Citywide Minimum Wage Laws
Building on the success of the living wage movement, cities searching for ways to help the working poor have begun to enact broad new laws to raise the minimum wage at the local level. Unlike living wage laws, which extend only to businesses that receive contracts or tax breaks from cities, these citywide minimum wage laws cover most or even all employers in a city. The minimum wage levels under these new laws are significantly higher than current federal and state minimum wages.
The Brennan Center has been assisting local coalitions in developing these new wage laws by providing legal and technical assistance. Our policy brief, Citywide Minimum Wage Laws: A New Policy Tool for Local Governments, provides more background, comparing these new laws to other wage policies and summarizing emerging research findings on their economic impact.
Santa Fe enacted one of the nation's first citywide minimum wage laws in 2003 with legal assistance from the Brennan Center. The Center then defended the Santa Fe law against a legal challenge and won a landmark ruling confirming that municipalities have the authority to establish minimum wages that are higher than the federal and state levels. The Santa Fe Minimum Wage, which increased to $9.50 an hour on January 1, 2006, has raised pay for more than 17,000 local residents. And the Santa Fe City Council voted in 2007 to broaden the law's coverage to all employers in the city.
San Francisco voters approved a citywide minimum wage ballot initiative in 2003, drafted with assistance from the Brennan Center. The San Francisco Minimum Wage, which increased to $9.36 an hour on January 1, 2008, has raised pay for an estimated 54,000 low-income workers. Preliminary reports suggest that workers in San Francisco have more effectively enforced their unpaid wage claims under the new law.
Albuquerque passed a citywide minimum wage law in April 2006. The Albuquerque Minimum Wage Law took effect on January 1, 2007 at $6.75, and will increase to $7.50 by 2009. Other cities, including the District of Columbia, have enacted citywide minimum wages in recent years.
Researchers at the University of California and the University of New Mexico have begun to study the effects of citywide minimum wages on local economies. The results to date have been uniformly positive both for low-wage workers and for the business climate (see the UC Berkeley Labor Center's recent study for a summary overview). Building on the success of the living wage movement, cities searching for ways to help the working poor have begun to enact broad new laws to raise the minimum wage at the local level. Unlike living wage laws, which extend only to businesses that receive contracts or tax breaks from cities, these citywide minimum wage laws cover most or even all employers in a city. The minimum wage levels under these new laws are significantly higher than current federal and state minimum wages.The Brennan Center has been assisting local coalitions in developing these new wage laws by providing legal and technical assistance. Our policy brief, Citywide Minimum Wage Laws: A New Policy Tool for Local Governments, provides more background, comparing these new laws to other wage policies and summarizing emerging research findings on their economic impact.
Santa Fe enacted one of the nation's first citywide minimum wage laws in 2003 with legal assistance from the Brennan Center. The Center then defended the Santa Fe law against a legal challenge and won a landmark ruling confirming that municipalities have the authority to establish minimum wages that are higher than the federal and state levels. The Santa Fe Minimum Wage, which increased to $9.50 an hour on January 1, 2006, has raised pay for more than 17,000 local residents. And the Santa Fe City Council voted in 2007 to broaden the law's coverage to all employers in the city.
San Francisco voters approved a citywide minimum wage ballot initiative in 2003, drafted with assistance from the Brennan Center. The San Francisco Minimum Wage, which increased to $9.36 an hour on January 1, 2008, has raised pay for an estimated 54,000 low-income workers. Preliminary reports suggest that workers in San Francisco have more effectively enforced their unpaid wage claims under the new law.
Albuquerque passed a citywide minimum wage law in April 2006. The Albuquerque Minimum Wage Law took effect on January 1, 2007 at $6.75, and will increase to $7.50 by 2009. Other cities, including the District of Columbia, have enacted citywide minimum wages in recent years.
Researchers at the University of California and the University of New Mexico have begun to study the effects of citywide minimum wages on local economies. The results to date have been uniformly positive both for low-wage workers and for the business climate (see the UC Berkeley Labor Center's recent study for a summary overview).