By Morgan Eichensehr
Baltimore Business Journal, July 1, 2016
New laws go into effect Friday that will impact you at the pump and in your pocketbook. The state minimum wage is getting a 50-cent hike to $8.75. The scheduled increase is part of a law passed by Maryland legislators in 2014 to slowly raise the minimum from $7.25 to $10.10 per hour by July 2018.
Carmen Ortiz Larsen, president of AQUAS Inc. and chair of the Board of the Hispanic Chamber of Commerce of Montgomery County, said lower wages can undermine employee performance and retention, weaken the economy, overburden public assistance programs — and hurt families.
“We want government to strengthen the economy with policies supportive of small business growth and sustainability so that we can create good jobs and thrive. Raising the minimum wage does just that," she said. "Maryland is right to raise the wage floor, and a federal minimum wage raise is long overdue.”
Some low-wage workers and business owners, like Scott Nash, CEO of Mom's Organic Market, argue that raising the minimum to $15 makes good business sense, as it will improve employee morale and allow more money to circulate among consumers in the economy. ...