Assembly Bill Would Tie Minimum Wage To Level of Inflation

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Assembly Bill Would Tie Minimum Wage To Level of Inflation

By HOWARD FINE

Staff Reporter

Business owners, still grappling with the impact of the 50-cent an hour minimum wage hike that went into effect Jan. 1, may face more increases.

The effect of those hikes, however, might be mitigated if state Assemblyman Paul Koretz, D-West Hollywood, has his way. Koretz has proposed permanently indexing the state’s minimum wage to the rate of inflation. Under his Assembly Bill 2242, the minimum wage would rise 5 cents next Jan. 1 and by similar amounts each year assuming the rate of inflation stays in the low single-digits.

“The whole point of indexing is to get rid of these huge percentage jumps in the minimum wage, to minimize the impact on employers while still allowing workers to keep above the poverty level,” said Scott Svonkin, Koretz’s chief of staff.

The bill has cleared the Assembly Labor and Employment Committee and is awaiting consideration in the Assembly Appropriations Committee.

The state’s minimum wage increased to $6.75 an hour on Jan. 1, the second phase of a $1 increase passed by the Legislature in 2000.

Koretz sponsored a similar bill tabled last year after strong opposition from the business community. That measure first raised the minimum wage by $2, to $8.75 an hour, then indexed the wage to inflation. This year, he took out that initial $2 hike.

“This is a very modest step on behalf of working men and women,” Koretz said.

The bill is opposed by the California Chamber of Commerce and the California Manufacturers and Technology Association.

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