General Assembly passes bill raising R.I. minimum wage to $9

UNDER LEGISLATION PASSED Wednesday, Rhode Island's minimum wage will increase to $9 per hour on Jan. 1, 2015. / COURTESY WIKIPEDIA/CHENSIYUAN
UNDER LEGISLATION PASSED Wednesday, Rhode Island's minimum wage will increase to $9 per hour on Jan. 1, 2015. / COURTESY WIKIPEDIA/CHENSIYUAN

PROVIDENCE – The General Assembly voted Wednesday evening to raise Rhode Island’s minimum wage by $1, to $9 per hour, beginning Jan. 1, 2015.
Sen. Erin P. Lynch, D-Warwick, and Rep. David A. Bennett, D-Warwick, who sponsored the legislation, also introduced the bill that raised Rhode Island’s minimum wage from $7.75 to $8 per hour in 2014.
The most recent legislation, House bill H7194A and Senate bill S2249A, originally included provisions for an additional $1 raise in 2016 and a minimum wage indexed to inflation, but those provisions were removed as part of a compromise to pass the bill.
“If you put more money in people’s pockets, they spend, especially those living in or near poverty. They will put it right back into our economy buying the things their families need, supporting local businesses,” said Lynch. “We’ve lost far too many of those businesses since the recession, and more money in the pocket of average Rhode Islanders will help prevent us from losing more, while helping families struggling to put food on the table and to pay the rent.”
An employee who earns $8 per hour makes an annual income of $16,640 working 40 hours a week. At $9 an hour, that total increases to $18,720.
The legislation now goes to the governor’s desk for signing.
In Massachusetts, lawmakers are expected to pass legislation this week to raise the state’s minimum wage from $8 to $11 per hour by 2017, with $1 increases each Jan. 1.
The legislation, a compromise between proposed Massachusetts Senate and House bills, would lift the minimum wage from the current $8 per hour to $9 per hour on Jan. 1, 2015, to $10 per hour in 2016, and to $11 in 2017.
The Senate bill had originally called for an $11 minimum wage indexed to inflation, while the House bill proposed a $10.50 wage without indexing. The newly reached compromise will raise the minimum wage to $11 per hour but will not tie future increases to inflation.
Connecticut recently enacted a law that will raise that state’s minimum wage from the current $8.70 to $9.15 on January 1, 2015, then to $9.60 in 2016 and $10.10 in 2017.
The federal minimum wage, which has not changed since 2009, is $7.25.

No posts to display