By Patrick Herron
The MoCo Show, Feb 28, 2023

Per the State of Maryland (2.27.23): Governor Wes Moore hosted a community round table at the State House and testified in the Maryland House Economic Matters Committee Hearing in support of the Fair Wage Act, presented as HB 549. The legislation accelerates the planned increase to a $15 minimum wage, fully implementing the increase for all covered employers as of October 1, 2023.

“I believe that we can be a state that lifts up both workers and businesses. I believe that we can help families thrive economically, and help...

By Deja Parker
WMDT (47ABC) Delmarva, Feb 27, 2023

In Maryland, the question on the table is will minimum wage go up to $15.00 an hour sooner than intended. Many business owners went to the State House to testify in support of the measure. The Fair Wage Act of 2023 would lift the minimum wage to $15.00 in October. ... One business owner, Courtney Sunborn for Ecolostic Cleaning says she supports the bill because she’s been paying more than the minimum for years now.

She says it creates a better cycle for happy workers. “[The] employees...

By Ava-Joye Burnett
CBS Baltimore, WJZ,Feb 27, 2023

Maryland is supposed to get to a $15 minimum wage by January 2025. Now, Gov. Wes Moore and several lawmakers want to expedite the process to get to that minimum wage increase sooner.

Those who support the minimum wage increase tell WJZ it is important to do this now because inflation has had an impact on how far money stretches, especially since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Supporters also said that higher wages make them more competitive, it cuts back on turnover of new employees, and...

By Brad Bell
ABC 7News, Annapolis, Feb 27, 2023

ANNAPOLIS, Md. (7News) — At the Rise Up coffee shop in Annapolis, the notion of raising Maryland’s minimum wage to $15 an hour this year instead in 2025 is a popular one among those making the lattes.

“It’s really important to support small businesses in the community and if that means putting money into the little guy I think it’ll eventually work out for everyone in the long run,” says Tyler a worker at the coffee shop. ...

[Governor Wes] Moore hosted an unusual public discussion featuring union...

By Chris Montcalmo
NottinghamMD.com, Feb 27, 2023 

TOWSON, MD—Baltimore County Executive Johnny Olszewski will testify before the Economic Matters Committee on Monday and share support for the Fair Wage Act of 2023 (HB-549).

This legislation would accelerate the state’s $15-per-hour minimum wage, fully implementing that wage for all covered employers as of October 1 instead of 2026 as currently required. In addition, the Fair Wage Act would index the minimum wage to the Consumer Price Index beginning on July 1, 2025 ...

County Executive Olszewski, Maryland Governor Wes Moore, [Economic Policy Institute] Senior Economist Elise Gould, Business for a Fair Minimum...

By Finny Adams
Portland News, Feb 6, 2023

... In 26 states, higher minimum wages for this year have been announced. ...

According to Holly Sklar, CEO of Business for a Fair Minimum Wage, boosting the minimum wage can also enhance consumer demand.

The local economy will be able to rebound as a result.

“Putting needed raises in minimum wage workers’ pockets [is] really the most efficient way you can boost the economy,” said Sklar.

“Those are the people who have to go right back around and spend it.” ...

Read more

By Adam Uzialko
Business.com, Updated Jan 23, 2023

Employees who earn enough to get by improve performance and overall business.

Paying a “living wage” requires more than just meeting state and federal minimum wage requirements. Living in certain communities is more expensive and requires people to earn more to sustain basic life necessities. ...

“When you’re setting something like the federal minimum wage, you want to consider the averages,” said Holly Sklar, CEO of Business for a Fair Minimum Wage, an advocacy group that supports gradually raising the floor. “When talking federally, it’s a floor that’s...

By David A. Fahrenthold and Talmon Joseph Smith
New York Times, Jan. 17, 2023

For many cooks, waiters and bartenders, it is an annoying entrance fee to the food-service business: Before starting a new job, they pay around $15 to a company called ServSafe for an online class in food safety.

That course is basic, with lessons like “bathe daily” and “strawberries aren’t supposed to be white and fuzzy, that’s mold.” In four of the largest states, this kind of training is required by law, and it is taken by workers nationwide.

But in taking the class, the...

By Karen Craigo
Springfield Business Journal, Jan 16, 2023

In November 2018, nearly two-thirds of Missouri voters approved Proposition B, an initiative that substantially increased the state’s minimum wage. The hike raised base pay to $12 per hour from $7.85 – a 53% increase – over five years, reaching that target on Jan. 1.

Many workers have celebrated the hike, and some business owners have, too. In December, Andy Faucett, owner of Bambinos Cafe, shared his satisfaction with the increase in a statement put out by Business for a Fair Minimum Wage, a national network...

By Samantha Bernt
1011 Now, KOLN, Lincoln, Jan. 15, 2023

Nebraskans voted and now they’re seeing the impacts. In January, the state’s minimum wage went up from $9 to $10.50 with increases coming for the next three years.

On Sunday, 10/11 NOW spoke with a local business to see how the hike in wages impacts them.

Since voters approved the initiative, the state’s minimum wage will increase by $1.50 each year until 2026, where it will cap off at $15 an hour.

In Downtown Lincoln, a Novel Idea Bookstore has seen many minimum wage increases over...

By Victor Williams
New York Weekly, January 5, 2023

Minimum wage: A new year has begun, and news emerged that workers would receive a higher minimum wage this year. Workers in more than half of all states have been calling for higher wages for years, as the federal minimum wage has remained the same since 2009: $7.25 per hour. ...

Holly Sklar, the CEO of Business for a Fair Minimum Wage, said that raising minimum wages can also increase consumer demand.

As a result, local economies will be able to recover.

“Putting needed raises in minimum wage workers’...

By Mark Hamstra
Nation's Restaurant News, Jan 4, 2023. Also in Supermarket News, Restaurant Hospitality, Retail Wit.

... The Seattle-Tacoma area has the nation’s highest minimum wage at $19.06, but several other cities have minimum wages approaching that level, and three states — Washington, California and now Massachusetts — have minimum wages of $15 or higher. Washington, D.C., also has a minimum wage of $16.10, higher than any state, and it is scheduled to increase to $17 per hour on July 1.

The state with the biggest minimum wage hike this year was Nebraska, which went...

By Ben Terzi
Avenue News, Jan 4, 2023. Also Dundalk Eagle.

As the beginning of the new year starts, some workers will notice an increase of pay with the new minimum wage rising to $13.25 per hour. ... The latest bump in minimum wage pay is part of an ongoing effort to reach $15 per hour, which will take place on Jan. 1, 2025 but some lawmakers are looking to expedite the process. ...

In a press release prior to the minimum wage increase, the Business for a Fair Minimum Wage coalition said increasing wages will...

By Doug Banks
Boston Business Journal, Jan 4, 2023

New minimum wage

The new minimum wage in Massachusetts is now $15 per hour, part of the so-called Grand Bargain law that passed in 2018. Already, some groups are saying that inflation has caused that longtime goal, once again, to fall short of being a livable wage.

Massachusetts isn’t alone in raising the minimum hourly wage this year. In fact, 23 states raised their minimum wages in the new year, and four more states have increases scheduled later this year, according to an analysis by Business for a Fair Minimum Wage, an...

By Matthew Fazelpoor
NJBiz, January 3, 2023

The ringing in of 2023 brings an increase to the minimum wage for most Garden State employees from $13 to $14.13 per hour. The raise is part of legislation signed by Gov. Phil Murphy in 2019 that calls for the state’s minimum wage to gradually increase to $15 per hour by 2024. ...

One group supporting the increase is Business for a Fair Minimum Wage, which says hikes across the country will boost consumer spending; strengthen local economies; and improve employee hiring, retention, productivity and customer service.

In a press release...