August 2019
Volume 18 • Issue 8
Tri-City employers balk at state’s overtime proposal BY ANDREW KIRK
for Tri-Cities Area Journal of Business
Nonprofits
Boys & Girls Clubs now runs 27 Tri-City locations
Page 11
Science & Technology Telemedicine connects patients with specialists
Page 27
Real Estate & Construction
Cocktail bar coming to Richland’s Parkway
Page 49
NOTEWORTHY “You can fly out of the Tri-Cities just as cheap as anywhere, if you can be flexible in your schedule.” –Buck Taft, director of Tri-Cities Airport Page 3
Several Tri-City employers and nonprofit leaders criticized the state’s proposal to overhaul its worker overtime exemption rule at a recent public hearing, citing concerns about their bottom lines and ability to serve customers and clients. More than 50 people attended an Aug. 6 hearing in Kennewick—one of seven meetings held across the state—to provide feedback on Labor and Industries’ proposed changes to significantly increase the minimum amount employees must earn before they can be exempt from receiving overtime pay. The changes, which affect executive, administrative and professional workers, as well as outside salespeople, across all industries, would mean employers will have to provide minimum wage, overtime and paid sick leave, or increase salaries to those who were previously considered exempt. Joshua Grice, Labor and Industries’ employment standards program director, said employers would have to convert employees to a non-exempt status qualifying for overtime pay and receive sick leave, limit their hours to 40 per week, or convert salaried workers to hourly wages, or give a worker more responsibility and a raise to meet the new criteria. Many business owners said they were concerned the compensation laws they’ve been following for decades could change drastically in a matter of months. The new rule would take effect next year. Nolan Lockwood of Harvest Foods, an independent grocery store in Walla Walla, and Cindy Goulet, owner of two Richland restaurants, 3 Eyed Fish and LU LU Craft Bar + Kitchen, both said they use the law to pay lowlevel managers who appreciate the stability of a salary despite not making significantly more than coworkers. Both grocery stores and restaurants have slow and busy weeks depending on the season, and the exemption allows owners to keep experienced supervisors on site at all times, while hourly workers are called in or sent home—or even terminated—depending on demand. uOVERTIME, Page 38
Photo by Robin Wojtanik A new gas station and convenience store that will feature a fast-food chicken restaurant is under construction in the Badger Mountain South development, north of Rancho Reata, at 5151 Trowbridge Blvd., just off Dallas Road. The original plan put the housing development’s completion at 2030, but following a slow start, the revised date is now 2037.
Badger boomtown
Construction on south side of mountain points to more growth BY ROBIN WOJTANIK
for Tri-Cities Area Journal of Business
Signs of new construction on the south side of Badger Mountain—including a new service station and convenience store that will include a fast-food chicken restaurant—signal more growth coming to the planned development that’s been years in the making. Badger Mountain South’s owner and developer Nor Am Investments has an endgoal of building 5,000 household units, comprised of homes and apartments, filling nearly 1,500 acres in the high-growth area of Richland at the “back side” of Badger
Mountain in the next 18 years. Hundreds of homes have sprouted up in recent years and more are coming to the outskirts of Richland city limits, near the border of West Richland, east of Interstate 82 off Dallas Road. “The city of Richland is very pleased to see the progress and development that is taking place in the Badger Mountain South community. As of July 1, there were 553 permitted residential units, 276 of which are associated with the apartments currently under construction. Additionally, a development
uBADGER, Page 40
Benton County consolidates public services under one roof
3 departments merged near Tri-Cities, expanded services coming to Prosser BY ROBIN WOJTANIK
for Tri-Cities Area Journal of Business
The process of jumping through the required hoops to start new construction projects is set to run more efficiently in Benton County once a new “one-stop shop” opens in the Tri-Cities, replicating some services currently only available in Prosser. The move will merge the county’s building, planning and road departments together
under one roof on 10 acres at 102808 Wiser Parkway, which is visible from Interstate 82 near the Badger Road exit and across from Columbia Sun RV Resort. The county’s fleet and road maintenance divisions are currently located at the site. “If you’re building a house or building a business in Benton County, you’re going to interact with those three departments along the way,” said Matt Rasmussen, public works administrator for Benton County. “Currently one department is located on West Canal Drive (in Kennewick) and the other two are located in Prosser. It was inconvenient and we had some people who uBENTON COUNTY, Page 7
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