With the turn of the calendar in another two weeks, many employers across the country will see their minimum wage obligations rise. In fact, no fewer than 29 individual states will be raising their mandated minimums come January 1, 2023 along with another 59 local jurisdictions. Effective New Year’s day, the state of Washington will…
Read More »Earlier this week, the Michigan Court of Appeals heard oral arguments over a Court of Claims decision rendered earlier this year that voided a legislative amendment to a 2018 ballot measure and reinstated the ballot measure. The ballot question mandated a $12 per hour minimum wage and phases out the current tip credit, so the…
Read More »It was an even split on election day for questions on keeping a tipped wage as Portland Maine voters resoundingly rejected a ballot proposal to eliminate the tipped wage and hike the minimum within the city to $18 per hour. Question D, as the initiative was known went down to defeat by a 61-39% margin.…
Read More »Some state ballots also had questions relating compensation and tax policy looming. In that regard, voters were apparently feeling generous. Initiative 433 on the Nebraska ballot was approved and provides for a $15 per hour minimum wage to be phased in over the next three years. The measure passed easily with 62% of voters in…
Read More »Advocates of increasing the Ohio minimum wage refined and then resubmitted their petition to be put on the Ohio ballot. Raise the Wage Ohio had initially submitted the petition to increase the state minimum wage to $10.50 per hour in 2025 and then incrementally through 2028 at which point it would be $15 per hour.…
Read More »As we reach the final weekend before the critical midterm elections, it’s interesting to note who’s becoming active on which issues around the country. Of particular note, two-time presidential candidate former US Senator and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has made a last-minute endorsement of the ballot measure to raise the Portland Maine minimum wage…
Read More »It seems the closer the midterm elections get, the more “business-friendly” some elected officials become. Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer is a prime and recent example. It seems Governor Whitmer, who has long been a proponent of increasing minimum wages in the Wolverine State, is now urging caution over reinstating a $12 minimum wage. The Michigan…
Read More »With only a few weeks remaining before the critical midterm election on November 8, we again want to highlight some of the ballot questions that will be decided around the country, with this week’s focus on labor issues in general, and minimum wage hikes in particular. A ballot initiative in Nebraska would raise the state…
Read More »With inflation continuing unbridled at record-setting levels, its impact on minimum wages across the nation is becoming clearer with each week. As we’ve advised in the past, and as recently as only two weeks ago, those states and local communities that tethered minimum wage increases to the Consumer Price Index. Unfortunately, there are more increases…
Read More »One unanticipated repercussion of the ongoing 40-year high level of inflation is the impact it is having on automatic minimum wage rates in a number of states. Most recently, three states announced that new minimum wage rates for 2023 will be higher than they had previously anticipated. With minimum wage rates tied to the Consumer…
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