By Chris Ullery, Bucks County Courier Times
Herald Mail, Jan 21, 2021

Democratic lawmakers heard from advocates, academics and business groups Monday on a renewed push to give minimum wage workers in Pennsylvania a raise to $15 an hour. Over 100 people attended the Zoom hearing on minimum wage hosted by the Pennsylvania Senate Democratic Policy Committee, covering a broad range of topics over three hours.

The state has used the $7.25-per-hour federal minimum wage since 2009, a wage that many lawmakers and advocates say is unlivable and perpetuates poverty. ...

Testimony from members of...

By Elisabeth Buchwald
MarketWatch, Jan. 19, 2021

... Dubbed the American Rescue Plan, [Biden's] proposal also includes $1,400 stimulus checks and increased child tax credits. “No one working 40 hours a week should live below the poverty line,” Biden said when he announced the package. “That’s what it means if you work for less than $15 an hour and work 40 hours a week, you’re living in poverty.” ...

Some also see a $15 minimum wage as a tool for helping businesses.

“Workers are also customers. The current minimum wage keeps workers in poverty, and...

By Juliana Kaplan 
Business Insider, Jan 15, 2021

President-elect Joe Biden's newly unveiled $1.9 trillion stimulus package includes one important economic measure — raising the federal minimum wage to $15 an hour. ...

That means over 20 million workers could get a raise — and a new study finds the pay bump could also be a boon for taxpayers. 

The study, which comes from the UC Berkeley Labor Center, found that the country's current low minimum wage costs taxpayers more than $100 billion a year. That's because nearly half of the working families who would benefit from the...

By Seth Sandronsky
The Center Square, Jan 5, 2021. Also in Tracy Press, Mountain House Press, Patterson Irrigator, Scotts Valley Press Banner, San Lorenzo Valley Press Banner

The hourly minimum wage in California rose to $14 on Jan. 1, and will climb to $15 in 2023. Firms with 25 workers or less have an extra year to raise the minimum wage to $15. Upon the minimum wage reaching $15 for all hourly employees, there will be annual adjustments for cost of living increases. ...

Holly Sklar, CEO of Business for a Fair Minimum Wage, takes...

By Andrew Thompson
NJ Today, Jan 4, 2021

New Jersey is one of 20 states that will be raising their minimum wage to start the new year. Another four states have minimum wage increases scheduled later in 2021.

Business leaders across the country say minimum wage increases will boost consumer spending, strengthen local workforces and help build a shared economic recovery.

“The economy will get a shot in the arm when states raise their minimum wage to start the new year,” said Holly Sklar, CEO of Business for a Fair Minimum Wage.

“Businesses depend on customers who...

By Glenn Singer
UPI (United Press International), Jan 1, 2021

With the start of the new year, 20 states have raised their minimum wage - by as much as $1.50 per hour and as little as 8 cents.

For some workers, the increases will help their families whose bread earners have been hard-hit by the coronavirus and are trying to make ends meet. For others, miniscule increases won't make much of a dent. ...

The minimum wage increases this year "are an indication that people understand how much the $7.25 federal minimum wage keeps people...

By Thy Vo
Colorado Sun, Jan 1, 2021

A new minimum wage increase will take effect in Colorado on New Year’s Day, bringing wages to $12.32 an hour, or $9.30 for tipped workers. The 2.7% statewide increase is based on language in the Colorado Constitution, which mandates annual inflation adjustments based on the consumer price index. Colorado voters approved a constitutional amendment in 2016 enshrining the annual wage increase in the state’s governing document. ...

The city of Denver passed a bill in 2019 to increase the minimum wage beyond the state baseline, which sets the new hourly rate for 2021 at...

By Danny Klein
FSR Magazine, January 2021

As President-elect Joe Biden assumes office later this month, he’ll bring a host of potential changes to Washington. When it comes to the restaurant industry, no topic presses deeper or more controversial than minimum wage. Biden expressed previously, pointedly on his “Build Back Better” transition website, a desire to provide workers “a decent wage, at least $15 per hour.” He’s also pushed to end tipped minimum wage and sub-minimum wage for people with disabilities. ...

Proponents of raising the minimum wage to $15 believe it would narrow racial and gender...

By John Reitmeyer
NJ Spotlight News, Dec 31, 2020

The hourly minimum wage in New Jersey goes up by $1 for most low-income workers starting Friday, bringing it to $12. The mandatory pay increase is the latest installment in the state’s ongoing ramp-up to a $15 hourly minimum wage and comes during the economic downturn triggered by an international pandemic that has hit low-income workers particularly hard. ...

New Jersey is among 20 U.S. states where low-income workers will get mandatory raises at the start of 2021, according to Business for a Fair Minimum Wage...

By William J. Ford
Washington Informer, Dec 31, 2020

Nick Balmadier continues to gain coffee experience working at Vigilante Coffee Co. in College Park. Besides learning to grind coffee beans and brew java, the 22-year-old senior at the University of Maryland also gained another skill.

“I’ve learned how to clean better since working here,” said Balmadier of Howard County, who majors in community health. “It’s those little things that have made this an overall great experience.”

Starting Friday, workers in Maryland will see a minimum-wage increase from $11 to $11.75. State lawmakers overrode a veto by Gov...

By Aimee Picchi
CBS News MoneyWatch, Dec. 30, 2020

Workers in 20 states will get a pay hike on January 1 when the minimum wage increases, thanks to cost-of-living adjustments and other scheduled increases. Later in the year, another four states and Washington, D.C. will raise their baseline pay, which means that low-wage workers in almost half the nation could see higher pay next year. ...

The wage hikes in 2021 "are an indication that people understand how much the $7.25 federal minimum wage keeps people in poverty," said Holly Sklar, the CEO of Business for...

By Ashley Portero
South Florida Business Journal, Dec 30, 2020

Florida is one of 20 states that will kick off the new year by raising its minimum wage. The Sunshine State's minimum wage rises to $8.65 an hour Jan. 1, up from the current rate of $8.56. In September, the minimum wage will increase again to $10 an hour as a result of a constitutional amendment passed by Florida voters in November.

Business owners who support a higher minimum wage argue it will strengthen local workforces and boost consumer spending for the benefit of both workers and...

By David Mullen
Denver Gazette, Dec 30, 2020, Updated Jan 11, 2021

Workers throughout Colorado who earn minimum wage will get a slight pay raise on Friday. The minimum wage will rise from $12 per hour to $12.32 per hour. Colorado joins 19 other states that will be raising the minimum wage heading into 2021 and experts expect this to help local economies get back on track.

"The economy will get a shot in the arm when states raise their minimum wage to start the New Year," said Holly Sklar, CEO of Business for a Minimum Wage.

"Business...

By Shira Schoenberg
CommonWealth Magazine, Dec 29, 2020

IT’S BEEN A TOUGH YEAR for low-wage workers, who were hit hard by the pandemic – losing jobs and income and facing housing and food insecurity.

But in Massachusetts, changes in state law that go into effect January 1 could bring at least slight relief. The minimum wage is set to rise next year, and the state’s paid family and medical leave program will go into effect as well. ... Both these changes are part of a law passed in 2018, the so-called “grand bargain” aimed at keeping multiple questions off that...

By Ben Werschkul
Yahoo Finance, Dec 28, 2020

While the coronavirus pandemic of 2020 has hit poor Americans the hardest, minimum wage earners in 20 U.S. states will get raises at the start of the new year. Four more states, plus Washington, DC, will raise their minimum wages later in 2021.

Florida’s workers will get one of the biggest raises, after voters overwhelmingly approved a ballot measure in November to gradually increase the minimum wage to $15 by 2026. The lowest-earning workers there earn $8.56 per hour and will move up to $8.65 on Jan. 1 and then $10...