LANSING, Mich. — Michigan’s minimum hourly wage would jump nearly 14 percent starting next year, under a bill introduced by House democrats.
The current rate of $9.65 an hour would increase to $11 beginning Jan. 1, 2022.
It would go up a dollar through 2026, when the hourly rate for workers in Michigan would be $15, according to the bill, which was introduced earlier this week.
Beginning in 2027, adjustments to minimum hourly wage will be made by the state treasurer based on changes in the Consumer Price Index.
Nineteen House members have signed their names to House Bill 4413, which has been referred to the Committee on Commerce and Tourism.
The legislation comes amid renewed discussion in Washington to bump the federal minimum wage to $15 an hour. The current federal minimum wage is $7.25 an hour.
The Associated Press recently reported that the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office in February estimated that while raising the minimum wage to $15 by 2025 would increase pay for 17 million people and pull 900,000 out of poverty, it would also end 1.4 million jobs.
The reasoning is that employers would cut jobs to make up for their higher labor costs, according to the Associated Press article.
Michigan is one of 29 states where the minimum wage is higher than the federal minimum wage. In Washington, D.C., the minimum wage is $15 an hour.
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