Leading Living Wage For US Tier II Certification Plus

1. Confirm base eligibility: Ensure your organization has achieved or is actively pursuing the Living Wage for US Tier II base certification, as the Plus Add-on requires this foundation.\n2. Review the approved benefits list: Visit livingwageforus.org to obtain the full list of qualifying advanced worker-supportive benefits eligible for the Plus designation.\n3. Conduct an internal benefits audit: Assess which of the qualifying benefits your organization currently offers and identify any gaps needed to reach the minimum of five.\n4. Implement qualifying benefits: If you do not yet offer five qualifying benefits, work with HR and leadership to introduce or formalize benefits such as flexible work schedules, paid family leave, tuition assistance, retirement contributions, or employee ownership programs.\n5. Gather documentation: Compile HR policy documents, benefit plan summaries, employee handbooks, or other evidence demonstrating that each qualifying benefit is actively provided.\n6. Submit your application: Complete the Plus Add-on application through the Living Wage for US portal, uploading all required documentation for staff review.\n7. Await review and approval: The Living Wage for US team will review your submission and contact you with any questions or requests for additional documentation.\n8. Receive designation and activate branding: Upon approval, access your Plus seal, badge, and marketing toolkit to communicate your designation to employees, customers, and stakeholders.

The Plus Add-on Certification evaluates whether an employer provides at least five qualifying advanced worker-supportive benefits from the Living Wage for US approved list. The assessment is documentation-based, with reviewers verifying that each claimed benefit is formally established and actively available to employees.

Qualifying benefit categories include: Flexible Work Arrangements (e.g., remote work options, flexible scheduling, compressed workweeks); Financial Security Benefits (e.g., employer-matched retirement plan contributions, profit-sharing, employee stock ownership plans); Family Support Benefits (e.g., paid family and medical leave beyond legal minimums, childcare assistance, adoption assistance); Education and Career Development (e.g., tuition reimbursement, student loan assistance, professional development stipends); and Health and Wellness (e.g., enhanced mental health benefits, wellness programs, supplemental health coverage).

Reviewers assess the quality and accessibility of each benefit — not just whether it exists on paper — to ensure that workers genuinely benefit from the offerings. Documentation must demonstrate that benefits are available to all qualifying employees, not just executives or select groups.

Living Wage for US, Inc. is a relatively young nonprofit operating in the growing space of living wage employer certification in the United States. The Plus Add-on designation occupies a niche above basic living wage compliance, targeting employers who want to signal a comprehensive commitment to worker well-being. This space is increasingly competitive, with programs like B Corp, Great Place to Work, and JUST Capital's JUST Label all vying for employer attention in the responsible business and equitable employment arena.

The living wage movement has gained significant momentum in the US since the mid-2010s, driven by labor advocacy, investor ESG pressure, and consumer preference for ethical brands. However, Living Wage for US is a smaller, newer player compared to the UK's Living Wage Foundation (which has certified thousands of employers) or the B Corp ecosystem. As of the mid-2020s, the program's certified employer base remains modest, though it is growing as ESG reporting requirements and supply chain transparency demands increase.

The Plus designation is particularly relevant for employers in retail, technology, and professional services who compete for talent and wish to differentiate on total compensation and culture. Demand for such certifications is expected to grow as the SEC and state-level regulators push for greater human capital disclosure, and as workers increasingly evaluate employers on benefits breadth, not just base pay.

Living Wage for US, Inc. was founded in the early 2020s as a US-focused nonprofit inspired in part by the success of the Living Wage Foundation in the United Kingdom, which has certified thousands of employers since 2001. Recognizing that the US lacked a comparable employer-facing living wage certification infrastructure, the organization developed a tiered certification framework — Tier I and Tier II — to recognize employers who pay wages sufficient to meet basic living costs in their local markets, going beyond the federal minimum wage.

The Plus Add-on designation was introduced as an enhancement to the Tier II certification to recognize employers who go further than wage floors, offering a suite of advanced worker-supportive benefits. This reflected a broader trend in the US labor market toward holistic compensation benchmarking, driven by ESG investor pressure, labor advocacy, and growing employee expectations around benefits. The program remains relatively young and is actively expanding its certified employer base as human capital disclosure requirements and responsible business standards gain traction in the US market.