State Minimum Wages

Posted on January 29, 2013 by townsend

• Growing number of states look at minimum wage hikes, By Emma Beck, January 29, 2013, USA Today: “Nearly half the states have increased their minimum wage this year or are considering plans to hike it as the economy transitions from recession to a stronger recovery. Thirteen states have weighed wage increases since Jan. 1. Maryland, New York, New Jersey and Hawaii are among the most recent. Monday, New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, a Republican, rejected a bill that called for an immediate $1.25-per-hour hike, pushing the minimum wage to $8.50. He suggested instead a $1 increase phased in over three years. In nine other states, automatic wage hikes took effect, adding 10 to 35 cents per hour to state minimum wages. In a 10th state, an increase approved by the Rhode Island Legislature last June raised the state’s minimum from $7.40 to $7.75 as of Jan. 1. It was the state’s first increase since 2007…”
• How would a proposed minimum wage increase affect Maryland’s economy?, By Sarah Halzack, January 25, 2013, Washington Post: “Maryland lawmakers last week proposed to incrementally raise the state’s minimum wage to $10 per hour from $7.25 by 2015, a measure that, if passed, would represent the first increase in the state’s minimum wage since 2007. Depending on who you ask, the plan could propel Maryland’s economic recovery or smother it. Supporters argue that such an initiative would put more money in wage earners’ pockets that would then be spent at local businesses. Opponents contend that it would it force business owners to trim jobs and make Maryland’s business climate less competitive with neighboring jurisdictions. Economists, meanwhile, have varied and nuanced views of how such a change might play out…”