Washington minimum wage

Last week a federal jury decided that private company GEO Group, which operates the Northwest Detention Center in Tacoma, owed those formerly detained at the facility $17.3 million in back pay for violation of Washington state’s minimum wage law.

A federal judge who previously ruled that Washington state could pursue its claim that immigration detainees must be paid minimum wage for work at a privately run, for-profit immigration jail said Tuesday he intends to reverse himself at the urging of the Trump administration.

Millions of American workers will see pay raises in the new year due to minimum-wage increases in 20 states and 21 cities.

Workers in Washington are about to get a new benefit. Starting January 1, the state will require all employers to provide paid sick leave.