Twenty-six states and Washington, D.C. will raise their minimum wages in 2020, 22 of them starting from Jan. 1, payroll experts Wolters Kluwer Legal & Regulatory U.S. announced, WTHR reported.
Workers in most metropolitan areas are likely to profit from the wage increase. “Payroll experts say the minimum wage increases reflect lawmakers’ recognition that cost of living is higher in large metro areas than they are in other parts of the state,” the report says.
According to the report:
- Seattle has the highest minimum wage rate at $15.00 for small employers and $16.00 per hour for large employers. This will increase to $16.39 from Jan. 1, according to the Seattle Office of Labor Standards (pdf).
- The highest state rate will remain in Washington at $13.50 per hour.
- The lowest minimum wage rates of $5.15 are in Georgia and Wyoming. But workers will in most cases be subjected to the federal minimum wage of $7.25.
- New York City’s minimum wage is set at $15.00 per hour for all employers.
- California will raise the minimum wage rates by $1 on Jan. 1 ($12.00 per hour for employers with 25 employees or less, and $13.00 per hour for employers with 26 employees or more)
- Some states like Florida, Ohio, and Montana base their raise on inflation correction or on the increased cost of living and will see a very limited increase. Minimum wage Florida, for instance, will go up 10 cents to $8.56.
In July the House of Representatives passed the Raise the Wage Act that would increase the federal minimum wage to $15 by 2025, but this act is not likely to make it past the Senate.
Even so, Job Creators Network President and CEO Alfredo Ortiz called it part of the Democrats’ “Socialist agenda,” Breitbart reported.
“House Democrats pushed through an outrageous bill that will force up to 3.7 million Americans to lose their jobs and wreck our economy,” Ortiz stated.
“House Democrats want to appease the far-left and squeeze the 90 million Americans who work at or own a small business,” Ortiz said. “Instead of pursuing a $15 minimum wage, Congress should be fighting for $50,000 careers by addressing the skills gap.”
Barbara O’Dell, JD, an employment law analyst for Wolters Kluwer Legal & Regulatory U.S. said, however, that “increases indicate a move toward ensuring a living wage for people across several states.”
“What it really forces you to do is make sure that nobody works more than 40 hours,” restaurant owner Susannah Koteen told Breitbart.
“You can only cut back so many people before the service starts to suffer.”
