Lamont Signs Gradual Minimum Wage Increase To $15

News release from Governor Ned Lamont:

Governor Ned Lamont this morning signed legislation he championed alongside a number of state legislators that will increase the minimum hourly wage in Connecticut to $15.00 through a series of gradual increases over the next several years, with the first one taking place this October. After the scheduled increases take effect, the new law requires the minimum wage to grow according to federal economic indicators, so everyone can continue to share in Connecticut’s prosperity.

The governor signed the law at the Parkville Care Center in Hartford, where he was surrounded by advocates, working men and women, business leaders, and legislators, including State Senator Julie Kushner (D-Danbury) and State Representative Robyn Porter (D-New Haven), the co-chairs of the labor and public employees committee who passionately led the approval of the bill through the state legislature.

“This is perhaps one of the most impactful pieces of legislation for working families that a governor can sign, and I am proud to place my signature on this law because it is the right thing to do,” Governor Lamont said. “With this new law, thousands of hardworking women and men–many of whom are supporting families–will get a modest increase that will help lift them out of poverty, combat persistent pay disparities between races and genders, and stimulate our economy. This is a fair, gradual increase for the working women and men who will invest the money right back into our economy and continue supporting local businesses in their communities.”

The new law requires the minimum wage to increase from its current level of $10.10 to:
· $11.00 on October 1, 2019;
· $12.00 on September 1, 2020;
· $13.00 on August 1, 2021;
· $14.00 on July 1, 2022; and
· $15.00 on June 1, 2023.

The Connecticut Department of Labor and Connecticut Voices for Children estimate those increases will raise wages for approximately 130,000 workers this year and more than half a million by 2024.

Ultimately, beginning January 1, 2024, the law requires the minimum wage to become indexed to the employment cost index, which is calculated by the U.S. Department of Labor.

“Raising the minimum wage will address persistent pay disparities between different races and help bring us closer to eliminating the gender pay gap,” Lt. Governor Susan Bysiewicz said. “Nearly 60 percent of minimum wage earners in Connecticut are women. There are 170,000 households headed by women, and if we want to grow our economy we need to ensure that women have the financial security they need to provide for their families.”

“It has been one of the greatest honors of my life to serve as a state senator and to help negotiate and pass what may be Connecticut’s best minimum wage bill ever,” Senator Kushner said. “I have spent my entire life fighting with working people and their families to improve conditions, and I believe that the changes in this bill, over time, are going to make a significant difference in the quality of life for hundreds of thousands of Connecticut residents. Connecticut just got a raise!”

“Raising the minimum wage is going to benefit hundreds of thousands of people in Connecticut, especially people of color and working mothers,” Representative Porter said. “That extra disposable income for each low-wage worker will go right back into the local and state economies, benefiting our communities and local businesses and producing more revenue for the state. A higher wage also will bring more dignity into the workplace. In the end, all of Connecticut will benefit.”

The legislation is Public Act 19-4An Act Increasing the Minimum Fair Wage. It was approved in the General Assembly along party lines.

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20 comments

  1. Great! Now we’ll only need 2.5 jobs each to keep a roof over our head and turn the lights on once in a while… Wow! High times in Connecticut!… (Now, if Connecticut could just stop hemorrhaging jobs…)

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  2. Perfect!..I can hear small mom&pop stores pulling down their gates for the final time as we speak.I can see Walmart raising all their prices to cover the wage increase,therefore minimizing the intended result of this raise.If McDonalds is going to pay someone $15 an hour to make french fries,expect those french fries to cost double what they are now.It’s like lawmakers are trying their hardest to empty the state.

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  3. Even the left-leaning media has shared warnings from employers about the increased cost of doing business in Connecticut forcing them to replace staff with technology or to simply move to another state.
    Democrats are pandering to their voter base and unions representing low-skilled workers.
    It appears that Lamont wanted the governorship to such a degree, that he is willing to be the shill for the democrat party and the organizations that control it.

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    1. Hey Tom, Harvey and Jeff,

      “trickle down economics” is a failed concept. Your hero Donald Trump just signed a massive tax cut that benefited corporations and the wealthiest… But not the little guy. The corporations took the savings to buy back stock and give the upper executives raises. Your logic doesn’t make sense. A person working full time (37.5 hours per week) at the current minimum wage of $10.25 per hour grosses $384.37 per week. After the state and federal governments take their cut (about 28%) the hourly wage earner is left with about $278.00, about $1100.00 a month. Do you really expect low wage workers to live on that? One-bedroom apartments in Bridgeport go for $1100-$1500 a month, plus two months security. A weekly bus pass is $15.00. Groceries ain’t cheap, either, thanks to Donald Trump’s pissing match trade war with the rest of the world.

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  4. Tom
    How many McDonalds will move to another state?
    How many Wendy’s, Burger Kings, KFC’s will get up and move?
    If you understand economics, yes they will push some of the increased costs on to the public but with Trumps tax cut they are making more money so they can not put all of it on the consumers.

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  5. Everytime the minimum wage is increased the people like Tom (being) White paints a doomsday scenario for jobs and businesses. Raising the minimum wage might spur more spending and stimulate the economy, right Tom (being) White?
    Research by the Fiscal Policy Institute and others showed that states that raised their minimum wages above the federal level experienced better employment and small business trends than states that did not.

    Just as Jeff so eloquently stated, “Now we’ll only need 2.5 jobs each to keep a roof over our head and turn the lights.” This is down from 3 jobs thank goodness.

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  6. I was taught always listen to the coach. OK I listen. Now listen to me. You are full of sh$t.
    If movie tickets rise to 24.99 than the capitalistic theater owners are price gauging and blaming it on the new minimum wage.
    So coach, take a time out, breathe some deep breaths and go back to the playbook.

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    1. If movie tickets go up to $25 it is because of the multimillion dollar deals paid to actors. Virtually all of your tickets pay for the film rental and ticket tax. Theatres depend on concession sales to cover overhead, salary and profits. Low level employee labor is one of the lowest costs in the operation. Raising soda of popcorn prices a quarter can more than cover the new wages under the law.

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  7. Derek, the initial effect you mentioned will be positive for some people, until their job is eliminated.

    Bob, fast food restaurants have been moving to automated kiosks. Higher labor costs give more justification to investing in technology to reduce the number of employees. Yesterday, the owner of Quassy Amusement Park said he would begin replacing staff with kiosks for tickets. A plastics fabricator in Waterbury employing 150 people said they would consider an offer to relocate to Texas.

    Donald Day, there are many opposing theories on the effect. This and the already business- unfriendly climate in Connecticut sends a strong message that Connecticut is not the place to be unless you collecting a government pension.

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  8. Tom
    DD’s operate on two employees after 6:00.
    Since they don’t allow one employee in the store they can cut no more.
    When will they allow you to go in, fix your food, clean up and leave your money???

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  9. Tom
    The plastic fabricator in Waterbury pays minimum wages and employs 150 workers???
    Sounds more like a good old fashioned sweatshop to me?? How much is he holding the city / state up for to stay???

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  10. Tom
    In case you hadn’t noticed most jobs have been eliminated already.
    Walmart the largest corporation in America pays their employees so little that they have to turn to the state for benefits.
    Give me a break.

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    1. Nothing is more satisfying than correcting Bob Walsh.
      To be precise, Walmart is not America’s largest corporation but it is Americas’s largest employer.

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      1. Nothing is more humiliating than kow-towing to Bob Walsh.
        Here’s why: I was wrong. You were right. I’m sorry and I apologize.
        Every list puts Walmart at the top of America’s largest corporations.
        (gulp)

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  11. Instant weed is better than gradual wages.
    Governor Lamont’s wife is an agent for a cannabis-related business. She gets them banking services to make their cannabis, er, grow. Maybe she’s angling for an IPO. After all, she’s their assigned partner at the venture capital fund she founded.
    Read all about it here: http://www.oakhcft.com/dama-financial.html
    No wonder he wants to legalize it.

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  12. Bob,
    You need to read more than ‘in These Times’ and listen to Bernie Sanders podcasts.
    Hamburger U is still mentioned in business classes, but the fast food industry is experimenting with more pre-preparation at central locations to reduce staff at retail locations. This is happening in other retail operations as well. Target recently announced they would pay employees a minimum of $15 per hour while they expand employee job tasks and reduce staff.
    Employers have been addressing the cost of labor since the industrial revolution and assembly lines. As low-skill / low-pay jobs receive the benefit of a higher minimum wage, there will be fewer of them and well-paying / high-skilled jobs will continue to leave Connecticut.

    No need to worry, Bob, when Bernie Sanders is President, maybe fast-food restaurants will be nationalized and each location will have a minimum manning requirement and pricing will be on a sliding scale according to your race and income.

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    1. So it’s all about greed. That’s just great. The all mighty American dollar over humanity. The current occupant of the White House believes only middle aged to senior white men should possess the nation’s wealth.

      A $15.00 per hour minimum wage will enable people to work their way up out of poverty. That’s the priority. No more of this “let them eat cake” bullshit.

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  13. “Automation” has been going on since the 15th Century. One of the greatest examples of automation was Gutenberg’s invention of the printing press. ALL books,and especially Bibles ,had to be hand written. The automation of “mass” printing was a revolution and changed the course of history. Automation has been going on since then and there are many examples of it and automation will continue to go on. Each society/nation/peoples should,however, have a discussion of the quantity and quality of jobs. Some people here are chicken littles who claim the sky is falling with the $15/hour minimum wage. The fact of the matter is that,even at $15/hour, that person will still be living paycheck to paycheck and will have difficulty making ends meet anywhere in Connecticut and that includes Bridgeport. I remember reading an article that a LIVING WAGE in this area is closer to $25/hr.

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  14. Governor Lamont did make an enlightening announcement that will no-doubt attract businesses to Connecticut.

    He suggested that woman-owned businesses would be attracted to Connecticut because Connecticut is abortion-friendly. Brilliant. How about lower taxes? Oops! How silly. Democrats are in control.

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