Minimum wage; increases wage from its current federally mandated level. (HB32)

Introduced By

Sen. Joe Morrissey (D-Richmond)

Progress

Introduced
Passed Committee
Passed House
Passed Senate
Signed by Governor
Became Law

Description

Minimum wage. Increases the minimum wage from its current federally mandated level of $7.25 per hour to $8.50 per hour effective July 1, 2014, unless a higher minimum wage is required by the federal Fair Labor Standards Act. The act will expire at such time as the federal minimum wage equals or exceeds $8.50 per hour. Read the Bill »

Outcome

Bill Has Failed

History

DateAction
12/02/2013Committee
12/02/2013Prefiled and ordered printed; offered 01/08/14 14100971D
12/02/2013Referred to Committee on Commerce and Labor
02/04/2014Impact statement from DPB (HB32)
02/04/2014Tabled in Commerce and Labor

Comments

Robert writes:

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While this bill would raise the minimum wage in the state of Virginia it is not something that should be passed.

Until a time were legislators are willing to finally take a firm stand on the minimum wage battle from both sides and actually put in a self sustaining system will the idea of raising the minimum wage do any good.

I would challenge legislators to pass a bill that would put automatic increases 'or' decreases into the bill as needed based not on social opinion but inflation/deflation.

If this simple modification were to be put into law retroactive from when the federal minimum wage was at its highest purchasing power in 1968 minimum wage would be around $11.00 today.

If that were locked in place with the price of inflation updated every five years it would decimate the number of people in need of state and federal handouts.

The only issue is if this were enacted it would take a major political card out of the hand of legislators where they could no longer claim to be fighting for the little guy.

A minimum wage that is fair and self updating without active intervention from the government is the only acceptable "wealth redistribution" that is good for our state and country.

Waldo Jaquith writes:

Yeah, this business of manually updating the minimum wage is just goofy. Can't we just tie it to inflation and be done with it?