14 American states to hike minimum wages this year – As the United States completes more than six years without an increase in the federal minimum wage of $7.25 an hour, 14 states and several cities are advancing with their own increases, with most set to begin from Friday.
The highest among the states are California and Massachusetts with both increasing from $9 to $10 an hour, says an analysis by the National Conference of State Legislatures. At the other end is Arkansas, where the minimum wage is increasing from $7.50 to $8.
With Friday’s escalations, the new average minimum wage across the 14 affected states increases from $8.50 an hour to just over $9.
In 2014, a Democratic-backed congressional proposal to raise the federal minimum wage for the first time since 2009 to $10.10 was held up, as have ensuing efforts by President Barack Obama.
In recent years, an increasing number of states and municipalities have legislated their own wage floor policies. Currently, 29 states plus the District of Columbia and about two dozen cities and counties have set their minimum wage at levels higher than the federal minimum.
The 14 states where increases are implemented on Friday are – Alaska, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Hawaii, Massachusetts, Michigan, Nebraska, New York, Rhode Island, South Dakota, Vermont and West Virginia.