section 5-5-4 as follows: 1. The Finance Director may deny, suspend, or revoke any license under this chapter for violation of this ordinance. 2. The Finance Director must deny, suspend, or revoke any license under this chapter for repeated intentional violations of this ordinance. 3. Any action by the Finance Director under this section shall be subject to the procedures and requirements of RMC subsection 5-5-3.E, as well as other due process rights that a court may require. Section 10. Definitions. For the purposes of this chapter, the following terms shall have the following meanings: "City" means the City of Renton. "Covered employer" means an employer that either (1) employs at least 15 employees regardless of where those employees are employed, or (2) has annual gross revenue over $2 million. "Effective date" is the effective date of this ordinance. "Employee" is defined as set forth in RCW 49.46.010. An employer bears the burden of proof that the individual is, as a matter of economic reality, in business for oneself rather than dependent upon the alleged employer. "Employer" is defined as set forth in RCW 49.46.010. "Employer classification" includes the determination of whether an employer is a covered employer and whether a covered employer is a large employer. "Franchise" means an agreement, express or implied, oral or written by which: 1. A person is granted the right to engage in the business of offering, selling, or distributing goods or services under a marketing plan prescribed or suggested in substantial part by the grantor or its affiliate; 2. The operation of the business is substantially associated with a trademark, service mark, trade name, advertising, or other commercial symbol; designating, owned by, or licensed by the grantor or its affiliate; and 3. The person pays, agrees to pay, or is required to pay, directly or indirectly, a franchise fee. The term, "franchise fee" is meant to be construed broadly to include any instance in which the grantor or its affiliate derives income or profit from a person who enters into a franchise agreement with the grantor. "Hour worked within the City" is to be interpreted according to its ordinary meaning, including all hours worked within the geographic boundaries of the City, excluding time spent in the City solely for the purpose of traveling through the City from a point of origin outside the City to a destination outside the City, with no employment -related or commercial stops in the City except for refueling or the employee's personal meals or errands. "Large Employer" means all employers that employ more than 500 employees, regardless of where those employees are employed, and all franchisees associated with a franchisor or a network of franchises with franchisees that employ more than 500 employees in aggregate. "Other covered employer" means a covered employer that does not qualify as a large employer. "Service charge" is defined as set forth in RCW 49.46.160(2)(c). "Tips" means a verifiable sum to be presented by a customer as a gift or gratuity in recognition of some service performed for the customer by the employee receiving the tip. "Wage" is defined as set forth in RCW 49.46.010. Section 11. Other Legal Requirements. This ordinance shall not be construed to preempt, limit, or otherwise affect the applicability of any other law, regulation, requirement, policy, or standard that provides for greater wages or compensation; and nothing in this ordinance shall be interpreted or applied so as to create any power or duty in conflict with federal or state law. Section 12. Rulemaking. Within 180 days after the effective date, the City shall adopt rules and procedures to implement and ensure compliance with this chapter, which shall require employers to maintain adequate records and to annually certify compliance with this chapter. The City shall seek feedback from worker organizations and covered employers before finalizing the rules and procedures. Section 13. Constitutional Subject. For constitutional purposes, this measure's subject "concerns labor standards for certain employers." See Filo Foods, LLC v. City of SeaTac, 183 Wash. 2d 770, 783, 357 RM 1040, 1047 (2015) (upholding this statement of subject for an initiative that set a minimum wage and addressed employees' access to hours). Section 14. Codification. All sections of this ordinance except section 9 shall be codified in a new chapter of the Renton Municipal Code. Section 15. Election date. In the event that the election on this measure takes place later than November 7, 2023, the Finance Department must establish and publish the initial minimum wage within 30 days of the effective date. Section 16. Severability. The provisions of this ordinance are declared to be separate and severable. If any clause, sentence, paragraph, subdivision, section, subsection, or portion of this ordinance, or the application thereof to any employer, employee, or circumstance, is held to be invalid, it shall not affect the validity of the remainder of this ordinance, or the validity of its application to other persons or circumstances. Name Of Canvasser: Date Canvassed: Canvasser Email and Phone Number: Raising The Minimum Wage In Renton INITIATIVE PETITION FOR SUBMISSION TO THE RENTON CITY COUNCIL TO: The City Council of the City of Renton: ® iEl. Br_ 939-M We, the undersigned registered voters of the City of Renton, State of Washington, residing at the addresses set forth opposite our respective names, being equal to fifteen percent (15%) of the total number of names of persons listed as registered voters within the City on the day of the last preceding City general election, respectfully request that the following ordinance be enacted by the City Council or, if not so enacted, be submitted to a vote of the residents of the City. The title of the said ordinance is as follows: ORDINANCE CONCERNING LABOR STANDARDS FOR CERTAIN EMPLOYEES A full, true and correct copy of the ordinance is attached to this Petition. Each of us for himself or herself says: I have personally signed this petition; I am a registered voter of the City of Renton, State of Washington; and my residence is correctly stated. Signature Printed Name Street and Number City Phone Number Email S `sOrm Printed Name 1234 Anywhere St. Renton 206-555-1234 maria@something.org 1. �irir� 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. S. 9. I 10. Ta r,n Sar� MA g2-S L `i Renton Date 4/10/2023 5/6,/2 3 Renton / ��N�P✓ I / t��lG J�1�5� $(�� 1,�,Co(u� l�v� `1� Renton� 17211 i �� SC hG05j Renton mll Scut �'`iCt 5+r—oU I% Renton ���7�i �✓ 1.0 1�Gtvia�l �}lc,Sly( t�, ioy� I i 532 SW SuvIs e� f�l vdl �i�j5'I Renton / �l 6,2 3 11 �EQ I� Z' b S S Renton ns Renton s. �P/23 Renton 23 l ar . Renton J, /20f3 57.2v Warning Every person who signs this petition with any other than his or her true name, or who knowingly signs more than one of these petitions, or signs a petition seek- ing an election when he or she is not a legal voter, or signs a petition when he or she is otherwise not qualified to sign, or who makes herein any false statement, shall be guilty of a misdemeanor. AN ORDINANCE concerning labor standards for certain employees. Section 1. Findings. 1. The people of the City of Renton hereby adopt this citizen initiative addressing labor standards for certain employees, for the purpose of ensuring that, to the extent reasonably practicable, people employed in Renton have good wages and access to sufficient hours of work. 2. The City of Renton is one of the largest job centers in Washington State, with thousands of shoppers and workers visiting daily to participate in the local economy. Renton is home to The Landing shopping center, the historic Downtown Urban Center, as well as retail and commercial office and warehouse districts around the Rainier/Grady Way Junction. The City is a net importer o£jobs, with nearly 60,000 employed workers. Renton has a wide array of both long established and new and evolving business sectors. Retail businesses, restaurants and bars, auto sales, hospitality, healthcare, and office workers are well represented. 3. The statewide minimum wage is not sufficient to afford rising rents and costs of living in Renton. According to the National Low Income Housing Coalition's Out of Reach 2022 report, a worker making Washington's minimum wage would have to work 72 hours each week (up from 70 hours each week in 2021) to afford a modest one -bedroom rental home at Fair Market Rent. 4. When working families earn insufficient income due to low wages and involuntary under -employment, they struggle to pay for basic necessities like health care, child cue, and groceries, and they are more likely to be evicted and become homeless. 5. Nearby King County cities of SeaTac, Seattle, and Tukwila enacted higher minimum wages in 2013, 2014, and 2022 respectively, but until now Renton has not followed suit. 6. Children growing up in poverty experience insecurity with housing, nutrition, and health care while enduring other hardships that prevent their ability to learn in school. Full time working parents must be able to reasonably provide for their family to ensure access to the opportunities and promise of public education. Section 2. Intent. It is the intent of the people to establish fair labor standards and protect the rights of workers by: (1) ensuring that the vast majority of employees in the City of Renton receive a minimum wage comparable to employees in the nearby cities of Tukwila, SeaTac, and Seattle; (2) requiring covered employers to offer additional hours of work to qualified part-time employees before hiring new employees to fill those hours; and (3) adopting enforcement requirements. Section 3. Large Employers Shall Pay Minimum Wages Comparable to Those in Nearby Cities. 1. Effective July 1, 2024, every large employer shall pay to each employee an hourly wage of not less than the 2023 new minimum wage rate in the City of Tukwila, established by City of Tukwila Initiative Measure No. 1, approved by voters in November 2022, adjusted for 2024 by the annual rate of inflation. 2. On January 1, 2025, and on each January 1 thereafter, the hourly minimum wage shall increase by the annual rate of inflation to maintain employee purchasing power. 3. By December 31, 2023, and by October 15 of each year thereafter, the Finance Department shall establish and publish the applicable hourly minimum wage for the following year using the annual rate of inflation. 4. For purposes of this chapter, the annual rate of inflation means 100 percent of the annual average growth rate of the bi-monthly Seattle -Tacoma -Bellevue Area Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Eamers and Clerical Workers, termed CPI-W, for the 12-month period ending in August, provided that the percentage increase shall not be less than zero. 5. An employer must pay to its employees: a. All tips and gratuities; and b. All service charges as defined under RCW 49.46.160 except those that, pursuant to RCW 49.46.160, are itemized as not being payable to the employee or employees servicing the customer. Tips and service charges paid to an employee are in addition to, and may not count towards, the employee's hourly minimum wage. Section 4. Other Covered Employers Shall Have a Multiyear Phase -In Period. Other covered employers shall phase in the new minimum wage, as follows: 1. Effective July 1, 2024, other covered employers shall pay employees not less than the hourly minimum wage established under Section 3 minus Two Dollars ($2) per hour. 2. Effective July 1, 2025, other covered employers shall pay employees not less than the hourly minimum wage established under Section 3 minus One Dollar ($1) per hour. 3. Effective July 1, 2026, and thereafter, all covered employers shall pay employees not less than the hourly minimum wage established under Section 3. Section 5. Coverage and Employer Classifications. 1. Covered employers must pay employees at least the minimum wage established by this chapter for each hour worked within the City. 2. Employer classification for the current calendar year will be calculated based upon the average number of employees during all weeks in the previous calendar year in which the employer had at least one employee. For employers that did not have any employees during the previous calendar year, classification will be based upon the average number of employees during the most recent three months of the current year. In this determination, all employees will be counted, regardless of thew location, and including employees who worked in full-time employment, part-time employment, joint employment, temporary employment, or through the services of a temporary services or staffing agency or similar entity. 3. Employer classification for the current calendar year will be calculated based upon the gross revenue for the previous year. For employers that did not have gross revenue during the previous calendar yea, annual gross revenue will be calculated from the gross revenue during the most recent three months of the current year. 4. For the purposes of employer classification, separate entities will be considered a single employer if they form an integrated enterprise or they are under joint control by one of those entities or a separate entity. The factors to consider in making this assessment include, but are not limited to: a. Degree of interrelation between the operations of multiple entities; b. Degree to which the entities share common management; C. Centralized control of labor relations; and d. Degree of common ownership or financial control over the entities. Section 6. Part -Time Employees Shall Have Fair Access to Additional Hours. I. Before hiring additional employees or subcontractors, including hiving through the use of temporary services or staffing agencies, covered employers must offer additional hours of work to existing employees who, in the employer's good faith and reasonable judgment, have the skills and experience to perform the work, and shall use a reasonable, transparent, and nondiscriminatory process to distribute the hours of work among those existing employees. 2. This section shall not be construed to require any employer to offer an employee work hours if the employer would be required to compensate the employee at time -and -a -half or other premium rate under any law or collective bargaining agreement, nor to prohibit any employer from offering such work hours. Section 7. Retaliation Prohibited. 1. No employer or any other person shall interfere with, restrain, or deny the exercise of, or the attempt to exercise, any right protected under this chapter. 2. No employer or any other person shall take any adverse action against any person because the person has exercised in good faith the rights under this chapter. Such rights include but are not limited to the right to make inquiries about the rights protected under this chapter; the right to inform others about their rights under this chapter; the right to inform the person's employer, union, or similar organization, and/or the person's legal counsel or any other person about an alleged violation of this chapter; the right to bring a civil action for an alleged violation of this chapter; the right to testify in a proceeding under or related to this chapter; the right to refuse to participate in an activity that would result in a violation of city, state, or federal law; and the right to oppose any policy, practice, or act that is unlawful under this chapter. 3. For the purposes of this section, an adverse action means denying a job or promotion, demoting, terminating, failing to rehire after a seasonal interruption of work, threatening, penalizing, retaliating, engaging in unfair immigration -related practices, filing a false report with a government agency, changing an employee's status to nonemployee, decreasing or declining to provide additional work hours when they otherwise would have been offered, scheduling an employee for hours outside of their availability, or otherwise discriminating against any person for any reason prohibited by this chapter. "Adverse action" for an employee may involve any aspect of employment, including pay, work hours, responsibilities, or other material change in the terns and conditions of employment. 4. No employer or any other person shall communicate to a person exercising rights protected under this chapter, directly or indirectly, the willingness to inform a government employee that the person is not lawfully in the United States, or to report, or to make an implied or express assertion of a willingness to report, suspected citizenship or immigration status of the person or a family member of the person to a federal, state, or local agency because the person has exercised a right under this chapter. 5. There shall be a rebuttable presumption of unlawful retaliation if an employer or any other person takes an adverse action against a person within 90 days of the person's exercise of any right protected in this chapter. However, in the case of seasonal work that ended before the close of the 90-day period, the presumption also applies if the employer fails to rehire a former employee at the next opportunity for work in the same position. The employer may rebut the presumption with clear and convincing evidence that the adverse action was taken for a permissible purpose. 6. Standard of Proof. Proof of retaliation under this chapter shall be sufficient upon a showing that an employer or any other person has taken an adverse action against a person and the person's exercise of rights protected in this chapter was a motivating factor in the adverse action, unless the employer can prove that the action would have been taken in the absence of such protected activity. 7. The protections afforded under this section shall apply to any person who mistakenly but in good faith alleges violations of this chapter. Section S. Enforcement. 1. Any person or class of persons that suffers financial injury as a result of a violation of this chapter or is the subject of prohibited retaliation under this chapter, or any other individual or entity acting on their behalf, may bring a civil action in a court of competentjurisdiction against the employer or other person violating this chapter and, upon prevailing, shall be awarded reasonable attorney fees and costs and such legal or equitable relief as may be appropriate to remedy the violation including, without limitation, the payment of any unpaid wages plus interest due to the person and liquidated damages, in an additional amount of up to twice the unpaid wages; compensatory damages; and a penalty payable to any aggrieved party of up to $5,000 if the aggrieved party was subject to prohibited retaliation. For the purposes of this section, an aggrieved party means an employee or other person who suffers tangible or intangible harm due to an employer or other person's violation of this chapter. Interest shall accrue from the date the unpaid wages were first due at the higher of twelve percent per annum or the maximum rate permitted under RCW 19.52.020. 2. For purposes of determining membership within a class of persons entitled to bring an action under this section, two or more employees are similarly situated if they: a. Are or were employed by the same employer or employers, whether concurrently or otherwise, at some point during the applicable statute of limitations period; b. Allege one or more violations that raise similar questions as to liability; and C. Seek similar forms of relief d. Employees shall not be considered dissimilar solely because their claims seek damages that differ in amount, or theirjob titles or other means of classifying employees differ in ways that are unrelated to their claims. 3. Each covered employer shall retain records as required by RCW 49.46.070, as well as such information as the City may require to confirm compliance with this chapter. If an employer fails to retain such records, there shall be a presumption, rebuttable by clear and convincing evidence, that the employer violated this chapter for the periods and for each employee for whom records were not retained. 4. Employers shall permit authorized City representatives access to work sites and relevant records for the purpose of monitoring compliance with the chapter and investigating complaints of noncompliance, including production for inspection and copying of employment records. The City may designate representatives, including city contractors and representatives of unions or worker advocacy organizations, to access the worksite and relevant records. 5. Complaints that any provision of this chapter has been violated may also be presented to the City Attorney, who is hereby authorized to investigate and, if they deem appropriate, initiate legal or other action to remedy any violation of this chapter. 6. The City has the authority to issue administrative citations and to order injunctive relief including reinstatement, restitution, payment of back wages, or other forms of relief. 7. The City may, in the exercise of its authority and performance of its functions and services, agree by contract or otherwise to participate jointly or in cooperation with Washington State, King County, or any city, town, or other incorporated place, or subdivision thereof, or engage outside counsel, to enforce this chapter. 8. The remedies and penalties provided under this chapter are cumulative and are not intended to be exclusive of any other available remedies or penalties, including existing remedies for enforcement of Renton Municipal Code chapters. 9. The statute of limitations for any enforcement action shall be five (5) years. Section 9. A new section is added to Renton Municipal Code (RMC) Section 5-5-4 as follows: 1. The Finance Director may deny, suspend, or revoke any license under this chapter for violation of this ordinance. 2. The Finance Director must deny, suspend, or revoke any license under this chapter for repeated intentional violations of this ordinance. 3. Any action by the Finance Director under this section shall be subject to the procedures and requirements of RMC subsection 5-5-3.E, as well as other due process rights that a court may require. Section 10. Definitions. For the purposes of this chapter, the following terms shall have the following meanings: "City" means the City of Renton. "Covered employer" means an employer that either (1) employs at least 15 employees regardless of where those employees are employed, or (2) has annual gross revenue over $2 million. "Effective date" is the effective date of this ordinance. "Employee" is defined as set forth in RCW 49.46.010. An employer bears the burden of proof that the individual is, as a matter of economic reality, in business for oneself rather than dependent upon the alleged employer. "Employer" is defined as set forth in RCW 49.46.010. "Employer classification" includes the determination of whether an employer is a covered employer and whether a covered employer is a large employer. "Franchise" means an agreement, express or implied, oral or written by which: 1. A person is granted the right to engage in the business of offering, selling, or distributing goods or services under a marketing plan prescribed or suggested in substantial part by the grantor or its affiliate; 2. The operation of the business is substantially associated with a trademark, service mark, trade time, advertising, or other commercial symbol; designating, owned by, or licensed by the grantor or its affiliate; and 3. The person pays, agrees to pay, or is required to pay, directly or indirectly, a franchise fee. The term, "franchise fee" is meant to be construed broadly to include any instance in which the grantor or its affiliate derives income or profit from a person who enters into a franchise agreement with the grantor. "Hour worked within the City" is to be interpreted according to its ordinary meaning, including all hours worked within the geographic boundaries of the City, excluding time spent in the City solely for the purpose of traveling through the City from a point of origin outside the City to a destination outside the City, with no employment -related or commercial stops in the City except for refueling or the employee's personal meals or erands. "Large Employer" means all employers that employ more than 500 employees, regardless of where those employees are employed, and all franchisees associated with a franchisor or a network of franchises with franchisees that employ more than 500 employees in aggregate. "Other covered employer" means a covered employer that does not qualify as a large employer. "Service charge" is defined as set forth in RCW 49.46.160(2)(c). "Tips" means a verifiable sum to be presented by a customer as a gift or gratuity in recognition of some service performed for the customer by the employee receiving the tip. "Wage" is defined as set forth in RCW 49.46.010. Section 11. Other Legal Requirements. This ordinance shall not be construed to preempt, limit, or otherwise affect the applicability of any other law, regulation, requirement, policy, or standard that provides for greater wages or compensation; and nothing in this ordinance shall be interpreted or applied so as to create any power or duty in conflict with federal or state law. Section 12. Rulemaking. Within 180 days after the effective date, the City shall adopt rules and procedures to implement and ensure compliance with this chapter, which shall require employers to maintain adequate records and to annually certify compliance with this chapter. The City shall seek feedback from worker organizations and covered employers before finalizing the rules and procedures. Section 13. Constitutional Subject. For constitutional purposes, this measure's subject `concerns labor standards for certain employers." See Filo Foods, LLC v. City of SeaTac, 183 Wash. 2d 770, 783, 357 P.3d 1040, 1047 (2015) (upholding this statement of subject for an initiative that set a minimum wage and addressed employees' access to hours). Section 14. Codification. All sections of this ordinance except section 9 shall be codified in a new chapter of the Renton Municipal Code. Section 15. Election date. In the event that the election on this measure takes place later than November 7, 2023, the Finance Department must establish and publish the initial minimum wage within 30 days of the effective date. Section 16. Severability. The provisions of this ordinance are declared to be separate and severable. If any clause, sentence, paragraph, subdivision, section, subsection, or portion of this ordinance, or the application thereof to any employer, employee, or circumstance, is held to be invalid, it shall not affect the validity of the remainder of this ordinance, or the validity of its application to other persons or circumstances. Nan r r Email and Raising The Minimum Wage In Renton INITIATIVE PETITION FOR SUBMISSION TO THE RENTON CITY COUNCIL TO: The City Council of the City of Renton: ® BCC/IBT 933-M We, the undersigned registered voters of the City of Renton, State of Washington, residing at the addresses set forth opposite our respective names, being equal to fifteen percent (15%) of the total number of names of persons listed as registered voters within the City on the day of the last preceding City general election, respectfully request that the following ordinance be enacted by the City Council or, if not so enacted, be submitted to a vote of the residents of the City. The title of the said ordinance is as follows: ORDINANCE CONCERNING LABOR STANDARDS FOR CERTAIN EMPLOYEES A full, true and correct copy of the ordinance is attached to this Petition. Each of us for himself or herself says: I have personally signed this petition; I am a registered voter of the City of Renton, State of Washington; and my residence is correctly stated. Signature Printed Name Street and Number - City Phone Number � Email Date S`U0 Printed Name 1234 Anywhere St. Renton 206-555-1234 maria@something.org 4/10/2023 p swlk'� �%i. � �- A�ice' ` I� 3� I� �� Renton ,� •��/ 2.LvUI S I 4J �(k2J� T\ "� S Renton 2� �j -. ����/Ct✓S y✓��1I , L e 3. ��C �ck Sin .r 3au ✓C 2.1� SjL Renton r/ S17 11lit l/, 1/ 4. W_ t Lt� " Renton c c r.A_-� P_no G dC - -, i J2ul�Ci iu[� �.(C 1 2 7 I� p Renton ph sv i s. �� � � Icl�S ber eeYr I 7 /- 622z0 f o 1 Renton s 6. �2 -; z � ��z2 �z 6 s�J �� /p� ICE' 1. o Z s <� Z L ,�C / Gvi VL i s V S F _ Sav r 'z c v (a yU Renton 6 7. LIJ�7,/ 8. 7 -0 CIPr�iirl00 EZZZ S� ZeiA 5f Renton �L� 9. I`2,a ���i 15�L/Od S /�'S-" % Renton (l3 �`^l16� z� to. renr�l� ���,^ �de_ n�J� �2o5 �M�nf�� l�v� 5 j Renton Warning Every person who signs this petition with any other than his or her true name, or who knowingly signs more than one of these petitions, or signs a petition seek- ing an election when he or she is not a legal voter, or signs a petition when he or she is otherwise not qualified to sign, or who makes herein any false statement, shall be guilty of a misdemeanor. AN ORDINANCE concerning labor standards for certain employees. Section 1. Findings. 1. The people of the City of Renton hereby adopt this citizen initiative addressing labor standards for certain employees, for the purpose of ensuring that, to the extent reasonably practicable, people employed in Renton have good wages and access to sufficient hours of work. 2. The City of Renton is one of the largest job centers in Washington State, with thousands of shoppers and workers visiting daily to participate in the local economy. Renton is home to The Landing shopping center, the historic Downtown Urban Center, as well as retail and commercial office and warehouse districts around the Rainier/Grady Way Junction, The City is a net importer ofjobs, with nearly 60,000 employed workers. Renton has a wide array of both long established and new and evolving business sectors. Retail businesses, restaurants and bus, auto sales, hospitality, healthcare, and office workers are well represented. 3. The statewide minimum wage is not sufficient to afford rising rents and costs of living in Renton. According to the National Low Income Housing Coalition's Out of Reach 2022 report, a worker making Washington's minimum wage would have to work 72 hours each week (up from 70 hours each week in 2021) to afford a modest one -bedroom rental home at Fair Market Rent. 4. When working families earn insufficient income due to low wages and involuntary under -employment, they struggle to pay for basic necessities like health care, child cue, and groceries, and they are more likely to be evicted and become homeless. 5. Nearby King County cities of SeaTac, Seattle, and Tukwila enacted higher minimum wages in 2013, 2014, and 2022 respectively, but until now Renton has not followed suit. 6. Children growing up in poverty experience insecurity with housing, nutrition, and health care while enduring other hardships that prevent thew ability to learn in school. Full time working parents must be able to reasonably provide for their family to ensure access to the opportunities and promise of public education. Section 2. Intent. It is the intent of the people to establish fair labor standards and protect the rights of workers by: (1) ensuring that the vast majority of employees in the City of Renton receive a minimum wage comparable to employees in the nearby cities of Tukwila, SeaTac, and Seattle; (2) requiring covered employers to offer additional hours of work to qualified part-time employees before hiring new employees to fill those hours; and (3) adopting enforcement requirements. Section 3. Large Employers Shall Pay Minimum Wages Comparable to Those in Nearby Cities. 1. Effective July 1, 2024, every large employer shall pay to each employee an hourly wage of not less than the 2023 new minimum wage rate in the City of Tukwila, established by City of Tukwila Initiative Measure No. 1, approved by voters in November 2022, adjusted for 2024 by the annual rate of inflation. 2. On January 1, 2025, and on each January 1 thereafter, the hourly minimum wage shall increase by the annual rate of inflation to maintain employee purchasing power. 3. By December 31, 2023, and by October 15 of each year thereafter, the Finance Department shall establish and publish the applicable hourly minimum wage for the following year using the annual rate of inflation. 4. For purposes of this chapter, the annual rate of inflation means 100 percent of the annual average growth rate of the bi-monthly Seattle -Tacoma -Bellevue Area Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers, termed CPI-W, for the 12-month period ending in August, provided that the percentage increase shall not be less than zero. 5. An employer must pay to its employees: a. All tips and gratuities; and b. All service charges as defined under RCW 49.46.160 except those that, pursuant to RCW 49.46.160, are itemized as not being payable to the employee or employees servicing the customer. Tips and service charges paid to an employee are in addition to, and may not count towards, the employee's hourly minimum wage. Section 4. Other Covered Employers Shall Have a Multiyear Phase -In Period. Other covered employers shall phase in the new minimum wage, as follows: 1. Effective July 1, 2024, other covered employers shall pay employees not less than the hourly minimum wage established under Section 3 minus Two Dollars ($2) per how. 2. Effective July 1, 2025, other covered employers shall pay employees not less than the hourly minimum wage established under Section 3 minus One Dollar ($1) per hour. 3. Effective July 1, 2026, and thereafter, all covered employers shall pay employees not less than the hourly minimum wage established under Section 3. Section 5. Coverage and Employer Classifications. 1. Covered employers must pay employees at least the minimum wage established by this chapter for each hour worked within the City. 2. Employer classification for the current calendar year will be calculated based upon the average number of employees timing all weeks in the previous calendar year in which the employer had at least one employee. For employers that did not have any employees during the previous calendar year, classification will be based upon the average number of employees during the most recent three months of the current year. In this determination, all employees will be counted, regardless of their location, and including employees who worked in full-time employment, part-time employment, joint employment, temporary employment, or through the services of temporary services or staffing agency or similar entity. 3. Employer classification for the current calendar year will be calculated based upon the gross revenue for the previous year. For employers that did not have grass revenue during the previous calendar year, annual gross revenue will be calculated from the gross revenue during the most recent three months of the current year. 4. For the purposes of employer classification, separate entities will be considered a single employer if they form an integrated enterprise or they are under joint control by one of those entities or a separate entity. The factors to consider in making this assessment include, but are not limited to: a. Degree of interrelation between the operations of multiple entities; b. Degree to which the entities share common management; c. Centralized control of labor relations; and d. Degree of common ownership or financial control over the entities. Section 6. Part -Time Employees Shall Have Fair Access to Additional Hours. 1. Before hiring additional employees or subcontractors, including hiring through the use of temporary services or staffing agencies, covered employers must offer additional hours of work to existing employees who, in the employer's good faith and reasonable judgment, have the skills and experience to perform the work, and shall use a reasonable, transparent, and nondiscriminatory process to distribute the hours of work among those existing employees. 2. This section shall not be construed to require any employer to offer an employee work hours if the employer would be required to compensate the employee at time -and -a -half or other premium rate under any law or collective bargaining agreement, nor to prohibit any employer from offering such work hours. Section 7. Retaliation Prohibited. 1. No employer or any other person shall interfere with, restrain, or deny the exercise of, or the attempt to exercise, any right protected under this chapter. 2. No employer or any other person shall take any adverse action against any person because the person has exercised in good faith the rights under this chapter. Such rights include but we not limited to the right to make inquiries about the rights protected under this chapter; the right to inform others about their rights under this chapter; the right to inform the person's employer, union, or similar organization, and/or the person's legal counsel or any other person about an alleged violation of this chapter; the right to bring a civil action for an alleged violation of this chapter•, the right to testify in a proceeding under or related to this chapter; the right to refuse to participate in an activity that would result in a violation of city, state, or federal law; and the right to oppose any policy, practice, or act that is unlawful under this chapter. 3. For the purposes of this section, an adverse action means denying ajob or promotion, demoting, terminating, failing to rehire after a seasonal interruption of work, threatening, penalizing, retaliating, engaging in unfair immigration -related practices, filing a false report with a government agency, changing an employee's status to nonemployee, decreasing or declining to provide additional work hours when they otherwise would have been offered, scheduling an employee for hours outside of thew availability, or otherwise discriminating against any person for any reason prohibited by this chapter. "Adverse action" for an employee may involve any aspect of employment, including pay, work hours, responsibilities, or other material change in the terms and conditions of employment. 4. No employer or any other person shall communicate to a person exercising rights protected under this chapter, directly or indirectly, the willingness to inform a government employee that the person is not lawfully in the United States, or to report, or to make an implied or express assertion of a willingness to report, suspected citizenship or immigration status of the person or a family member of the person to a federal, state, or local agency because the person has exercised a right under this chapter. 5. There shall be a rebuttable presumption of unlawful retaliation if an employer or any other person takes an adverse action against a person within 90 days of the person's exercise of any right protected in this chapter. However, in the case of seasonal work that ended before the close of the 90-day period, the presumption also applies if the employer fails to rehire a former employee at the next opportunity for work in the same position. The employer may rebut the presumption with clear and convincing evidence that the adverse action was taken for a permissible purpose. 6. Standard of Proof. Proof of retaliation under this chapter shall be sufficient upon a showing that an employer or any other person has taken an adverse action against a person and the person's exercise of rights protected in this chapter was a motivating factor in the adverse action, unless the employer can prove that the action would have been taken in the absence of such protected activity. 7. The protections afforded under this section shall apply to any person who mistakenly but in good faith alleges violations of this chapter. Section 8. Enforcement. 1. Any person or class of persons that suffers financial injury as a result of a violation of this chapter or is the subject of prohibited retaliation under this chapter, or any other individual or entity acting on their behalf, may bring a civil action in a court of competentjurisdiction against the employer or other person violating this chapter and, upon prevailing, shall be awarded reasonable attorney fees and costs and such legal or equitable relief as may be appropriate to remedy the violation including, without limitation, the payment of any unpaid wages plus interest due to the person and liquidated damages in an additional amount of up to twice the unpaid wages; compensatory damages; and a penalty payable to any aggrieved party of up to $5,000 if the aggrieved party was subject to prohibited retaliation. For the purposes of this section, an aggrieved party means an employee or other person who suffers tangible or intangible harm due to an employer or other person's violation of this chapter. Interest shall accrue from the date the unpaid wages were first due at the higher of twelve percent per annum or the maximum rate permitted under RCW 19.52.020. 2. For purposes of determining membership within a class of persons entitled to bring an action under this section, two or more employees are similarly situated if they: a. Are or were employed by the same employer or employers, whether concurrently or otherwise, at some point during the applicable statute of limitations period; b. Allege one or more violations that raise similar questions as to liability; and C. Seek similar forms of relief. d. Employees shall not be considered dissimilar solely because their claims seek damages that differ in amount, or their job titles or other means of classifying employees differ in ways that are unrelated to their claims. 3. Each covered employer shall retain records as required by RCW 49.46.070, as well as such information as the City may require to confirm compliance with this chapter. If an employer fails to retain such records, there shall be a presumption, rebuttable by clear and convincing evidence, that the employer violated this chapter for the periods and for each employee for whom records were not retained. 4. Employers shall permit authorized City representatives access to work sites and relevant records for the purpose of monitoring compliance with the chapter and investigating complaints of noncompliance, including production for inspection and copying of employment records. The City may designate representatives, including city contractors and representatives of unions or worker advocacy organizations, to access the worksite and relevant records. 5. Complaints that any provision of this chapter has been violated may also be presented to the City Attorney, who is hereby authorized to investigate and, if they deem appropriate, initiate legal or other action to remedy any violation of this chapter. 6. The City has the authority to issue administrative citations and to order injunctive relief including reinstatement, restitution, payment of back wages, or other forms of relief. 7. The City may, in the exercise of its authority and performance of its functions and services, agree by contract or otherwise to participate jointly or in cooperation with Washington State, King County, or any city, town, or other incorporated place, or subdivision thereof, or engageoutside counsel, to enforce this chapter. 8. The remedies and penalties provided under this chapter are cumulative and are not intended to be exclusive of any other available remedies or penalties, including existing remedies for enforcement of Renton Municipal Code chapters. 9. The statute of limitations for any enforcement action shall be five (5) yews. Section 9. A new section is added to Renton Municipal Code (RMC) Section 5-5-4 as follows: 1. The Finance Director may deny, suspend, or revoke any license under this chapter for violation of this ordinance. 2. The Finance Director must deny, suspend, or revoke any license under this chapter for repeated intentional violations of this ordinance. 3. Any action by the Finance Director under this section shall be subject to the procedures and requirements of RMC subsection 5-5-3.E, as well as other due process rights that a court may require. Section 10. Definitions. For the purposes of this chapter, the following terms shall have the following meanings: "City" means the City of Renton. "Covered employer" means an employer that either (I) employs at least 15 employees regardless of where those employees are employed, or (2) has annual gross revenue over $2 million. "Effective date" is the effective date of this ordinance. "Employee" is defined as set forth in RCW 49.46.010. An employer bears the burden of proof that the individual is, as a matter of economic reality, in business for oneself rather than dependent upon the alleged employer. "Employer" is defined as set forth in RCW 49.46.010. "Employer classification" includes the determination of whether an employer is a covered employer and whether a covered employer is a large employer. "Franchise" means an agreement, express or implied, oral or written by which: 1. A person is granted the right to engage in the business of offering, selling, or distributing goods or services under a marketing plan prescribed or suggested in substantial part by the grantor or its affiliate; 2. The operation of the business is substantially associated with a trademark, service mark, trade time, advertising, or other commercial symbol; designating, owned by, or licensed by the grantor or its affiliate; and 3. The person pays, agrees to pay, or is required to pay, directly or indirectly, a franchise fee. The term, "franchise fee" is meant to be construed broadly to include any instance in which the grantor or its affiliate derives income or profit from a person who enters into a franchise agreement with the grantor. "How worked within the City" is to be interpreted according to its ordinary meaning, including all hours worked within the geographic boundaries of the City, excluding time spent in the City solely for the purpose of traveling through the City from a point of origin outside the City to a destination outside the City, with no employment -related or commercial stops in the City except for refueling or the employee's personal meals or errands. "Large Employer" means all employers that employ more than 500 employees, regardless of where those employees are employed, and all franchisees associated with a franchisor or a network of franchises with franchisees that employ more than 500 employees in aggregate. "Other covered employer" means a covered employer that does not qualify as a large employer. "Service charge" is defined as set forth in RCW 49.46.160(2)(c). "Tips" means a verifiable sum to be presented by a customer as a gift or gratuity in recognition of some service performed for the customer by the employee receiving the tip. "Wage" is defined as set forth in RCW 49.46.010. Section 11. Other Legal Requirements. This ordinance shall not be construed to preempt, limit, or otherwise affect the applicability of any other law, regulation, requirement, policy, or standard that provides for greater wages or compensation; and nothing in this ordinance shall be interpreted or applied so as to create any power or duty in conflict with federal or state law. Section 12. Rulemaking. Within 180 days after the effective date, the City shall adopt rules and procedures to implement and ensure compliance with this chapter, which shall require employers to maintain adequate records and to annually certify compliance with this chapter. The City shall seek feedback from worker organizations and covered employers before finalizing the rules and procedures. Section 13. Constitutional Subject. For constitutional purposes, this measure's subject "concerns labor standards for certain employers." See Filo Foods, LLC v. City of SeaTac, 183 Wash. 2d 770, 783, 357 P.3d 1040, 1047 (2015) (upholding this statement of subject for an initiative that set a minimum wage and addressed employees' access to hours). Section 14. Codification. All sections of this ordinance except section 9 shall be codified in a new chapter of the Renton Municipal Code. Section 15. Election date. In the event that the election on this measure takes place later than November 7, 2023, the Finance Department must establish and publish the initial minimum wage within 30 days of the effective date. Section 16. Severability. The provisions of this ordinance are declared to be separate and severable. If any clause, sentence, paragraph, subdivision, section, subsection, or portion of this ordinance, or the application thereof to any employer, employee, or circumstance, is held to be invalid, it shall not affect the validity of the remainder of this ordinance, or the validity of its application to other persons or circumstances. Name Of Canvasser: Date Canvassed: vasser Email and Phone Number: 49 Raising The Minimum Wage In Renton INITIATIVE PETITION FOR SUBMISSION TO THE RENTON CITY COUNCIL TO: The City Council of the City of Renton: p ,cccneT 933-M We, the undersigned registered voters of the City of Renton, State of Washington, residing at the addresses set forth opposite our respective names, being equal to fifteen percent (15%) of the total number of names of persons listed as registered voters within the City on the day of the last preceding City general election, respectfully request that the following ordinance be enacted by the City Council or, if not so enacted, be submitted to a vote of the residents of the City. The title of the said ordinance is as follows: ORDINANCE CONCERNING LABOR STANDARDS FOR CERTAIN EMPLOYEES A full, true and correct copy of the ordinance is attached to this Petition. Each of us for himself or herself says: I have personally signed this petition; I am a registered voter of the City of Renton, State of Washington; and my residence is correctly stated. Signature Printed Name Street and Number City Phone Number Email Date S400&'b0tff Printed Name 1234 Anywhere St. Renton 206-555-1234 maria@something.org 4/10/2023 1. vto GIoS Renton � 41,s7 :�f,.- 'f?_ 3 2. �e fcLr, Renton (4G-�)4441i �Z7 l�oix-ih'f'mn7! � �wka',� S/ 7 Z3 G'Li54 _ 3. `/i C�i1a� �Lp2 �1oU� �1�v��L� Renton Cuzf12�23`LS5 �I;�� �,i24v2�y'V���. �- S(� �23 4. �7 ,Wct.p� NC-1UIEN 1iS(a (Anzlatn ("� N� Renton t25) `t341f�q`13 h9Lycll�712 ��ccli�iQ� nay�rllro.tr� �/ A Renton `1•liby�4`i@ctM4�l•t� j �r'j�Z� 5. ort Renton ` '6z 2. � , h am"�` �a=%Si����cS C S�Z� i.Iti Zc�c� Renton 6 Z6S-ooTo l�'ch�^4r4 ,ccrf�, s 17/23 s. G/!�- �� L` D�ar�c. WU 1 e 18 3(o S� 13'�'� p� Renton � 9. - —� aviZ=::Ce 7 /V-9— 24� Renton 2Q� S171 10. / - /Renton �?��(7 7_3 Warning Every person who signs this petition with any other than his or her true name, or who knowingly signs more than one of these petitions, or signs a petition seek- ing an election when he or she is not a legal voter, or signs a petition when he or she is otherwise not qualified to sign, or who makes herein any false statement, shall be guilty of a misdemeanor. AN ORDINANCE concerning labor standards for certain employees. Section 1. Findings. 1. The people of the City of Renton hereby adopt this citizen initiative addressing labor standards for certain employees, for the purpose of ensuring that, to the extent reasonably practicable, people employed in Renton have good wages and access to sufficient hours of work. 2. The City of Renton is one of the largestjob centers in Washington State, with thousands of shoppers and workers visiting daily to participate in the local economy. Renton is home to The Landing shopping center, the historic Downtown Urban Center, as well as retail and commercial office and warehouse districts around the Rainier/Grady Way Junction. The City is a net importer ofjobs, with nearly 60,000 employed workers. Renton has a wide array of both long established and new and evolving business sectors. Retail businesses, restaurants and bus, auto sales, hospitality, healthcare, and office workers are well represented. 3. The statewide minimum wage is not sufficient to afford rising rents and costs of living in Renton. According to the National Low Income Housing Coalition's Out of Reach 2022 report, a worker making Washington's minimum wage would have to work 72 hours each week (up from 70 hours each week in 2021) to afford a modest one -bedroom rental home at Fair Market Rent. 4. When working families earn insufficient income due to low wages and involuntary under -employment, they straggle to pay for basic necessities like health care, child cue, and groceries, and they are more likely to be evicted and become homeless. 5. Newby King County cities of SeaTaq Seattle, and Tukwila enacted higher minimum wages in 2013, 2014, and 2022 respectively, but until now Renton has not followed suit. 6. Children growing up in poverty experience insecurity with housing, nutrition, and health cue while enduring other hardships that prevent their ability to learn in school. Full time working parents must be able to reasonably provide for their family to ensue access to the opportunities and promise of public education. Section 2. Intent. It is the intent of the people to establish fair labor standards and protect the rights of workers by: (1) ensuring that the vast majority of employees in the City of Renton receive a minimum wage comparable to employees in the nearby cities of Tukwila, SeaTaq and Seattle; (2) requiring covered employers to offer additional hours of work to qualified part-time employees before hiring new employees to fill those hours; and (3) adopting enforcement requirements. Section 3. Large Employers Shall Pay Minimum Wages Comparable to Those in Nearby Cities. 1. Effective July 1, 2024, every large employer shall pay to each employee an hourly wage of not less than the 2023 new minimum wage rate in the City of Tukwila, established by City of Tukwila Initiative Measure No. 1, approved by voters in November 2022, adjusted for 2024 by the annual rate of inflation. 2. On January I, 2025, and on each January 1 thereafter, the hourly minimum wage shall increase by the annual rate of inflation to maintain employee purchasing power. 3. By December 31, 2023, and by October 15 of each year thereafter, the Finance Department shall establish and publish the applicable hourly minimum wage for the following year using the annual rate of inflation. 4. For purposes of this chapter, the annual rate of inflation means 100 percent of the annual average growth rate of the bi-monthly Seattle -Tacoma -Bellevue Area Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers, termed CPI-W, for the 12-month period ending in August, provided that the percentage increase shall not be less than zero. 5. An employer must pay to its employees: a. All tipsand gratuities; and b. All service charges as defined under RCW 49.46.160 except those that, pursuant to RCW 49.46.160, are itemized as not being payable to the employee or employees servicing the customer. Tips and service charges paid to an employee are in addition to, and may not count towards, the employee's hourly minimum wage. Section 4. Other Covered Employers Shall Have a Multiyear Phase -In Period. Other covered employers shall phase in the new minimum wage, as follows: 1. Effective July 1, 2024, other covered employers shall pay employees not less than the hourly minimum wage established under Section 3 minus Two Dollars ($2) per hour. 2. Effective July 1, 2025, other covered employers shall pay employees not less than the hourly minimum wage established under Section 3 minus One Dollar ($1) per hour. 3. Effective July 1, 2026, and thereafter, all covered employers shall pay employees not less than the hourly minimum wage established under Section 3, Section 5. Coverage and Employer Classifications. 1. Covered employers must pay employees at least the minimum wage established by this chapter for each hour worked within the City. 2. Employer classification for the current calendar year will be calculated based upon the average number of employees during all weeks in the previous calendar yea in which the employer had at least one employee. For employers that did not have any employees during the previous calendar year, classification will be based upon the average number of employees during the most recent three months of the current year. In this determination, all employees will be counted, regardless of their location, and including employees who worked in full-time employment, part-time employment, joint employment, temporary employment, or through the services of a temporary services or staffing agency or similar entity. 3. Employer classification for the current calendar yew will be calculated based upon the gross revenue for the previous you. For employers that did not have gross revenue during the previous calendar year, annual gross revenue will be calculated from the gross revenue during the most recent three months of the current year. 4. For the purposes of employer classification, separate entities will be considered a single employer if they form an integrated enterprise or they are underjoint control by one of those entities or a separate entity. The factors to consider in making this assessment include, but we not limited to: a. Degree of interrelation between the operations of multiple entities; b. Degree to which the entities share common management; C. Centralized control of labor relations; and d. Degree of common ownership or financial control over the entities. Section 6. Part -Time Employees Shall Have Fair Access to Additional Hours. 1. Before hiring additional employees or subcontractors, including hiring through the use of temporary services or staffing agencies, covered employers must offer additional hours of work to existing employees who, in the employer's good faith and reasonable judgment, have the skills and experience to perform the work, and shall use a reasonable, transparent, and nondiscriminatory process to distribute the home of work among those existing employees. 2. This section shall not be construed to require any employer to offer an employee work hours if the employer would be required to compensate the employee at time -and -a -half or other premium rate under any law or collective bargaining agreement, nor to prohibit any employer from offering such work hours. Section 7. Retaliation Prohibited. 1. No employer or any other person shall interfere with, restrain, or deny the exercise of, or the attempt to exercise, any right protected under this chapter. 2. No employer or any other person shall take any adverse action against any person because the person has exercised in good faith the rights under this chapter. Such rights include but are not limited to the right to make inquiries about the rights protected under this chapter; the right to inform others about their rights under this chapter; the right to inform the person's employer, union, or similar organization, and/or the person's legal counsel or any other person about an alleged violation of this chapter; the right to bring a civil action for an alleged violation of this chapter; the right to testify in a proceeding under or related to this chapter; the right to refuse to participate in an activity that would result in a violation of city, state, or federal law; and the right to oppose any policy, practice, or act that is unlawful under this chapter. 3. For the purposes of this section, an adverse action means denying a job or promotion, demoting, terminating, failing to rehire after a seasonal interruption of work, threatening, penalizing, retaliating, engaging in unfair immigration -related practices, filing a false report with a government agency, changing an employee's status to nonemployee, decreasing or declining to provide additional work hours when they otherwise would have been offered, scheduling an employee for hours outside of their availability, or otherwise discriminating against any person for any reason prohibited by this chapter. "Adverse action" for an employee may involve any aspect of employment, including pay, work hours, responsibilities, or other material change in the terms and conditions of employment. 4. No employer or any other person shall communicate to a person exercising. rights protected under this chapter, directly or indirectly, the willingness to inform a government employee that the person is not lawfully in the United States, or to report, or to make an implied or express assertion of a willingness to report, suspected citizenship or immigration status of the person or a family member of the person to a federal, state, or local agency because the person has exercised a right under this chapter. 5. There shall be a rebuttable presumption of unlawful retaliation if an employer or any other person takes an adverse action against a person within 90 days of the person's exercise of any right protected in this chapter. However, in the case of seasonal work that ended before the close of the 90-day period, the presumption also applies if the employer fails to rehire a former employee at the next opportunity for work in the same position. The employer may rebut the presumption with clear and convincing evidence that the adverse action was taken for a permissible purpose. 6. Standard of Proof. Proof of retaliation under this chapter shall be sufficient upon a showing that an employer or any other person has taken an adverse action against a person and the person's exercise of rights protected in this chapter was a motivating factor in the adverse action, unless the employer can prove that the action would have been taken in the absence of such protected activity. 7. The protections afforded under this section shall apply to any person who mistakenly but in good faith alleges violations of this chapter. Section 8. Enforcement. 1. Any person or class of persons that suffers financial injury as a result of a violation of this chapter or is the subject of prohibited retaliation under this chapter, or any other individual or entity acting on their behalf, may bring a civil action in a court of competentjurisdiction against the employer or other person violating this chapter and, upon prevailing, shall be awarded reasonable attorney fees and costs and such legal or equitable relief as may be appropriate to remedy the violation including, without limitation, the payment of any unpaid wages plus interest due to the person and liquidated damages in an additional amount of up to twice the unpaid wages; compensatory damages; and a penalty payable to any aggrieved party of up to $5,000 if the aggrieved party was subject to prohibited retaliation. For the purposes of this section, an aggrieved party means an employee or other person who suffers tangible or intangible harm due to an employer or other person's violation of this chapter. Interest shall accrue from the date the unpaid wages were first due at the higher of twelve percent per annum or the maximum rate permitted under RCW 19.52.020. 2. For purposes of determining membership within a class of persons entitled to bring an action under this section, two or more employees we similarly situated if they: a. Are or were employed by the same employer or employers, whether concurrently or otherwise, at some point during the applicable statute of limitations period; b. Allege one or more violations that raise similar questions as to liability; and C. Seek similar forms of relief. d. Employees shall not be considered dissimilar solely because their claims seek damages that differ in amount, or thew job titles or other means of classifying employees differ in ways that are unrelated to their claims. 3. Each covered employer shall retain records as required by RCW 49.46.070, as well as such information as the City may require to confirm compliance with this chapter. If an employer fails to retain such records, there shall be a presumption, rebuttable by clear and convincing evidence, that the employer violated this chapter for the periods and for each employee for whom records were not retained. 4. Employers shall permit authorized City representatives access to work sites and relevant records for the purpose of monitoring compliance with the chapter and investigating complaints of noncompliance, including production for inspection and copying of employment records. The City may designate representatives, including city contractors and representatives of unions or worker advocacy organizations, to access the worksite and relevant records. 5. Complaints that any provision of this chapter has been violated may also be presented to the City Attorney, who is hereby authorized to investigate and, if they deem appropriate, initiate legal or other action to remedy any violation of this chapter. 6. The City has the authority to issue administrative citations and to order injunctive relief including reinstatement, restitution, payment of back wages, or other forms of relief. 7. The City may, in the exercise of its authority and performance of its functions and services, agree by contract or otherwise to participate jointly or in cooperation with Washington State, King County, or any city, town, or other incorporated place, or subdivision thereof, or engage outside counsel, to enforce this chapter. 8. The remedies and penalties provided under this chapter me cumulative and are not intended to be exclusive of any other available remedies or penalties, including existing remedies for enforcement of Renton Municipal Code chapters. 9. The statute of limitations for any enforcement action shall be five (5) yews. Section 9. A new section is added to Renton Municipal Code (RMC) Section 5-5-4 as follows: 1. The Finance Director may deny, suspend, or revoke any license under this chapter for violation of this ordinance. 2. The Finance Director must deny, suspend, or revoke any license under this chapter for repeated intentional violations of this ordinance. 3. Any action by the Finance Director under this section shall be subject to the procedures and requirements of RMC subsection 5-5-3.E, as well as other due process rights that a court may require. Section 10. Definitions. For the purposes of this chapter, the following terms shall have the following meanings: "City" means the City of Renton. "Covered employer" means an employer that either (1) employs at least 15 employees regardless of where those employees are employed, or (2) has annual gross revenue over $2 million. "Effective date" is the effective date of this ordinance. "Employee" is defined as set forth in RCW 49.46.010. An employer bears the burden of proof that the individual is, as a matter of economic reality, in business for oneself rather than dependent upon the alleged employer. "Employer" is defined as set forth in RCW 49.46.010. "Employer classification" includes the determination of whether an employer is a covered employer and whether a covered employer is a large employer. "Franchise" means an agreement, express or implied, oral or written by which: 1. A person is granted the right to engage in the business of offering, selling, or distributing goods or services under a marketing plan prescribed or suggested in substantial part by the grantor or its affiliate; 2. The operation of the business is substantially associated with a trademark, service mark, trade time, advertising, or other commercial symbol; designating, owned by, or licensed by the grantor or its affiliate; and 3. The person pays, agrees to pay, or is required to pay, directly or indirectly, a franchise fee. The term, "franchise fee" is meant to be construed broadly to include any instance in which the grantor or its affiliate derives income or profit from a person who enters into a franchise agreement with the grantor. "Hour worked within the City" is to be interpreted according to its ordinary meaning, including all hours worked within the geographic boundaries of the City, excluding time spent in the City solely for the purpose of traveling through the City from a point of origin outside the City to a destination outside the City, with no employment -related or commercial stops in the City except for refueling or the employee's personal meals or errands. "Large Employer" means all employers that employ more than 500 employees, regardless of where those employees we employed, and all franchisees associated with a franchisor or a network of franchises with franchisees that employ more than 500 employees in aggregate. "Other covered employer" means a covered employer that does not qualify as a large employer. "Service charge" is defined as set forth in RCW 49.46.160(2)(c). "Tips" means a verifiable sum to be presented by a customer as a gift or gratuity in recognition of some service performed for the customer by the employee receiving the tip. "Wage" is defined as set forth in RCW 49.46.010. Section 11. Other Legal Requirements. This ordinance shall not be construed to preempt, limit, or otherwise affect the applicability of any other law, regulation, requirement, policy, or standard that provides for greater wages or compensation; and nothing in this ordinance shall be interpreted or applied so as to create any power or duty in conflict with federal or state law. Section 12. Rulemaking. Within 180 days after the effective date, the City shall adopt rules and procedures to implement and ensure compliance with this chapter, which shall require employers to maintain adequate records and to annually certify compliance with this chapter. The City shall seek feedback from worker organizations and covered employers before finalizing the rules and procedures. Section 13. Constitutional Subject. For constitutional purposes, this measure's subject "concerns labor standards for certain employers." See Filo Foods, LLC v. City of SeaTaq 183 Wash. 2d 770, 783, 357 P.3d 1040, 1047 (2015) (upholding this statement of subject for an initiative that set a minimum wage and addressed employees' access to hours). Section 14. Codification. All sections of this ordinance except section 9 shall be codified in a new chapter of the Renton Municipal Code. Section 15. Election date. In the event that the election on this measure takes place later. than November 7, 2023, the Finance Department must establish and publish the initial minimum wage within 30 days of the effective date. Section 16. Severability. The provisions of this ordinance are declared to be separate and severable. If any clause, sentence, paragraph, subdivision, section, subsection, or portion of this ordinance, or the application thereof to any employer, employee, or circumstance, is held to be invalid, it shall not affect the validity of the remainder of this ordinance, or the validity of its application to other persons or circumstances. 4P go Raising The Minimum Wage In Renton 1 INITIATIVE PETITION FOR SUBMISSION TO THE RENTON CITY COUNCIL TO: The City Council of the City of Renton: ® \GCC/IBT' 933-M '.MCIy,.gp/PPG We, the undersigned registered voters of the City of Renton, State of Washington, residing at the addresses set forth opposite our respective names, being equal to fifteen percent (15%) of the total number of names of persons listed as registered voters within the City on the day of the last preceding City general election, respectfully request that the following ordinance be enacted by the City Council or, if not so enacted, be submitted to a vote of the residents of the City. The title of the said ordinance is as follows: ORDINANCE CONCERNING LABOR STANDARDS FOR CERTAIN EMPLOYEES A full, true and correct copy of the ordinance is attached to this Petition. Each of us for himself or herself says: I have personally signed this petition; I am a registered voter of the City of Renton, State of Washington; and my residence is correctly stated. Signature Printed Name Sar+yiEe?/otai Printed Name GIMM /I 1 LIL tN L_c VD(A 1 Vl M How, Ih�1ipEN ���I�`'l��q^rD Street and Number 1234 Anywhere St. c 0 Ave- S �vl � Sv �Xjvm I I >� iuC-- 1z,� ►133v �3 �e �8a5� �yL AMo �� A-� 0E- City Phone Number Renton 206-555-1234 Renton (ZS rci ! g2,Z,l Renton ��s)36 _ o'� Renton 10(p)��s 4.&1 Z.4p.ag0 0: Renton Email maria@something.org Renton Renton OgS)7N3-Fgg7 �, `� �ars lyh /�i►�e '5_13 ,4, '/C F Renton �`fa��a3� '�'S3 503 1Ozv� Log ("G 9�f�6 Renton l (�un115 15 � 0 ° _C"r (l(,1�+ Renton Renton CbAl Date 4/10/2023 _ 'Z�/-7 Iz3 517112 \L41DVN0EN-4v6)yaN00.c04K 5/%/z3 ZS'?Jz:56�5 P)nr)o oev E DMot � CUB .5 4-�p,3 5/7/ Warning Every person who signs this petition with any other than his or her true name, or who knowingly signs more than one of these petitions, or signs a petition seek- ing an election when he or she is not a legal voter, or signs a petition when he or she is otherwise not qualified to sign, or who makes herein any false statement, shall be guilty of a misdemeanor. z AN ORDINANCE concerning labor standards for certain employees. Section I. Findings. 1. The people of the City of Renton hereby adopt this citizen initiative addressing labor standards for certain employees, for the purpose of ensuring that, to the extent reasonably practicable, people employed in Renton have good wages and access to sufficient hours of work. 2. The City of Renton is one of the largest job centers in Washington State, with thousands of shoppers and workers visiting daily to participate in the local economy. Renton is home to The Landing shopping center, the historic Downtown Urban Center, as well as retail and commercial office and warehouse districts around the Rainier/Grady Way Junction. The City is a net importer ofjobs, with nearly 60,000 employed workers. Renton has a wide may of both long established wad new and evolving business sectors. Retail businesses, restaurants and bars, auto sales, hospitality, healthcare, and office workers are well represented. 3. The statewide minimum wage is not sufficient to afford rising rents and costs of living in Renton. According to the National Low Income Housing Coalition's Out of Reach 2022 report, a worker making Washington's minimum wage would have to work 72 hours each week (up from 70 hours each week in 2021) to afford a modest one -bedroom rental home at Fair Market Rent, 4. When working families earn insufficient income due to low wages and involuntary under -employment, they struggle to pay for basic necessities like health care, child care, and groceries, and they are more likely to be evicted and become homeless. 5. Nearby King County cities of SeaTac, Seattle, and Tukwila enacted higher minimum wages in 2013, 2014, and 2022 respectively, but until now Renton has not followed suit. 6. Children growing up in poverty experience insecurity with housing, nutrition, and health cue while enduring other hardships that prevent their ability to team in school. Full time working parents must be able to reasonably provide for their family to ensure access to the opportunities and promise of public education. Section 2. Intent. It is the intent of the people to establish fair labor standards and protect the rights of workers by: (1) ensuring that the vast majority of employees in the City of Renton receive a minimum wage comparable to employees in the nearby cities of Tukwila, SeaTac, and Seattle; (2) requiring covered employers to offer additional hours of work to qualified part-time employees before hiring new employees to fill those hours; and (3) adopting enforcement requirements. Section 3. Large Employers Shall Pay Minimum Wages Comparable to Those in Nearby Cities. 1. Effective July 1, 2024, every large employer shall pay to each employee an hourly wage of not less than the 2023 new minimum wage rate in the City of Tukwila, established by City of Tukwila Initiative Measure No. 1, approved by voters in November 2022, adjusted for 2024 by the annual rate of inflation. 2. On January 1, 2025, and on each January I thereafter, the hourly minimum wage shall increase by the annual rate of inflation to maintain employee purchasing power. 3. By December 31, 2023, and by October 15 of each year thereafter, the Finance Department shall establish and publish the applicable hourly minimum wage for the following year using the annual rate of inflation. 4. For purposes of this chapter, the annual rate of inflation means 100 percent of the annual average growth rate of the bi-monthly Seattle -Tacoma -Bellevue Area Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers, termed CPI-W, for the 12-month period ending in August, provided that the percentage increase shall not be less than zero. 5. An employer must pay to its employees: a. All tips and gratuities; and b. All service charges as defined under RCW 49.46.160 except those that, pursuant to RCW 49.46,160, are itemized as not being payable to the employee or employees servicing the customer. Tips and service charges paid to an employee are in addition to, and may not count towards, the employee's hourly minimum wage. Section 4. Other Covered Employers Shall Have a Multiyear Phase -In Period. Other covered employers shall phase in the new minimum wage, as follows: 1. Effective July 1, 2024, other covered employers shall pay employees not less than the hourly minimum wage established under Section 3 minus Two Dollars ($2) per hour. 2. Effective July 1, 2025, other covered employers shall pay employees not less than the hourly minimum wage established under Section 3 minus One Dollar ($1) per hour. 3. Effective July 1, 2026, and thereafter, all covered employers shall pay employees not less than the hourly minimum wage established under Section 3. Section 5. Coverage and Employer Classifications. 1. Covered employers must pay employees at least the minimum wage established by this chapter for each hour worked within the City. 2. Employer classification for the current calendar year will be calculated based upon the average number of employees during all weeks in the previous calendar yew in which the employer had at least one employee. For employers that did not have any employees timing the previous calendar year, classification will be based upon the average number of employees during the most recent three months of the current year. In this determination, all employees will be counted, regardless of their location, and including employees who worked in full-time employment, part-time employment, joint employment, temporary employment, or through the services of a temporary services or staffing agency or similar entity. - 3. Employer classification for the current calendar yew will be calculated based upon the gross revenue for the previous yew. For employers that did not have gross revenue during the previous calendar year, annual gross revenue will be calculated from the gross revenue during the most recent three months of the current year. 4. For the purposes of employer classification, separate entities will be considered a single employer if they form an integrated enterprise or they are under joint control by one of those entities or a separate entity. The factors to consider in making this assessment include, but are not limited to: a. Degree of interrelation between the operations of multiple entities; b. Degree to which the entities share common management; C. Centralized control of labor relations; and d. Degree of common ownership or financial control over the entities. Section 6. Part -Time Employees Shall Have Fair Access to Additional Hours. 1. Before hiring additional employees or subcontractors, including hiring through the use of temporary services or staffing agencies, covered employers must offer additional hours of work to existing employees who, in the employer's good faith and reasonable judgment, have the skills and experience to perform the work, and shall use a reasonable, transparent, and nondiscriminatory process to distribute the hours of work among those existing employees. 2. This section shall not be construed to require any employer to offer an employee work hours if the employer would be required to compensate the employee at time -and -a -half or other premium rate under any law or collective bargaining agreement, nor to prohibit any employer from offering such work hours. Section 7. Retaliation Prohibited. 1. No employer or any other person shall interfere with, restrain, or deny the exercise of, or the attempt to exercise, any right protected under this chapter. 2. No employer or any other person shall take any adverse action against any person because the person has exercised in good faith the rights under this chapter. Such rights include but are not limited to the right to make inquiries about the rights protected under this chapter; the right to inform others about their rights under this chapter; the right to inform the person's employer, union, or similar organization, and/or the person's legal counsel or any other person about an alleged violation of this chapter; the right to bring a civil action for an alleged violation of this chapter; the right to testify in a proceeding under or related to this chapter; the right to refuse to participate in an activity that would result in a violation of city, state, or federal law; and the right to oppose any policy, practice, or act that is unlawful under this chapter. 3. For the purposes of this section, an adverse action means denying a job or promotion, demoting terminating, failing to rehire after a seasonal interruption of work, threatening, penalizing, retaliating engaging in unfair immigration -related practices, filing a false report with a government agency, changing an employee's status to nonemployee, decreasing or declining to provide additional work hours when they otherwise would have been offered, scheduling an employee for hours outside of their availability, or otherwise discriminating against any person for any reason prohibited by this chapter. "Adverse action" for an employee may involve any aspect of employment, including pay, work hours, responsibilities, or other material change in the terns and conditions of employment. 4. No employer or any other person shall communicate to a person exercising rights protected under this chapter, directly or indirectly, the willingness to inform a government employee that the person is not lawfully in the United States, or to report, or to make an implied or express assertion of a willingness to report, suspected citizenship or immigration status of the person or a family member of the person to a federal, state, or local agency because the person has exercised a right under this chapter. 5. There shall be a rebuttable presumption of unlawful retaliation if an employer or any other person takes an adverse action against a person within 90 days of the person's exercise of any right protected in this chapter. However, in the case of seasonal work that ended before the close of the 90-day period, the presumption also applies if the employer fails to rehire a former employee at the next opportunity for work in the same position. The employer may rebut the presumption with clear and convincing evidence that the adverse action was taken for a permissible purpose. 6. Standard of Proof. Proof of retaliation under this chapter shall be sufficient upon a showing that an employer or any other person has taken an adverse action against a person and the person's exercise of rights protected in this chapter was a motivating factor in the adverse action, unless the employer can prove that the action would have been taken in the absence of such protected activity. 7. The protections afforded under this section shall apply to any person who mistakenly but in good faith alleges violations of this chapter. Section 8. Enforcement. 1. Any person or class of persons that suffers financial injury as a result of a violation of this chapter or is the subject of prohibited retaliation under this chapter, or any other individual or entity acting on their behalf, may bring a civil action in a court of competent jurisdiction against the employer or other person violating this chapter and, upon prevailing, shall be awarded reasonable attorney fees and costs and such legal or equitable relief as may be appropriate to remedy the violation including, without limitation, the payment of any unpaid wages plus interest due to the person and liquidated damages in an additional amount of up to twice the unpaid wages; compensatory damages; and a penalty payable to any aggrieved party of up to $5,000 if the aggrieved party was subject to prohibited retaliation. For the purposes of this section, an aggrieved party means an employee or other person who suffers tangible or intangible harm due to an employer or other person's violation of this chapter. Interest shall accrue from the date the unpaid wages were first due at the higher of twelve percent per annum or the maximum rate permitted under RCW 19.52,020. 2. For purposes of determining membership within a class of persons entitled to bring an action under this section, two or more employees are similarly situated if they: a. Are or were employed by the same employer or employers, whether concurrently or otherwise, at some point during the applicable statute of limitations period; b. Allege one or more violations that raise similar questions as to liability; and C. Seek similar forms of relief. d. Employees shall not be considered dissimilar solely because their claims seek damages that differ in amount, or their job titles or other means of classifying employees differ in ways that me unrelated to their claims. 3. Each covered employer shall retain records as required by RCW 49.46.070, as well as such information as the City may require to confirm compliance with this chapter. If an employer fails to retain such records, there shall be a presumption, rebuttable by clew and convincing evidence, that the employer violated this chapter for the periods and for each employee for whom records were not retained. 4. Employers shall permit authorized City representatives access to work sites and relevant records for the purpose of monitoring compliance with the chapter and investigating complaints of noncompliance, including production for inspection and copying of employment records. The City may designate representatives, including city contractors and representatives of unions or worker advocacy organizations, to access the workshe and relevant records. 5. Complaints that any provision of this chapter has been violated may also be presented to the City Attorney, who is hereby authorized to investigate and, if they deem appropriate, initiate legal or other action to remedy any violation of this chapter. 6. The City has the authority to issue administrative citations and to order injunctive relief including reinstatement, restitution, payment of back wages, or other forms of relief. 7. The City may, in the exercise of its authority and performance of its functions and services, agree by contract or otherwise to participate jointly or in cooperation with Washington State, King County, or any city, town, or other incorporated place, or subdivision thereof, or engage outside counsel, to enforce this chapter. 8. The remedies and penalties provided under this chapter are cumulative and are not intended to be exclusive of any other available remedies or penalties, including existing remedies for enforcement of Renton Municipal Code chapters. 9. The statute of limitations for any enforcement action shall be five (5) years. Section 9. A new section is added to Renton Municipal Code (RMC) Section 5-5-4 as follows: 1. The Finance Director may deny, suspend, or revoke any license under this chapter for violation of this ordinance. 2. The Finance Director must deny, suspend, or revoke any license under this chapter for repeated intentional violations of this ordinance. 3. Any action by the Finance Director under this section shall be subject to the procedures and requirements of RMC subsection 5-5-3.E, as well as other due process rights that a court may require. Section 10. Definitions. For the purposes of this chapter, the following terms shall have the following meanings: "City" means the City of Renton. "Covered employer" means an employer that either (1) employs at least 15 employees regardless of where those employees are employed, or (2) has annual gross revenue over $2 million. "Effective date" is the effective date of this ordinance. "Employee" is defined as set forth in RCW 49.46.010. An employer bears the burden of proof that the individual is, as a matter of economic reality, in business for oneself rather than dependent upon the alleged employer. "Employer" is defined as set forth in RCW 49.46.010. "Employer classification" includes the determination of whether an employer is a covered employer and whether a covered employer is a large employer. "Franchise" means an agreement, express or implied, oral or written by which: 1. A person is granted the right to engage in the business of offering selling, or distributing goods or services under a marketing plan prescribed or suggested in substantial part by the grantor or its affiliate; 2. The operation of the business is substantially associated with a trademark, service mark, trade time, advertising, or other commercial symbol; designating, owned by, or licensed by the grantor or its affiliate; and 3. The person pays, agrees to pay, or is required to pay, directly or indirectly, a franchise fee. The term, "franchise fee" is meant to be construed broadly to include any instance in which the grantor or its affiliate derives income or profit from a person who enters into a franchise agreement with the grantor. "Hour worked within the City" is to be interpreted according to its ordinary meaning, including all hours worked within the geographic boundaries of the City, excluding time spent in the City solely for the purpose of traveling through the City from a point of origin outside the City to a destination outside the City, with no employment -related or commercial stops in the City except for refueling or the employee's personal meals or errands. "Large Employer" means all employers that employ more than 500 employees, regardless of where those employees are employed, and all franchisees associated with a franchisor or a network of franchises with franchisees that employ more than 500 employees in aggregate. "Other covered employer" means a covered employer that does not qualify as a large employer. "Service charge" is defined as set forth in RCW 49.46.160(2)(c). "Tips" means a verifiable sum to be presented by a customer as a gift or gratuity in recognition of some service performed for the customer by the employee receiving the tip, "Wage" is defined as set forth in RCW 49.46.010. Section 11. Other Legal Requirements. This ordinance shall not be construed to preempt, limit, or otherwise affect the applicability of any other law, regulation, requirement, policy, or standard that provides for greater wages or compensation; and nothing in this ordinance shall be interpreted or applied so as to create any power or duty in conflict with federal or state law. Section 12. Rulemaking. Within 180 days after the effective date, the City shall adopt rules and procedures to implement and ensure compliance with this chapter, which shall require employers to maintain adequate records and to annually certify compliance with this chapter. The City shall seek feedback from worker organizations and covered employers before finalizing the rules and procedures. Section 13. Constitutional Subject. For constitutional purposes, this measure's subject "concerns labor standards for certain employers." See Filo Foods, LLC v. City of SeaTac, 183 Wash. 2d 770, 783, 357 RM 1040, 1047 (2015) (upholding this statement of subject for an initiative that set a minimum wage and addressed employees' access to hours). Section 14. Codification. All sections of this ordinance except section 9 shall be codified in a new chapter of the Renton Municipal Code. Section 15. Election date. In the event that the election on this measure takes place later than November 7, 2023, the Finance Department must establish and publish the initial minimum wage within 30 days of the effective date. Section 16. Severability. The provisions of this ordinance are declared to be separate and severable. If any clause, sentence, paragraph, subdivision, section, subsection, or portion of this ordinance, or the application thereof to any employer, employee, or circumstance, is held to be invalid, it shall not affect the validity of the remainder of this ordinance, or the validity of its application to other persons or circumstances.