Orange County Employment Lawyers Blog
As it stands now, Costco is considered one of the better employers for which you can work. This is one of the reasons they have one of the highest rates of retention for workers in the retail industry. Workers there say this is not only because of better pay, but also because of how well workers are treated by the company. Many people assume all workers want is more money, but they also want to be treated with respect, like a valued part of the company. This is one of the major reasons attrition rates will stay down.
However, it is obvious the amount of pay is the primary reason people will stay at a company, because, at the end of the day, nobody is working for a big box retailer simply because they love the work. According to a recent news feature from the Orange County Register, Costco is raising its minimum wage for employees to keep up with increased competition from other employers who have recently raised their employee wages as well.
This is the first time in around nine years that the company raised its base wages, but the company claims that it had been paying far more than the competition during that time. This particular raise is in the amount of $1.50 per hour, and new wages will be at least $13 per hour, and, depending on the position, may be significantly more.
One of the things many employers are starting to realize is that you will actually make more money by paying employees more than you do by paying employees less. While this may seem counter intuitive, employees who are happier tend to work faster and pay more attention to what they are doing, and this means production and customer satisfaction will increase. These higher paid employees are also less likely to quit. That means the company will not have to spend time and money to train new replacement employees. Not only does it cost money to train new employees, it takes time for these new employees to get up to speed, and that means reduced production.
The company says that one of the reasons it needs to raise wages higher than other industries is because with a warehouse environment, workers are required to move a lot more than other employees and routinely lift heavy items. Workers also have a lot of incentive to stay at the company for longer, because the highest paid hour employees make around $23 per hour, and it takes about four years for the average employee to reach this rate. Even this higher rate is expected to go up.
While some companies realize the importance of taking care of their employees, other companies are not so good about it. Not only do some companies pay a lot less, some illegally deprive employees of benefits to which they are entitled, refuse to pay overtime, and misclassify their employees. If you are facing any of these issues at work, you should contact a Los Angeles employment attorney as soon as possible to make sure you have someone fighting for your rights to adequate compensation and fair treatment.
Contact the employment attorneys at Nassiri Law Group, practicing in Orange County, Riverside and Los Angeles. Call 949.375.4734.
Additional Resources:
Costco raising minimum wage as competition for workers grows, March 3, 2016, The OC Register
More Blog Entries:
Top 5 Areas the EEOC is Pursuing Litigation to Protect Workers, Jan. 15, 2016, Orange County gender discrimination attorney blog