By Sam Harnett
KQED (NPR), Jan 3, 2017

When California began raising its minimum wage two years ago, Bill Phelps wasn’t happy. Phelps is CEO of a fast food company called Wetzel’s Pretzels, which has almost 100 outlets in California. ... But something else happened entirely. Sales at his California stores immediately shot up.

“I was shocked,” Phelps says. “I was stunned by the business.”

The same exact pattern took place again in 2016, when the minimum wage rose again, Phelps said. There was a wage increase, and then boom, a bump in same-store sales across the...

By Michael Kanter
U.S. Department of Labor Blog, Jan. 3, 2017

Editor's note: The following guest post is by Michael Kanter, the co-founder and chief visionary officer of Cambridge Naturals,a community natural health and wellness store in Massachusetts.

As of Dec. 19, 2016, we at Cambridge Naturals raised our starting hourly wage from $13 to $15.

This is a decision that has been several years in the making. I have been actively involved in the federal and state campaigns to raise the minimum wage. As a  member of Business for a Fair Minimum Wage...

Register Herald (OH), Jan 3, 2017

Some say amount remains too low

PREBLE COUNTY — Ohio workers currently earning minimum wage will see a small boost in their rate of pay come January 1, as the state’s minimum wage is raised from $8.10 to $8.15 per hour. ...

Business for a Fair Minimum Wage, an advocacy group which seeks to see the minimum wage increased across the country, says business leaders believe increases will “boost consumer spending, lower employee turnover, and increase productivity and customer satisfaction – helping businesses thrive and strengthening local economies.”

By Jonathan Wasserstrum
Forbes, January 3, 2017

... For this installment we have Michael Lastoria, CEO of social eatery concept &pizza. For more information on &pizza and Michael's vision, you should read this story as a compliment to what you are about to read.

1. When did you first know you were going to be an entrepreneur?

I don’t think it’s something that occurs to you in a specific moment, like some kind of midday revelation: ‘I’m going to be an entrepreneur.’ I realized early on in my working life - 6 weeks in - that I...

By Bud Foster
Tucson News Now, KOLD TV, Jan 2, 2017

The minimum wage in Arizona is now $10 an hour, up from $8.05. 19 states raised their minimum wage on Sunday, Jan. 1 but Arizona voters approved the biggest raise by a 58 percent to 42 percent margin. Arizona's minimum wage will increase to $12 by 2020. ...

Catalina In-home Services, which was founded in 1982, says the wage increase is a benefit to its workers and the company. It has 65 to 70 certified nurse's assistants who provide in home care, "but we...

By Shira Schoenberg
MassLive.com, Springfield Republican, January 1, 2017

Beginning today, minimum-wage workers in Massachusetts will enjoy a boost in their pay. The state minimum wage increases from $10 to $11 an hour on New Year's Day, the last of three increases required by a 2014 law. ...

Dean Cycon, founder and CEO of Dean's Beans Organic Coffee Co. in Orange and an advocate for raising the minimum wage, pays his 13 employees at least $13 an hour and covers all their health care costs.

"I believe working people need to share in the benefits of the...

By Ed Sealover
Denver Business Journal, Dec 30, 2016

Colorado restaurants, which arguably are affected more than any other sector by the voter-mandated minimum-wage hike that takes effect Sunday, are getting creative with their purchasing, staffing and pricing decisions to keep their budgets balanced. ...

Supporters of the minimum-wage hike decry the talk of layoffs and cut hours as reactionary scare tactics and argue that the across-the-board nature of the minimum-wage hike will put all eateries on equal competitive ground.

“They can pass those costs on without losing an advantage,” said Edwin Zoe, CEO and founder of...

By Peter Strescino
The Pueblo Chieftain, December 30, 2016

A new law approved in November that increases the minimum wage each year until at least 2020 will go into effect on Sunday. State voters last favored a minimum-wage rise in 2006, when the rate went to $6.85 from $5.15. In 2020, the Colorado minimum wage will be $12 an hour. ...

Mike Hartkop, who owns and operates Solar Roast at Main and Third streets, says he already pays his workers a minimum of $10 an hour, and from that amount he said he has engendered a...

Nation's Restaurant News, Dec 29, 2016

...19 states and a number of municipalities will raise their hourly minimum wages . At the present time, the federal, non-tipped minimum wage stands at $7.25 per hour.

Use this map to locate where minimum wage hikes will take effect in 2017.

Sources: Fisher Phillips law firm; Business for a Fair Minimum Wage; National Council of State Legislatures

Read More and Use Map

Related: Compare state-by-state minimum wage hikes

By John Madden
KREXTV News Channel 5, WesternSlopeNow.com, Dec 29, 2016

GRAND JUNCTION, Colo.- January 1st brings in a new year and will also bring about new changes for businesses and employees in Colorado. Amendment 70 starts at the beginning of the year and will raise the minimum wage in Colorado from $8.31 an hour to $9.30 an hour.  It will also increase the minimum wage $0.90 cents each year until the wage reaches $12.00 an hour by the year 2020.

“Any time there is more money in the community that is a positive thing,”...

By Wayne Heilman and Peter Marcus
Colorado Springs Gazette, December 28, 2016

Anna Johnson, a University of Colorado at Colorado Springs student working two jobs to help cover tuition and rent, will get a raise Sunday for both jobs. A higher minimum wage for workers across the state takes effect, the result of a voter-approved initiative to increase the wage annually until it reaches $12 an hour in 2020.

Amendment 70, which passed in November with 55 percent support, will increase the minimum wage Sunday by 12 percent to $9.30 per hour, with annual increases of 90 cents...

By Karaline Ann
KJCT8 ABC, Dec 28, 2016

GRAND JUNCTION, Colo. (KJCT) -- With the New Year fast approaching, Amendment 70, the minimum wage increase, will soon go into effect. ...

For Emma Braddy, Amendment 70 is more than just a pay raise. “Paycheck to paycheck, every time, and there's often times where I don't have enough money to go grocery shopping, so I go a week just eating ramen and things like that," said Emma Braddy, an employee at Five 60 Salon & Spa. “I would be able to pay for things that are not just...

Daily Advocate (OH), Dec. 27, 2016

DARKE COUNTY — Ohio workers currently earning minimum wage will see a small boost in their rate of pay come January 1, as the state’s minimum wage is raised from $8.10 to $8.15 per hour. ... Ohio’s wage increase comes due to a constitutional amendment passed in 2006 which raises the amount based on the inflation rate. ...

Business for a Fair Minimum Wage, an advocacy group which seeks to see the minimum wage increased across the country, says business leaders believe increases will “boost consumer spending, lower employee...

By Diane Stafford
Kansas City Star, Dec 27, 2016

The federal minimum wage has been $7.25 an hour since mid-2009, the last time that part of the Fair Labor Standards Act was amended. The national law has no provision for automatic increases because of time or inflation. ...

“It’s too often forgotten that employees are also consumers,” said Mike Draper, owner of Raygun LLC in Kansas City and a member of a national business leadership group that supports minimum wage increases.

By Lena Howland
KOAA5, Dec 27, 2016

COLORADO SPRINGS -

With the new year comes a new set of laws, after a busy legislative session and election season. More money will soon flow into the wallets for minimum wage workers.

"We actually pay our employees that minimum wage and more, so it's not an issue for us," Richard Skorman, co-owner of Poor Richard's in Colorado Springs said.

Voters decided to hike the minimum wage up by a dollar beginning January 1st and 90 cents every year after that until it gets to $12 in 2020...