The Advocate, May 4, 2016
Louisiana’s 2016 Small Business Person of the Year joined the list of firms calling for an increase of the federal minimum wage to at least $12 by 2020.
In a news release, Angela O’Byrne, president of New Orleans’ based architecture firm Perez APC, said the country’s minimum wage has been stagnant for too long.
“Miring full-time workers in poverty makes absolutely no sense from a business perspective,” O’Byrne said. “Paying fair wages boosts consumer demand and spending, which drives job creation and forges stronger businesses and communities.”
A gradual increase in the federal minimum wage will create an economic ripple effect that benefits small and large businesses, she said.
O’Byrne’s company employs 50. In addition to winning the U.S. Small Business Administration’s Louisiana Small Business Person award, O’Byrne was the runner-up for the SBA’s National Small Business Person of the Year award.
Copyright 2016 Capital City Press