By Katie Johnston
Boston Globe, Jan 8, 2022

As Omicron whips through the workforce, caregiving agencies are turning away new patients. Restaurants are shutting down. Construction jobs are being delayed. Retailers, including Macy’s, are limiting hours. ... In Massachusetts, 12,213 public school staff members — nearly 9 percent — tested positive over the two-week period ending Wednesday. ...

“In the last two weeks, it feels like the game has definitely changed,” said Emily Kanter, co-owner of Cambridge Naturals, which started closing its stores in Cambridge and Boston early due to a surge of exposed employees stuck...

NPR Morning Edition, Jan 7, 2022

Dozens of states are raising the minimum wage. NPR's Rachel Martin talks to Gina Schafer, owner of A Few Cool Hardware Stores, with 13 Ace Hardware stores in DC, Maryland and Virginia.

LISTEN

By Camille Squires
Quartz, Jan 4, 2022

Minimum-wage workers across the US are getting a pay bump in 2022. Higher minimum wage laws took effect across 21 states and 35 cities in the US on Jan. 1. It’s the largest simultaneous increase of sub-national minimum wage policy in US history, according to the National Employment Law Project. ...

“A lot of business owners haven’t really run the numbers to see just how much they can save with a higher wage floor,” says Alissa Barron-Menza, vice president of Business for a Fair Minimum Wage, a non-profit organization that advocates for...

By Melissa Angell
Inc, Jan 3, 2022

A coalition of business owners is sweet on the minimum wage increases that kicked off the new year, since they believe the wage hikes can boost economic recovery. 

More than 20 states increased their minimum wage as the year began and an additional four states, plus the nation's capital, will see minimum wage raises later in the year, according to Business for a Fair Minimum Wage. The organization is a network of [many] more than 1,000 employers and business organizations that favors a federal minimum wage increase--thinking that runs counter to conventional economic arguments.

In fact...

By Jim Gaines
Dayton Daily News, Jan 3, 2022. Also Yahoo News, Springfield News Sun, more.

Ohio’s minimum wage jumped 50 cents on Jan. 1, rising to $9.30 an hour. That’s higher than all but one adjacent state. ... Ohio voters passed a constitutional amendment in 2006 to annually increase the minimum wage in line with inflation. ...

Twenty-one states will raised their minimum wage Jan. 1, and another four will do so later this year, according to Business for a Fair Minimum Wage, a group of business owners and managers that advocates a $15-per-hour minimum wage...

By Ben Paviour
VPM/NPR, Jan 3, 2022

Business groups say they’re looking forward to what some say will be a warmer reception in Richmond after Republican gains in the November election. Lobbyists for some groups are looking to advance an agenda of tax cuts as well as rolling back some policies championed by Democrats in recent years, including statewide COVID safety regulations and further minimum wage increases. ...

Not all businesses share those priorities against the backdrop of a nationwide labor shortage. One group, Business for a Fair Minimum Wage, represents businesses from Buz and Ned’s Real...

By Jose Espinoza
El Sol Latino, Dec 31, 2021

En New Jersey el comienzo del nuevo año estuvo acompañado con un aumento del salario mínimo que intenta paliar el impacto de la actual tendencia inflacionaria. El incremento de 13 dólares la hora entrará en vigencia el sábado 1 de enero y forma parte de un plan de cinco años firmado por el gobernador Phil Murphy hace dos años para llevar el salario mínimo a 15 dólares en 2024. ...

Reprints Business for a Fair Minimum Wage Dec. 28, 2021 Tweet: "21 states #RaisetheWage to...

By Dominick Reuter and Madison Hoff
Business Insider, Dec 30, 2021. Also MSN Money, more

New Year's Day will bring a raise for minimum wage workers in 21 states and 35 cities and counties. ...

"When the minimum wage is too low it hurts workers who can't afford the basics and it hurts businesses that count on customers with money to spend," Holly Sklar, the CEO of Business for a Fair Minimum Wage, said in a statement. "As the federal minimum wage remains stuck at an inexcusable $7.25 an hour, state increases are vital for strengthening our...

Cheddar News, Dec 30, 2021

Mike Draper, Founder and Owner of Raygun, joins Cheddar News' Closing Bell, where he discusses how increases to the minimum wage in several states next year will help his company and explains why he advocates for it nationally.

WATCH VIDEO

By Clyde Hughes
UPI (United Press International), Dec 29, 2021

The minimum wage for many California workers will rise to $15 per hour on Jan. 1, more than twice the federal minimum. ...

Some business owners said that they welcomed the change because it benefited their employees.

"For too long, the restaurant industry has put employees last," said Karter Louis, CEO of Soul Pizza in Oakland, according to Capitol Weekly. "A low-wage model that has proven short-sighted and unsustainable." ...

Read more

By Tyler Arnold
The Center Square, Dec 28, 2021

Virginia’s minimum wage will increase to $11 per hour in less than a week, which is getting some mixed reactions from members of the commonwealth’s business community. ...

One organization called Business for a Fair Minimum Wage is embracing the higher wage. The group’s CEO, Holly Sklar, released a statement in which she said low minimum wages hurt workers who can’t afford basics and hurt businesses that count on people having money to spend. Michael Lastoria, the CEO of &pizza and member of the group, said higher wages show workers they are valued.

By Sarah Gamard
Delaware News Journal / Delaware Online, Dec 28, 2021. Also Yahoo News, Delmarva Now.

Delaware's minimum wage will increase from $9.25 to $10.50 per hour starting in January. In June, lawmakers passed a bill to raise the minimum wage by more than $1 each year until it reaches $15 an hour by 2025. ...

Business owners have had mixed reactions in Delaware. Some support a $15 minimum wage, arguing that it increases consumer spending when the economy needs a post-pandemic boost, on top of improving worker morale and customer service. ...

Kristen Deptula, owner...

Springfield Business Journal (MO), Dec  27, 2021

... Missouri's minimum wage is scheduled to increase to $11.15 from $10.30 per hour on Jan. 1. It's one of 21 states starting the new year with a wage hike, according to a news release from Business for a Fair Minimum Wage, a national network of business owners, executives and organizations that favor increases.

"When the minimum wage is too low, it hurts workers who can’t afford the basics and it hurts businesses that count on customers with money to spend," said Holly Sklar, CEO of Business for a Fair...

By Seth Sandronsky
Capitol Weekly, Dec 27, 2021

Minimum-wage workers in the Golden State will get an hourly pay raise in the new year. ...

There is business support for a higher minimum wage. Karter Louis is CEO of Soul Slice Pizza in Oakland. “For too long, the restaurant industry has put employees last,” he said in an email, “a low-wage model that has proven short-sighted and unsustainable.” ...

Louis, who is a member of Business for a Fair Minimum Wage, continues. “If restaurant owners want to thrive, they need to start by investing in their employees...

Entrepreneurs Herald, Dec 16, 2021

Kristen Deptula and her husband bought the Canalside Inn in Rehoboth Beach, Delaware, in October 2019, with little clue that the summer season would be primarily a bust owing to Covid-19.

The innkeepers were able to get support from the federal government through the Paycheck Protection Program. Deptula also attributes another move —providing their employees a $15 per hour minimum wage — to the company's ability to weather the pandemic.

That wage is far more than the state's current minimum wage of $9.25 per hour. Deptula, a native of Washington...