Please read the information below to make sure there has been a violation of the criteria below.Living Wage Concept and Formula: Our basic philosophy is that a person working 40 hours a week/52 weeks a year should be able to afford to pay for their own” basic needs” without government or private assistance. We define basic needs as housing, food, taxes, healthcare, transportation, and other necessities. We set an hourly wage rate based on a variation of the Universal Living Wage formula and adjust this wage rate annually. Specific information regarding our formula is available at:https://www.justeconomicswnc.org/living-wage-certification/eligibility/Living Wage: the amount that a single individual must earn hourly to afford their basic necessities, without public or private assistance. For further information on the wage rate visit: www.justeconomicswnc.org. Living Wage Certified Employer: An employer that is accepted in our program and meets or exceeds Just Economics Living Wage Certification criteria.Exemptions for Meeting Wage Criteria1. Apprentice: A individual that is learning a trade, art, or skill by practical experience under skilled workers in exchange for work2. Intern: A student or graduate in a professional field gaining supervised practical experience in exchange for work.3. Minors: An individual under the age of 18 working part-time. 4. Temporary / Project based Employee: An “as needed” employee that works intermittently and does not work over 60 days in a calendar year. 5. Independent Contractor: A contractor that works as and when required, not regularly; paid on a freelance basis. They must receive a “1099”. Independent Contractors paid an hourly rate and consistently working over 8 hours a week must make $2/hr more than the corresponding rate of certification in order to qualify. The additional wage requirements are meant to cover their individual tax requirements. Businesses whose Independent Contractors work on a “bidding system” are excluded from our Living Wage Certification program6. New Hire: An employee who is within their first consecutive 90 days of employment during which the employee and employer are evaluating each other. Stipulation for Tipped Employees
An employee who consistently relies on tips for a percentage of their income. When averaged out, wage and tips combined must regularly equal at least the living wage rate over the pay period. Just Economics will interview a percentage of tipped employees from any employer that applies for Living Wage Certification using tips in order to qualify in order to ensure that the wage requirements are met.
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