In testimony last week before the House Education and Labor Committee, in response to a specific question from California Representative Mark Takano, Labor Secretary Marty Walsh asserted that the current minimum salary is definitely too low. He advised the committee that the Department of Labor (DOL) is currently reviewing the Final Overtime Rule currently in…
Read More »Notwithstanding that the current labor shortage is driving wages up without any kind of government mandate being necessary, efforts continue to impose a $15/hour minimum wage. While there’s still no movement in Congress on the national minimum (currently $7.25), Delaware – the home state of President Biden – is moving towards setting a $15 state…
Read More »Virginia employers have more negative hits on their horizon. The minimum wage, which jumped $2.25 per hour to $9.50 on May 1, 2021, is slated to rise by another $1.50 to $11/hour on January 1, 2022; and then another $1 in 2023 to $12/hour. However, if the General Assembly chooses to reenact these rate increases…
Read More »Michigan Governor Gretchen Witmer is proposing a deal for small business owners in The Wolverine State that would put a $15/hour minimum in place for many Michigan workers. The Governor’s plan would provide 3-month wage grants to businesses that agree to increase worker wages to $15 per hour with the grant paying the differential between…
Read More »At the federal level, the push for a $15 minimum wage is still hung up by the opposition of moderate democrat Senators Joe Manchin (D-WV) and Kyrsten Sinema (D-AZ). The two moderates have agreed that the federal minimum wage (currently $7.25/hour) should be raised, but balk at the $15 figure. Sinema last week joined Mitt…
Read More »The Restaurant Opportunities Center (ROC) along with other advocacy groups One Fair Wage and Mothering Justice this week filed a lawsuit against Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel alleging that legislative changes made to the state minimum wage law were unconstitutional. To put the issue in context, One Fair Wage initiated a petition drive in 2018…
Read More »SEIU-backed Fight for $15 is again organizing a strike amongst QSR workers – mostly McDonald’s employees – in 15 selected cities around the country for next Wednesday, timed to coincide with the company’s annual shareholder meeting. Again, SEIU is seeking to generate sufficient pressure on the Golden Arches to get the company to pay a…
Read More »As we anticipate another run by progressives in Congress at a federal $15 minimum wage, it’s reported that a group of moderate Senators – led by Kyrsten Sinema (D-AZ) and Mitt Romney (R-UT) are working on bipartisan legislation that would increase the federal minimum over the next four years from the current $7.25 to $10…
Read More »On the first of May, the minimum wage in Virginia will exceed the federal minimum for the first time, rising from the current $7.25 per hour to $9.50 an hour. The Old Dominion is one of only five that will raise their minimum wage before next January with Connecticut 8/1/21, Florida 9/1/21, Nevada 8/1/21 and…
Read More »A recent Rasmussen Poll shows that only 31 percent of Americans actually support increasing the federal minimum wage to $15 per hour. Although other polls have indicated strong support for a higher wage across the country – 80 percent believe the minimum wage should be increased – almost 70 percent believe $15 is just too…
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