State Minimum Wages

Posted on January 30, 2014 by admin

• Minimum wage bills pushed in at least 30 states, including Utah, By Michael Hill (AP), January 26, 2014, Salt Lake Tribune: “Minimum-wage increase proposals are getting the maximum push from Democrats in statehouses in more than half of U.S. states, highlighting the politically potent income inequality issue this year. Lawmakers in at least 30 states are sponsoring or are expected to introduce wage hike measures, according to a national review by The Associated Press. They hope to notch state-level victories as President Barack Obama and congressional Democrats remain stymied in attempts to raise the federal minimum wage above $7.25 an hour. The president is expected to mention the minimum wage in his State of the Union address Tuesday…”
• Missouri, Illinois among states debating their own minimum wage hikes, By Kevin McDermott, January 29, 2014, St. Louis Post-Dispatch: “Before President Barack Obama thrust the issue of the federal minimum wage back into the national spotlight with Tuesday’s State of the Union speech, localized debates were already underway in Missouri and Illinois over what the lowest allowable pay should be. The two are among many states nationally that already set state-level minimum wages above the federal floor of $7.25 an hour. The legislatures in Missouri and Illinois this year are being asked to raise their respective rates even higher — something that is also going on around the country, with Congress having essentially ceded the issue to the states…”