Catherwood LibraryILR School

A bill in Minnesota is on track to increase the state?s minimum wage as well as tie future increases to inflation on an annual basis. After over a year of rallies, pounding the pavement, and lobbying, House Democrats and labor unions have convinced Senate Democrats to back the bill which would increase the minimum wage to $9.50 per hour. The bill is not without compromise, it contains a clause which allows a governor to suspend the annual indexed increase if the economy is facing a ?substantial downturn?. Similarly, the bill also contains a clause which would allow the governor to accelerate the annual increase back to where the index would have put it if there had not been a suspension. The overall effect may be that the minimum wage could change wildly with each new administration. Republican candidates for governor have already taken strong stances against indexing the minimum wage.