1. "the bad side of the cut-off" probably means being someone who loses their job because the employer can't afford to pay them. Some workers will have their pay increased by the law, but some workers will lose their jobs because their employer can't pay them what is legally required (at least that is what is implied by the article). The workers who don't get higher pay but do get fired will be on "the bad side of the cut-off." 2. Good question. Washington is not a person is this instance. It is referring to the United States government, which is located in the city of Washington, D.C. Many Americans refer to the government as a whole in this way. For example, if someone says "Washington is so corrupt" they mean that the government in general is corrupt not necessarily specific persons. 3. A safety net is something meant to help people who drop below some level of income, test score, etc. Sometimes safety nets are used to prevent people from having even worse things happen to them. Unemployment insurance is an example of this. 4. An extension is something that prolongs or widens the time frame or numerical range. If I am buying a house from you and I need to wait for more money to buy it, I might ask for an extension on our deal. Similarly, if a business offers kids a discount and then changes their policy to include teenagers, that would be an extension of their age range for discounts.

Hi there, I will do my best to answer these. Hope it will be helpful: 1. "on the bad side of the cut-off" - first the "bad side" refers to the wrong side or less desirable side. For example if the minimum wage is $10/hour then the "bad side" is anyone making less than $10/hour. The "cut-off" in this sentence could refer to the workers making below minimum wage or to the the people who will have to be fired if a minimum wage policy is adopted and companies are forced to reduce their labor force because they cannot afford to pay everyone the minimum wage. 2. Washington here refers to Washington D.C. the capital city of the United States. He is using "Washington" to refer to lawmakers and the national government. 3. A "safety net" is a term used to describe a measure put in place when things go badly. In business this could mean the economy suffers a recession or a new project fails or any number of things. Because of the phrase "worker classification" I believe the "safety net options" here refer to measure that should be put in place in the event of laws forcing the company to restructure their labor force. However, without more context it is difficult to say exactly what type of safety net options they are being encouraged to implement. 4. This one is difficult without more context. The verb "to extend" means to make something longer so in this case it could mean a contract extension, a project timeline extension or something of that sort. I hope this is helpful and please feel welcome to ask any questions you may have. Thank you!

1. "cut-off" means threshold. Many tax laws set thresholds. Sometimes you can be unlucky and your income just goes over a threshold and you have to pay a lot more than someone who earns not much less than you. 2. Washington = the US government; Teheran = the Iranian government (It's journalistic shorthand) 3. A safety net literally stops you from falling from a high place all the way to the ground. In tax and welfare terms, it is a figure of speech. Governments use tax laws and provide welfare benefits to make sure that poorer people still have enough to survive. 4. We don't have enough context. Probably "extension of time" or "extension of provision/coverage". My answer may not be enough to help you understand - I'm guessing because of the lack of context.

Excuse me, what are "policy questions"? I forgot to ask.

Excuse me, what are "policy questions"? I forgot to ask.