Renton, WA – An error has been identified in the City of Renton’s calculation of the 2025 minimum wage. The city reported the 2025 minimum wage as $20.90 per hour, reflecting a 3.0% adjustment to the 2024 wage of
$20.29 per hour. This calculation does not align with the stipulated methodology in the city’s ordinance.
According to Renton’s ordinance, the annual cost-of-living adjustment should be based on the average annual growth rate of the bi-monthly Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue Area Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners
and Clerical Workers (CPI-W) for the 12-month period ending in August. The accurate growth rate for this period is 4.0%, not 3.0%.
Using this 4% adjustment, the correct minimum wage for 2025 is $21.10 per hour, up from $20.29 in 2024.A letter sent to the City of Renton Finance Administrator by the lawyer representing the Raise The Wage Renton campaign lays out supporting evidence that demonstrates the mathematical error in the city’s calculation of the 2025 minimum wage for City of Renton.
“This error must be corrected immediately,” says Michael Westgaard, former Raise The Wage Renton board member and current candidate for Renton City Council. “In addition to Renton’s lowest-paid workers not receiving what is owed to them, this error is creating legal and financial liabilities for employers and the city.
The City Council and the administration must do a better job of following the letter of the law and protecting our lowest-paid wage earners.”
“A fair minimum wage that keeps up with the cost of living is common sense economic policy that has been proven time and again to strengthen families and businesses,” says Danielle Alvarado, Executive Director of Working Washington and Fair Work Center. “Renton voters made the smart call to raise pay for minimum wage workers, and it’s the city’s job to act on the community’s values and properly implement the full $21.10 per hour
workers are owed under the law.”
The city is urged to promptly correct the minimum wage to $21.10, ensuring compliance with its ordinance and equitable treatment for workers.
Should the error go uncorrected, we are positioned to explore all levers available, including building community support for potential legal action and compensatory damages to workers who were underpaid as a result of the
city’s inexcusable mistake.
All media contacts and supporters are invited to meet us on the steps of Renton City Hall (1055 S Grady Way, Renton, WA 98057) on Monday, February 10 at 11 AM to hear from campaign leaders, labor and community groups dedicated to ensuring workers in Renton are treated with the respect and dignity they deserve.
For further details, please contact Michael Westgaard at mawestgaard@gmail.com or 206-370-1987.
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