Twenty states are raising their minimum wage rates – by a few pennies, by a few dollars or more – as part of a pre-determined effort to adjust for a lifetime benefit or move toward goals such as a $ 15-a-hour minimum wage. .
In New Mexico, the minimum wage will increase વર્તમાન 1.50 from the current $ 9 wage to 10. 10.50. And in California, for employers with 26 workers or more, the rate will increase from ડ 13 per hour to ડ 14 per hour, which is the highest state-wide baseline in the country. In Minnesota, the gain is only 8 cents per hour for large employers.
The federal minimum wage has not risen to 25 7.25 an hour since 2009, and by 2021, 20 U.S. States will continue to receive minimum or equal to the federal level minimum wage, making it the default baseline. The value of the federal minimum wage rose to 1.60 dollars in 1968, which will be about 12 dollars in 2020 dollars.
However, some of the new state hikes were relocated several years ago, now they are of additional importance, while low-wage workers have been particularly hard hit by the coronavirus epidemic.
“We have a lot of low-paid, service workers who are going through a cowardly crisis, many of whom are at increased risk of transmission to jobs,” said Ken Jacobs, president of the university’s Labor Research and Education Center. California-Berkeley. “This will be a very extra incentive for them. At the same time, a lot of families are struggling in this crisis right now.”
The need for workers is greater during an economic downturn, as many people have less bargaining power due to unemployment and employers are able to keep wages low, said Ben Sipper, an economist at the Institute for Economic Policy, a progressive think tank.
Federal data shows that minimum wage workers are generally small and have jobs primarily in the leisure and hospitality sectors. Service-heavy industries have been rocked during the epidemic due to the closure of restaurants, hotels and entertainment venues due to public health and safety measures.
As the epidemic has increased, housing and food insecurity has increased and incomes have fallen. And it has been the low-wage workers who have suffered the economic downturn.
Pushes back business interests
At the same time, some legislators and business associations have called for a halt to the stipulated minimum wage increase, citing the burden on already struggling small businesses.
In New York, members of the State Senate Republican Conference urged Governor Andrew Cuomo to stop the planned increase, which took effect Thursday.
Senate Republican leader Rob Ort said in a statement in early December, “We don’t want our small businesses to make the difficult choice of firing workers or closing their doors as this becomes the ultimate straw during the epidemic’s economic fragility.”
Cuomo’s administration later released a report stating that the state’s labor market recovery is “not likely to cause significant damage” to the minimum wage increase, and instead the speed and distribution of vaccines will have a greater impact on the job market.
Evercore ISI economist Ernie Tedeshi told CNN Business by email to CNN Business that New York has been slowly implementing the minimum wage for many years, not the same reduction at all. “Besides, and this is the most important issue, New York’s minimum wage hike schedule has been known for many years, and businesses are planning and anticipating rental all the time.”
Starting Thursday, the state’s minimum hourly wage will rise from 70 cents to 12. 12.50 an hour. The minimum wage rate in suburban Long Island and Westchester County will also rise from 13 13 an hour to 14 14. (The minimum in New York City was already set at $ 15).
Some states will have to wait
In Michigan, the epidemic will likely make efforts to raise the state’s minimum wage. There, when the state’s annual unemployment rate above. State law prohibits a minimum wage increase when it is greater than the above%.
Although employment rates in Michigan have recently improved, they averaged 10.2% from January to October, so the annual average is “extremely unlikely.” Will go below the 8.5% threshold, The state Bureau of Employment Relations said in a press release. The state’s minimum wage will be at 65 9.65 compared to the rising 9.65.
The effects of the 20 states that will raise their minimum wages should ultimately be more positive than negative, Sippir of EPI said.
“Redistribution of money is the smart policy for the lowest paid workers, because they will spend it,” he said. “This will help the faces of our economy right now, which are in short supply in consumer demand.”
And public support for the minimum wage increase appears to be growing. On election day, voters in Florida took the step of raising the state’s minimum wage to 15 15 an hour by 2026 – up from .5 8.56 this year. The Public Agenda / USA Today / Ipsos survey released in September showed an increase in public support for the federal minimum wage increase.
The minimum wage benefits accrue at the state, city or business level and includes companies like Target and Amazon that offer a $ 15-an-hour salary.
President-elect Joe Biden wants to raise the federal minimum wage by 15 dollars an hour, but he is unlikely to have filibuster-proof support in the Senate to achieve it. However, it can increase the minimum wage for federal contractors to 15 dollars per hour by executive order.
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