House Sends Minimum Wage Hike To Senate After Marathon Debate

HARTFORD, CT — At 10 p.m. Wednesday the House began debate on a bill that would increase Connecticut’s minimum wage to $15 an hour and raise the wages of 332,000 workers in the state. The bill passed 85 to 59 after noon Thursday and is headed to the Senate.

The 14-hour debate showed just how deeply divided Democrats and Republicans are over economic policy, and also over what an increase in the minimum wage might do for Connecticut’s efforts to recover all the jobs it lost in 2008.

According to Democrats, the minimum wage hike will put more money back into the economy through an increase in disposable spending by low-income employees, but Republicans believe businesses will decrease hours, lay off workers, increase prices on consumers, and favor automation.

The bill will raise the minimum wage over 4.5 years and then index it to the employment cost index (ECI). The current minimum wage of $10.10 an hour will increase to $11 in October, $12 on Sept. 1, 2020, $13 on Aug. 1, 2021, $14 on July 1, 2022, and then $15 on June 1, 2023.

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