NEWS RELEASE
FROM THE OFFICE OF THE MAYOR
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
Contact: Benton Strong, Mayor’s Office Press Secretary, 206.684.8379
Elliott Bronstein, Office of Labor Standards, 206.684.4507
Murray announces recipients of $475,000 fund to support Seattle businesses
SEATTLE (September 28, 2016) – Mayor Ed Murray today announced the award of $475,000 in funding from Seattle’s Office of Labor Standards (OLS) for organizations to provide outreach, education and technical assistance to Seattle’s small businesses about their responsibilities under Seattle’s Minimum Wage, Wage Theft, Paid Sick and Safe Time, Fair Chance Employment and Secure Scheduling Ordinances.
OLS has selected three organizations and partnerships to receive funding for a 12-month period beginning the 4th quarter of this year. Activities will include direct outreach to businesses, providing culturally appropriate information to businesses, and answering employers’ questions about Seattle’s laws. Fund recipients will emphasize outreach to employers not typically served by traditional outreach methods: businesses owned by low-income and historically disenfranchised communities, including people of color, immigrants and refugees, as well as women, veterans, people with disabilities, and the LGBTQ community.
“These business community partnerships will help ensure that small business owners across Seattle understand their responsibilities and have the information and tools they need to comply with our labor standards laws,” said Murray. “We are focusing our efforts on reaching businesses owned by low-income and historically disenfranchised communities because they lack the resources of larger employers, and may not be connected to traditional sources of information.”
The organizations who will receive funding include:
- Latino Community Fund of Washington State – $100,000
• Partners:
El Centro de la Raza
Beacon Hill Merchants Association
South Park Retail Merchants Association
• Communities of Focus: Latino and small minority owned businesses in Beacon Hill & South Park - Seattle Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce – $90,000
• Partners:
Tabor 100
Ethnic Business Coalition
• Communities of Focus: African American, Asian Pacific Islander, immigrant and minority owned small businesses - Ethnic Chambers of Commerce Coalition – $285,000
• Partners:
Business Impact NorthwestCascadia Consulting GroupEritrean Community
One America
Chinese Information Service Center
Greater Seattle Business Association (GSBA)
• Communities of Focus: Latino, Asian Pacific Islander, East African, immigrant and minority owned businesses
“These partnerships will help the Office of Labor Standards support small businesses and businesses owned by low-income individuals and historically disenfranchised communities, and I am very excited to begin this outreach program,” said OLS Director Dylan Orr. “As more and more businesses understand and comply with Seattle’s labor standards we will build a culture of compliance in the City of Seattle. That will level the playing field for business, advance equity and reduce income inequality for workers.”
For more information about the Office of Labor Standards or the Business Outreach and Education Fund, call 206-684-4500 or visit http://www.seattle.gov/laborstandards.