Maryland Lawmakers Pass $15 Minimum Wage Starting In 2025
ANNAPOLIS, Md. (WJZ) -- The Maryland General Assembly has passed the 'Fight for 15' bill that would require all businesses in the state to pay a $15 minimum wage by 2025.
As long as the bill is signed by Gov. Larry Hogan, Maryland's minimum wage will be $15 by 2025.
Baltimore Senator Cory McCray was one of the key sponsors of the bill.
"You can't live anywhere in the state of Maryland and make under $13 and still be able to survive on those basic necessities," he said.
Maryland's current minimum wage is $10.10, but this bill proposes it will incrementally increase to reach $15 by 2025.
The owners of E.C. Pops in Fells Point said they already pay $15 and are praising the move.
"As a business owner, it's our responsibility to make sure that people who work for us are taken care of and that starts off with their paycheck," Doug Yeakey, of E.C. Pops, said.
There is a concern amongst other business owners that $15 an hour will be a burden for small businesses.
"If you have a dishwasher, now they are getting $15 an hour," Giovanna Blattermann, of Cafe Gia, said. "Now your chef, who might have been getting $16, now he wants at least $5 more because he's worth it."
Gov. Hogan pitched a compromise of a $12.10 minimum wage by 2022, but lawmakers rejected that offer.
"Inflating our minimum wage to more than double that of Virginia, which is $7.25, would simply be too much for our economy to bear," he said.
His office will now review the latest bill.
This bill had a veto-proof majority, so if the governor does not sign it, there is expected to be enough votes to make a $15 minimum wage law by 2025.
This story is developing. Stay with WJZ for the latest.
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