Advance Good Jobs with a $15 Wage

While the cost of living has rapidly increased across the country, millions of workers continue to earn below a liveable wage. In fact, approximately 56.5 million people, or 40% of the workforce, are working full time but not earning enough to afford housing and living costs, pay for healthcare, and raise their families. Increasing the state minimum wage to $15 an hour by 2025 and providing for reasonable cost of living increases thereafter, is essential to ensuring that all workers are able to earn a liveable wage to support their families and improve lives for all Americans.

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Passed In

California Connecticut Delaware Florida Illinois Massachusetts Maryland Nebraska New Jersey New York Rhode Island Washington

Introduced In

Hawaii Indiana Louisiana Michigan Mississippi North Carolina New Hampshire Oklahoma Oregon Pennsylvania Tennessee Utah Wisconsin West Virginia

Frequently Asked Questions

Who does this policy help?

This policy helps all workers and their families by ensuring that they are able to earn enough to support their families, afford housing and living costs, and by reversing the growing pay gap between the most underpaid workers and workers receiving a median wage. This policy would also benefit everyone by lowering state costs to public programs that support underpaid workers, contributing to a stronger overall economy.

Is this high cost for the state?

No. In fact, studies show that public programs for underpaid workers and their families cost federal and state taxpayers more than $107 billion a year in states without a $15 minimum wage.

How will this policy impact businesses?

Increasing the state minimum wage helps businesses that would benefit from a more productive and hard working workforce, lower staff turnover, better service, and better health outcomes.

Partners

Workers and their families
Employment advocates
Fair pay advocates
Businesses that support fair pay

Opposition

High-powered special interest groups that oppose fair pay

In The News

New York Times

Working, but Needing Public Assistance Anyway

A home health care worker in Durham, N.C.; a McDonald’s cashier in Chicago; a bank teller in New Y...

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KSTP

Data shows minimum wage not enough to afford rent in Minnesota

New affordable housing data shows rent is out of reach if you make minimum wage in Minnesota, accord...

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Wisconsin Public Rad

Report: $15 Minimum Wage Would Help 30 Percent Of Wisconsin Workers

A new report from a think tank at the University of Wisconsin-Madison finds that raising the minimum...

Read The Article

Model Policy

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SECTION 1 (TITLE):
This act shall be known as the STATE Fair Wage Act

SECTION 2 (PURPOSE):
This act gradually increases the STATE minimum wage to ensure that all STATE residents have good jobs to support their families.

SECTION 3 (PROVISIONS):

(A) Within six months of enactment of this section, DEPARTMENT is directed to determine and promulgate a schedule of annual increases to gradually increase the state minimum wage to $15 per hour by 2025. Each adjusted Minimum Wage rate calculated shall be published and take effect on the following January 1st.
(B) On January 1, 2026, and not later than each January first thereafter, the minimum fair wage shall be adjusted by the percentage change in the employment cost index, or its successor index, for wages and salaries for all civilian workers, as calculated by the U.S. Dept of Labor, over the twelve-month period ending on June 30th of the preceding year, rounded to the nearest whole cent.
(C) Whenever the federal minimum wage is increased such that the minimum wage established under this Act is below the applicable federal minimum wage, the minimum wage established under this part shall be increased to the amount of the federal minimum wage.