A sweep of minimum-wage increases approved Tuesday across four states puts the issue—and other polices aimed at supporting lower-paid workers—back on the table, even in places that approved higher pay floors a year or two ago.
Voters in Arizona, Colorado, Maine and Washington approved ballot questions seeking to raise minimum wages in those states to $12 an hour or more, and then lock in those higher levels in real terms by binding future increases to the cost of living. And in two states, the provision also guarantees sick leave to workers.
Each of the four states already had a minimum wage above the federal mandate of $7.25 an hour. Most states have a minimum wage above the federal level, but fewer have rates tied to inflation and very few require sick leave.
Other states are likely to revisit the polices, especially if the topic gains little traction on Capitol Hill.
For example, lawmakers in Maryland and Massachusetts in 2014 approved a then nation-leading wage of $10 an hour. But rates in those liberal-leaning states are not tied to inflation, so they will fall behind the new national leaders of California, New York and now Washington, where voters Tuesday approved a $13.50 hourly minimum by 2020, and mandatory paid sick leave.
Meanwhile, voters in more conservative Arizona approved a $12 an hour minimum wage by 2020, from the current $8.05, and sick benefits. Republican president-elect Donald Trump won the state, showing again that minimum-wage initiatives don’t pose a threat to GOP candidates at the top of the ticket.
The increased minimum wage in the state could lead to higher prices for consumers and smaller profits for some businesses.
But that’s an acceptable trade to improve the quality of workers’ lives, said Judy Clinco, chief executive of Catalina In-Home Services in Tucson, Ariz. She employs many lower-wage home-care workers. The higher minimum in Arizona will help level the playing field between her business and competitors that pay the bottom standard, she said.
View Article