With minimum wage increases staying in the forefront in a number of jurisdictions across the country, the state of Florida is likewise moving closer to putting the question of raising the state minimum wage on the November 2020 ballot. Florida for a Fair Wage, the primary PAC behind the measure, has thus far submitted just…
Read More »After supporting minimum wage increases just about anywhere and everywhere that they are proposed, organized labor is now looking at the resulting turn toward automation with an eye on restricting or limiting such business options. In Oregon, where the current minimum wage for most counties is $11.25 an hour ($11 in non-urban counties and $12.50…
Read More »Speaking of minimum wage increase proposals, advocates in two states are aiming to put a minimum wage increase question on the ballot for voters to decide. First, in Florida, attorney John Morgan, who has been spearheading an effort to increase the state minimum wage (currently $8.46/hour), claimed this week that he had collected over a…
Read More »The Massachusetts legislature, meeting in Constitutional Convention (ConCon) this week gave procedural approval to placing a constitutional amendment on the ballot in 2022. The proposal would amend the state constitution by allowing for classes of taxpayers to be taxed at different levels – more specifically, imposing an additional 4% surcharge on incomes exceeding $1 million.…
Read More »A compromise seems to have been brokered by Governor Janet Mills in the state of Maine over mandating paid leave benefits for private employees. The legislature’s Labor Committee this week approved compromise legislation that would apply to businesses with more than 10 employees who work for a business more than three months in a year.…
Read More »The Idaho Secretary of State has given his approval to an initiative amending the current state minimum wage law and establishing a four-year formula to increase the wage and subsequently tie it to the federal consumer price index (CPI) for specific items. Under the proposal, the current minimum wage of $7.25 would be increased annually…
Read More »It could be called a tale of three directions when we look at minimum wage actions in Arkansas, Florida and Maryland within the past two weeks. As we’ve advised in past issues, the Maryland General Assembly has been advancing minimum wage legislation to hike the state minimum to $15/hour by 2025 and just last week,…
Read More »As we predicted over the past few weeks, New Jersey gave its official blessing to more minimum wage increases up to $15 per hour effective by 2024 yesterday when both branches of the New Jersey legislature passed S.15 and sent it on to the Governor. The bill has enjoyed support from Governor Phil Murphy for…
Read More »For those who thought the idea of the so-called Millionaire Tax had run its course, think again. You will recall that Massachusetts advocates had teed up a ballot question for last November’s ballot that would have allowed the Bay State to apply a 4% surcharge to incomes over $1 million. The Massachusetts Supreme Court ultimately…
Read More »Bear with me on this one . . . On Christmas Eve, the Appeals Court in the state of Washington invalidated a voter-approved law known as the Hotel Employee Health and Safety Initiative. On its face, Initiative 124 dealt only with hotel employees, however the depth and breadth of its provisions could have stretched far…
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