2 Utah lawmakers seek to raise minimum wage from $7.25
As President Joe Biden seeks to raise the minimum wage, a couple of Utah lawmakers are looking to do the same. (Photo: KUTV)
KUTV — As President Joe Biden seeks to raise the minimum wage, a couple of Utah lawmakers are looking to do the same.
Reps. Clare Collard and Ashlee Matthews said Utah's $7.25 per hour minimum may align with the federal standard, but it significantly lower than 29 other states. It has not increased with inflation since 2008, according to a news release.
“This is long overdue,” Matthews said.
We need a sophisticated approach to regulating wages that accounts for where you live in our state. Many Utahns are not able to pay their bills, pay for rent, even as they work multiple jobs. Having a job should lift you out of poverty, not keep you in it.
Matthews' "Livable Wage Amendments," which is not yet numbered," would set a staggered schedule of minimum wage rates that would vary between urban counties and rural counties.
According to a news release, employers location with an urban growth boundary of a metropolitan service would gradually be required to pay employees $10.75 per hour by 2028. Employers within a nonurban county would be required to pay employees at least $9.25 per hour by 2028.
After 2028, the bill instructs the Department of Workforce Services to adjust Utah’s minimum wage rate annually for inflation.
Collard, however, has a different approach.
The representative proposed incrementally increasing Utah's annual minimum wage starting at $12 per hour on or before July 1. House Bill 284 would require the minimum wage to be $15 per hour by July 1, 2026 and raises the minimum wage for tipped employees to $5 per hour from $2.13.
“This gives Utah the chance to lead out as a family-friendly state,” Collard is quoted in a news release. “Gradually increasing Utah’s minimum wage over the next few years will boost our economy and give all Utahns the opportunities they need to thrive. It will also bring Utah up to speed with where we need to be in the competitive marketplace.”
As part of a COVID-19 relief package, the Biden administration is considering raising the minimum wage to $15 per hour.
