Estimated read time: Less than a minute
This archived news story is available only for your personal, non-commercial use. Information in the story may be outdated or superseded by additional information. Reading or replaying the story in its archived form does not constitute a republication of the story.
WASHINGTON (AP) — Lawmakers in the nation's capital have approved a $15-an-hour minimum wage.
That puts the District of Columbia alongside a number of other cities and the states of California and New York in mandating pay raises for retail, restaurant and service-industry workers.
The D.C. Council unanimously approved the wage increase, and Democratic Mayor Muriel Bowser has pledged to sign it when it reaches her desk, likely sometime this summer.
The bill would raise the wage gradually until it hits $15 in 2020. After that, future increases would be tied to inflation.
Some business advocates have argued that raising the wage to more than double the federal minimum of $7.25 — which is also the minimum wage in Virginia — will prompt employers to lay off workers or even move to neighboring jurisdictions.
House Speaker Paul Ryan is also speaking out against the wage increase. Visiting a drug treatment center in southeast Washington today, Ryan said the higher minimum wage "will actually do more harm than good in so many instances."
Copyright © The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
