Living Wage For US Tier I Certification Plus

1. Earn the Base Tier I Certification: The Plus designation is an add-on, so your organization must first hold or be actively pursuing the Living Wage for US Tier I Certification, which requires paying all employees a living wage as defined by the program's regional standards.\n\n2. Review the Approved Benefits List: Visit the Living Wage for US website to review the full list of qualifying advanced employee benefits. Familiarize yourself with the categories — such as flexible scheduling, tuition assistance, retirement contributions, paid family leave, and employee ownership.\n\n3. Audit Your Current Benefits: Conduct an internal review of your existing employee benefits to identify which ones already qualify and which gaps exist. You need at least five qualifying benefits to be eligible.\n\n4. Implement Any Missing Benefits: If your organization does not yet offer five qualifying benefits, work with HR and leadership to develop and implement the additional programs needed.\n\n5. Gather Documentation: Compile supporting documentation for each qualifying benefit — such as employee handbooks, benefit plan summaries, policy documents, or enrollment records.\n\n6. Submit Your Application: Apply through the Living Wage for US website, submitting your documentation package alongside your Tier I Certification credentials.\n\n7. Await Review and Approval: Living Wage for US staff will review your submission to verify eligibility. This process typically takes a few weeks.\n\n8. Display the Plus Mark: Once approved, you will receive the Plus designation and can display the co-branded seal alongside your Tier I certification in marketing materials, job postings, and your company website.

The Plus Add-on Certification evaluates whether an employer provides at least five qualifying advanced employee benefits from the Living Wage for US approved list. The assessment is documentation-based rather than audit-based, with Living Wage for US staff reviewing submitted materials.\n\nQualifying benefit categories typically include: flexible work arrangements (e.g., remote work options, flexible scheduling), financial wellness supports (e.g., retirement plan contributions with employer match, profit-sharing, employee ownership programs), educational support (e.g., tuition assistance, professional development stipends), family support benefits (e.g., paid family leave beyond legal minimums, childcare assistance), and health and wellness programs (e.g., mental health benefits, wellness stipends).\n\nReviewers assess whether the documented benefits are substantive, employer-funded, and accessible to the broad workforce — not just executive-level employees. The breadth and quality of benefits across multiple categories is considered, though the minimum threshold is five qualifying items from the approved list.

Living Wage for US is a relatively new entrant in the employer certification space, having launched in the early 2020s as part of a broader movement to establish a U.S.-specific living wage standard. The Plus Add-on Certification occupies a niche within this space, targeting employers who want to signal holistic workforce investment beyond base pay compliance.\n\nThe program competes in a crowded field of employer-focused certifications, including B Corp Certification, Great Place to Work, and various fair wage initiatives. However, its specific focus on living wage compliance combined with benefits depth gives it a distinct positioning. B Corp is broader and more rigorous; Great Place to Work focuses on culture rather than compensation. Living Wage for US fills a gap by centering economic justice and worker financial security.\n\nAdoption of the Plus designation remains limited given the program's early stage, but interest in living wage commitments has grown significantly following the COVID-19 pandemic and ongoing debates about minimum wage policy in the U.S. ESG-focused investors and socially conscious consumers increasingly scrutinize employer pay practices, creating market tailwinds for certifications like this one. The program is most relevant to mission-driven businesses, B Corps, and companies in consumer-facing industries where employer brand matters.

Living Wage for US, Inc. was founded in the early 2020s to establish a formal, U.S.-specific living wage certification standard, filling a gap left by the absence of a nationally recognized employer living wage designation in the United States. The organization drew inspiration from the long-running Living Wage Foundation model in the United Kingdom, which has certified thousands of employers since 2001, and sought to adapt that framework to the diverse regional cost-of-living realities across American cities and states.

The Plus Add-on Certification was introduced alongside the core Tier I Certification as a way to recognize employers who go beyond wage floors to offer substantive worker-supportive benefits. By creating a tiered structure — with the Plus designation as an enhancement layer — Living Wage for US aimed to give employers a pathway to progressively demonstrate deeper commitments to workforce equity. The program has grown steadily as ESG pressures, post-pandemic labor market shifts, and renewed public interest in worker economic security have elevated the profile of living wage commitments among mission-driven businesses and impact investors.