Cleanfax, January/February 2019

FOREWORD Labor Costs As minimum wage increases happen nationwide its essential to prepare your company BY AMANDA HOSEY Something big happened this new year that a ects every business owner in the U S 21 states and Washington D C increased the minimum wage above the federal minimum Eight other states had raised the minimum wage in recent years And its inevitable that the remaining 21 states will do so as well is is an issue close to many owners hearts because its con icting On one hand we want our employees to be able to pay their bills and live and work happily On the other hand we have to be able to make our own payments support our families and lets face it turn a profit otherwise whats the point of it all Some say We should all be paying our employees more than 725 anyway Others say It should be up to a business owner what s he pays workers I agree with both of these ideas but there is much to take into account For instance 4 CLEANFAX JAN FEB 2019 while some states have eliminated higher wage requirements for businesses with few employees many states dont di erentiate between a company with three employees and one with 200 Problems also arise with blanket rates across diverse states e cost of living index for Ellensburg WA is 1034 e cost of living index for Seattle is 2040 But the state minimum wage is 1200 in both cities It will rise to 1350 in 2019 Similar issues occur in other places where state minimums are set is is the reason federal minimum wage increases are generally unpopular New York City and rural Mississippi cant have the same minimum wage At the same time the 725 minimum wage is likely too low for any place in the U S at said less than 2 percent of business in our industry pay technicians a federal minimum wage starting salary and less than 1 percent pay any technicians that after a year with the company However most know the end goal of the aptly named Fight for 15 movement behind recent wage increases is a federal minimum wage of 15 an hour While 15 might be a reasonable starting wage in major cities thats a steep starting pay for most U S small businesses Currently only a third of carpet cleaning companies o er a starting wage that high to technicians and the number for o ce sta is likely lower is also creates a problem for companies who use competitive wages as a selling point to hire the best workers If your company previously o ered a 13 an hour starting pay to draw in the best employees and the minimum wage increases 3 will you now o er 16 ere are reports of small businesses shuttering their doors in places where wage increases started years ago ere will likely be service cost increases Companies may also nd it necessary to eliminate positions Rising labor costs will a ect most industry companies e best we can do is plan Talk to a business advisor reevaluate your business spending cut costs where you can and be as prepared as possible as wages continue to rise I f your company previously offered a 13 an hour starting pay to draw in the best employees and the minimum wage increases 3 will you now offer 16 MANAGING EDITOR Jeff Cross Editorial Director JeffCross@ issa com 740 973 4236 Amanda Hosey Managing Editor Amandah@ issa com 205 530 4775 Amanda Martini Hughes Digital Media Coordinator amanda@ issa com Micah Ogburn Director of Media Sales Micah@ issa com 847 982 3486 Abby Ingraham Account Executive Sales abby@ issa com 847 982 3484 Scott Beech Account Executive Sales scott@ issa com 224 534 5062 3300 Dundee Road Northbrook IL 60062 847 982 0800 ISSA com Subscriber Customer Service Cleanfax@ omeda com 8558402131 cleanfax com subscribe