PROVIDENCE – The Senate on Wednesday passed a bill that would raise the state minimum wage from $11.50 to $15 per hour over four years.
Supporters of the bill, which include Senate President Dominick J. Ruggerio, have said that raising the minimum wage is necessary. Ruggerio previously said that, “even on $15 an hour, it is very difficult to make ends meet,” and added that the state needs to increase its minimum wage to keep pace with neighboring states that have higher minimum wages than Rhode Island. If the state does not keep pace, he said, it could make it difficult for businesses in the state to retain workers.
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Some businesses and business organizations in the state have opposed the proposed increase, particularly the timing with businesses still grappling with the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The bill, as passed by the Senate, would see the minimum wage increase to $12.25 on Jan. 1, 2022; raise it to $13 on Jan. 1, 2023; raise it to $14 on Jan. 1, 2024; and finally to $15 on Jan. 1, 2025.
A similar bill is being considered in the House.
On Wednesday, the Greater Newport Chamber of Commerce’s executive director, Erin Donovan-Boyle, and board Chair Joseph Pratt released a statement calling on legislators to hold off on an increase until businesses have had time to recover from the pandemic.
“We share the goal of ensuring Rhode Islanders have the employment opportunities and earning capacity to support themselves and their families,” the Chamber leaders said in a statement. “However, the state’s business community continues to experience the significant economic strains of the 2020 pandemic, and these challenges are expected to continue for the foreseeable future. Adding the proposed increases in the minimum wage to the continued state-mandated capacity restrictions currently in place will only compound the barriers to getting the economy going again, adding significant costs to reestablishing and growing Rhode Island’s small businesses.
“We urge you to consider holding off on any minimum wage increase for the hardest-hit industries until we get through the pandemic and are in a true recovery,” Donovan-Boyle and Pratt said. “The U.S. Senate recently took a similar position acknowledging the pandemic as a difficult time to raise wages and the threat that action will have on the labor force.”
Sen. Ana B. Quezada, D-Providence, who introduced the bill to the Senate, said the increase would lead to a reduction of poverty in the state.
“This legislation will go a long way toward breaking the cycle of poverty that has ensnared so many of Rhode Island’s families,” said Quezada. “A living wage will not only help people who work full time from living in poverty, it will also ease the demand on public assistance and bolster the state’s economy by ensuring that families have the income required to meet their basic needs.”
