Gov. Wolf Renews Bid to Put Pennsylvania's Minimum Wage Among Highest in the Nation

Governor Tom Wolf rolled out a second-term proposal Wednesday to vault Pennsylvania's minimum wage to one of the highest in the nation after similar first-term proposals by the Democrat fell flat in the Republican-controlled Legislature.

The legislation backed by Wolf, to take the hourly minimum to $12 this year, would put Pennsylvania in line with the highest state minimum wages, in Massachusetts and Washington, according to federal data.

Such a step would boost pay for a million workers and provide more than $100 million in annual savings in state programs for the poor, Wolf said.

"Today too many people are working harder and harder and they still can't afford basics like food and transportation and shelter," Wolf told a crowded news conference in his Capitol reception room. "Despite working full time, too many people still need help from public benefits programs to get by."

Wolf's proposal includes annual 50-cent increases to bring the state's minimum wage to $15 an hour in 2025, putting Pennsylvania in a group of 17 other states that have scheduled annual adjustments written into law.

For the time being, Pennsylvania has remained at the $7.25 federal minimum since 2009, putting it among 21 states. The other 29 states, including each of Pennsylvania's neighbors, have increased their minimum wages to above the federal minimum.

Raising the minimum wage has backing from labor unions, Democratic lawmakers and some moderate Republicans, and public polling shows it tends to rate well among voters.

However, it is opposed by leaders of the House and Senate Republican majorities and business groups, including the Pennsylvania Chamber of Business and Industry and the National Federation of Independent Business.

Business groups warn that employers, particularly small businesses, will be forced to lay off workers, raise prices, cut back hours or trim benefits to stay afloat. Higher wages also could cut into a business owner's ability to invest in capital or an expansion, they say.

A targeted state-level earned income tax credit may better focus support to where it is needed, to a low-income parent, and avoid the negative impact of a broader wage increase, said Alex Halper of the Pennsylvania Chamber of Business and Industry.

Wolf's administration is also considering a regulation to boost pay for hundreds of thousands of salaried employees by making them eligible for overtime pay. It has been reviewing feedback on it after holding a public comment period last year, and Wolf said Wednesday that he remained committed to it.

"Some people sort of find convenient ways to shift people from hourly to salaried workers and relieve themselves of the obligation to abide by overtime rules and regulations, and that's not the way the game's supposed to be played," Wolf said.