Pennsylvania Minimum Wage

I found a very helpful Pennsylvania Minimum Wage Fact Sheet while searching for information about the wages in PA. The fact sheet was produced in 2005 and specifically addresses House Bill 257. Bill 257 is an amendment to the Minimum Wage Act of 1968.

In general, Bill 257 increases the minimum wage over a course of three stages. The ultimate goal is to reach a minimum wage of $7.15 by January, 2007 from the current minimum wage of $5.15/hour.

Effective 60 days after the passage of the new legislation, the minimum wage is to increase to $6.00, a full $0.85. It will increase on January 1, 2006 to $6.75 and hour and again on January 1, 2007 to the final amount of $7.15. From the goal amount, the wage will be open to increase based on the costs of daily living, according to the Consumer Price Index (CPI.) An assessment will be made and put into effect each January 1st based on the economy and markets.

Pennsylvania offers a very competitive minimum wage. There are only 17 other states (plus D.C.) that have a higher current minimum wage. These states include Alaska, California, Connecticut, Delaware, DC, Florida, Hawaii, Illinois, Maine, Massachusetts, Minnesota, New Jersey, New York, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, Wisconsin and Washington State. Some of these states have plans to also increase and some have different wages depending on the size of the employer. (Smaller employers will have a lower minimum wage in states like Minnesota.)

It is important to note that each state selects its own minimum wage amount. 45% of Americans live in states that have opted to have a higher minimum wage than the Federal government demands.

According to the U.S> Department of Health and Human Services 2005 Poverty Guideline, the poverty line for a family of 3 if $16,090. As it is, a full time minimum wage worker earns only $10,712 while working 40 hours per week for 52 weeks per year.

The latest minimum wage notifications can be found along with all the state and federal laws on the Pennsylvania Complete Labor Law poster.