by Susan G. Fentin
Massachusetts is set to soon have the highest minimum wage in the country. On June 26, Governor Deval Patrick signed a bill that will raise the state’s minimum wage from $8 per hour to $11 an hour by 2017, the highest statewide minimum wage in the country and a full 50 percent higher than the current federal rate of $7.25 per hour.
The new law puts Massachusetts ahead of Vermont, which enacted a law on June 9 raising its minimum wage to $10.50 by 2018. Before the Massachusetts action, Vermont was poised to have the highest minimum wage in the country. Washington state has the highest current minimum wage—$9.32 per hour.
As a compromise for increasing the minimum wage, the Massachusetts law includes a provision that freezes the rates for unemployment insurance this year at 2013 levels and lowers them slightly in 2015, 2016, and 2017. Currently, Massachusetts has the fourth-highest unemployment insurance cost, with companies spending $714 per employee on average.
The increase in the minimum wage will take place in three steps beginning on January 1, 2015, when the rate will increase to $9 per hour. More details and ongoing coverage will be provided in Massachusetts Employment Law Letter.
Domestic worker law
Also on June 26, the governor signed a bill extending labor standards and protections to domestic workers, including nannies and housecleaners. The bill will take effect on April 1, 2015, and strengthens domestic workers’ rights to sleep, rest, and meal breaks as well as their privacy rights.
Susan G. Fentin is an editor of Massachusetts Employment Law Letter and a partner with Skoler, Abbott & Presser, P.C., in Springfield. She can be reached at sfentin@skoler-abbott.com.
That’s right, Massachusetts, you can’t let Portland, OR have title for highest minimum wage in the country. You’ve got your reputation to uphold!