LATEST PRESS RELEASE: Earl Stewart Toyota increases starting wage to 52 percent above federal minimum wage, in line with local “living wage” standards Anticipates improvements in recruitment, retention, customer service and employee morale Palm Beach County auto dealer Earl Stewart Toyota has adopted a policy of paying all of its employees a living wage, with the hourly rate increases going into effect for 15 of the dealerships’ 147 employees effective August 1. These 15 employees earned an hourly wage of at least $8/hour, but no higher then the local living wage of $11.05/hour. A living wage is defined as the hourly rate that an individual must earn to support their family, if they are the sole provider and are working full-time (2080 hours per year). Palm Beach County government has adopted a living wage policy for county construction contracts and recently expanded it to cover other county contractors. Earl Stewart, whose family has operated car dealerships in Palm Beach County since 1937, said his family-owned business adopted the living wage policy because it anticipates that higher wages for its entry level positions will improve recruitment and retention of the most qualified applicants, will lead to even better customer service and will improve overall employee morale. “Although our current wages are competitive with other auto dealers, we want to make sure that our wages are in line with the local ‘living wage’ standard,” Stewart said. “Several of our employees have been with us for decades and we want to do everything we can to ensure that all of our employees are able to earn enough to care fortheir families,” he said. The current federal minimum wage is $7.25 per hour, with the minimum wage in Florida set at $7.93 per hour. Starting August 1, the minimum wage at Earl Stewart Toyota will increase to $11.05/hour –the amount the Massachusetts Institute of Technology Wage Calculator indicates is a “living wage” in Palm Beach County. All employees currently below this wage will be receiving raises on August 1st and all new hires will come in at no less than $11.05 as a starting hourly pay rate. The hourly wage increases for the affected employees range from .05 per hour to $3.05 per hour, Stewart said. Earl Stewart Toyota joins major national corporations such as IKEA, The Gap and Old Navy in increasing its minimum wage. According to a recent USA Today article, applications for jobs at The Gap and Old Navy, owned by the same company, have surged 10 percent since the company announced plans to raise their minimum hourly wage to $10 per hour by 2015. #livingwage #minimumwage
Posted on: Thu, 31 Jul 2014 22:10:06 +0000
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