Just Economics of Western North Carolina has been pushing local businesses to pay employees a “living wage.” The Asheville Citizen-Times reported Sunday that 370 businesses in the Asheville area have signed on, meaning about 3,000 workers have moved above that threshold, calculated by the group as $11.85 an hour.
Just Economics calculated its living wage using the “Universal Living Wage Formula,” which is based on a 40-hour work week and the local cost of housing, according to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s fair market rents determination.
With employer-provided health insurance, businesses could meet the living wage standard by paying $10.35 an hour, still well above the current $7.25 hourly minimum rate.
<http://www.citizen-times.com/story/news/local/2014/04/05/hour-new-local-minimum-wage/7361109/>
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