A few years ago, the idea of a fifteen dollar per hour minimum wage in America would have been considered highly unlikely. But following the examples established by San Francisco and Seattle, fourteen cities, counties and state governments have already approved a high to fifteen dollars in their local minimum hourly pay according to the National Employment Law Project.
As reported by CNNMoney, lawmakers in thirteen states and cities, including California, New York and Washington, D.C., have proposed legislation and ballot measures calling for a fifteen dollar minimum that will receive consideration this year. In most places, the increase to fifteen dollars is being phased in over a few years to supply employers with time to adjust.
In California and Massachusetts, the minimum wage will rise by one dollar this year to ten dollars per hour. In Chicago, the minimum wage will rise by fifty cents per hour to ten dollars and fifty cents.
In Maryland, the minimum wage will rise by seventy five cents to eight dollars and seventy five cents per hour. In Montgomery and Prince George’s County, Maryland, however, the minimum wage will rise by one dollar and twenty cents to ten dollars and seventy five cents per hour.
