Gov. Tom Wolf is raising the minimum wage for a second time for Pennsylvania government employees and contractors under his jurisdiction.
Wolf on Thursday signed an executive order increasing it to $12 an hour starting Sunday. It orders an annual boost of 50 cents-an-hour until it reaches $15 in 2024.
The administration says wages will rise immediately for 879 employees. Wolf raised the minimum wage to $10.15 in 2016, which was expected to benefit a few hundred state employees.
Ensuing governors could undo the order. Wolf's term ends in January and he's seeking a second four-year term against Republican Scott Wagner in November's election.
Pennsylvania's wages are set at the decade-old federal minimum of $7.25 an hour, like 20 other states, and the Republican-controlled Legislature has rejected Wolf's overtures to raise it.
