MANY Americans will see a $925 bump to their paychecks under a law change that is rolling out this month.
As minimum wage laws take effect across the country with varying wage increases, over one million workers are seeing a much-needed pay boost.
Certain Americans are receiving $925 more on their paycheck as July laws roll out across the country, impacting over one million Americans[/caption]
For over 15 years, the federal government has instituted a baseline minimum wage rate of $7.25 per hour.
With the cost of living increasing over the years, several states and municipalities have raised their local minimum wages via ballot measures, inflation adjustments, and legislation.
Several minimum wages across the country saw a spike starting on Tuesday, including in Alaska, where nearly 20,000 workers are getting a paycheck bump.
Employees in the state will receive $1.09 more per hour under the minimum wage increase, bringing the new hourly rate to $13.
The increase, approved by voters via a ballot measure, will affect 19,400 Alaskans – approximately 6.3% of the state’s workforce – according to the Economic Policy Institute.
Why is there a minimum wage?
The country first enacted a federal minimum wage in 1938 under the Fair Labor Standards Act during the Great Depression in an effort to stabilize the economy and protecting the working class.
The first federal minimum wage in the US was set at 25 cents per hour, which has since risen to $7.25 an hour.
Minimum wage laws exist to ensure a basic standard of living for workers, preventing employers from exploiting them with extremely low pay.
These laws also exist to help stimulate the economy, increasing consumer spending by boosting the paychecks of low-wage earners.
There are various proposals and advocacy efforts underway to raise the federal minimum wage, with senators from Missouri and Vermont introducing a bipartisan bill in June to increase it to $15 per hour.
Thanks to the minimum wage increase, residents will see their annual paychecks increase on average by $925.
“These minimum wage increases will put more money in workers’ pockets, helping many of them and their families make ends meet,” EPI state economic analyst Sebastian Martinez Hickey wrote in a post.
MAKE IT RAIN
Alaskans aren’t the only Americans who are seeing more money in their paychecks under the July law.
The local governments in over 15 cities and states are raising their minimum wages to better support their workforces, including in Oregon and Washington DC.
Thanks to an automatic inflation adjustment over in Oregon, roughly 801,700 workers will earn 35 cents more per hour as the minimum wage increases to $15.05.
The change will boost a worker’s annual income by around $420 on average.
Over in the nation’s capital, an automatic inflation adjustment has increased the minimum wage by 45 cents to $17.95 an hour for roughly 62,200 workers.
As a result, employees in Washington DC will earn around $727 more each year.
MONEY MOVES
More than 800,000 Americans in Alaska, Oregon, and Washington DC alone will benefit from the minimum wage increases.
This number is brought up to over one million as employees in another 12 cities and counties, mostly in California, also began rolling out minimum wage raises beginning July 1.
Ten localities in The Golden State have raised their hourly wages, with the spikes ranging from 40 cents to 59 cents.
The minimum wage increases have bumped up the new hourly rates from around $17.46 in Alameda to $19.90 in Emeryville.
Outside of California, employees earning minimum wage in Chicago, Illinois will earn $16.60 per hour, or 40 cents more an hour.
Minimum wage increases
Beginning July 1, the following states, cities, and counties raised their minimum wage:
- Alameda, California: The minimum wage will rise 46 cents to $17.46
- Berkeley, California: The minimum wage will rise 51 cents to $19.18
- Emeryville, California: The minimum wage will rise 54 cents to $19.90
- Fremont, California: The minimum wage will rise 45 cents to $17.75
- Los Angeles, California: The baseline wage will rise 59 cents to $17.87
- Los Angeles County, California: The minimum wage will rise 54 cents to $17.81
- Milpitas, California: The minimum wage will rise 50 cents to $18.20
- Pasadena, California: The minimum wage will rise 54 cents to $18.04
- San Francisco, California: The minimum wage will rise 51 cents to $19.18
- Santa Monica, California: The minimum wage will rise 54 cents to $17.81
- Chicago, Illinois: The minimum wage will rise 40 cents to $16.60
- Montgomery County, Maryland: The minimum wage will rise 50 cents to $17.65
- Alaska: The minimum wage will rise $1.09 to $13
- Washington DC: The minimum wage will rise 45 cents to $17.95
- Oregon: The minimum wage will rise 35 cents to $15.05
Residents in Maryland’s Montgomery County are likewise earning more per hour as the minimum wage increases by 50 cents to $17.65 per hour.
The majority of Americans benefiting from the pay bumps, at 58%, are women, per EPI estimates, with Black and Hispanic workers also disproportionately benefitting from the increases.
As over one million Americans see more money each hour, others are at risk of seeing their paychecks wiped out by 15%.
Meanwhile, some workers can receive a $6,000 deduction in a new version of a “beautiful” proposal – check if your income will qualify.
