Proposed $15 minimum wage filed in the State Senate

By Cash Michaels

A federal $15 /hour minimum may have faltered in the U.S. Senate for now, but that does not stop Democrats in the North Carolina Senate from proposing the minimum wage hike for citizens.

But just like in Congress, it is highly unlikely that state Senate Republicans will go for it.

Senate Bill 447 - the “Living Wage for NC Workers,” sponsored by state Sen. Mujtaba A. Mohammed (D-Mecklenburg), Sen. Natalie Murdock (D- Durham) and Sen. Julie Mayfield (D- Buncombe) and filed on March 31st, is described as “an act increasing the state’s minimum wage to fifteen dollars per hour over five years, then annually adjusting the minimum wage automatically by increases in the cost of living; ending the sub minimum wage for individuals with disabilities; amending the sub minimum wage for tipped workers; and ending the exemption for domestic workers.

The current minimum wage employers in North Carolina are required to pay workers is $7.25/hour, same as the current federal minimum.

Under SB 447 if passed, the statewide minimum wage would go from $7.25 to $8.80 per hour as of January 1, 2022. One year later it would rise to $10.35/hr. On January 1, 2024, the state minimum wage would go to $12.00/hr. On January 1, 2025, $13.00/hour becomes the minimum wage, and a year later, on January 1, 2026, the minimum wage for North Carolina wage earners would become $15.00/hour.

Those proposed incremental increases would be subject to what the federal minimum is at that time. If Congress does decide to raise the federal minimum wage by January 1, 2022 to $15.00/hr., that would automatically supersede whatever North Carolina’s minimum wage would be at that time.

As it stands now, any positive movement on the federal $15.00/hour minimum wage proposal looks dead in the water. The Senate parliamentarian determined the amendment did not comply with Senate budget rules and, had to be taken out of Pres. Joe Biden’s $1.9 trillion COVID-19 relief package several weeks ago.

Sen. Bernie Sanders (I- Vermont), forced a vote on a freestanding amendment for the proposal, and it failed 42-58.

The Biden administration vowed to get the $15.00/hour amendment passed later but, has not said when or how.