HARRISBURG, June 7, 2007 – State Sen. Christine M. Tartaglione today reminded workers and employers that the new federal minimum wage law will not affect workers in Pennsylvania because they are already protected by a more realistic state law. “The new federal minimum wage levels fall short of Pennsylvania’s in keeping working families afloat,” Tartaglione said. “It’s a sure sign that minimum wages should be automatically adjusted for inflation and not left to the whim of politicians.” The federal minimum wage increase, the first in 10 years, was achieved by attaching the measure to the recently passed Iraq war- funding bill. The bill boosts the federal minimum wage to $5.85 an hour on July 24. Pennsylvania’s minimum wage will rise to $7.15 per hour on July 1. Pennsylvania employers must pay the Pennsylvania rate, not the federal rate, unless the federal rate is higher. In 2009, if Pennsylvania law remains the same, the federal law will add 10 cents an hour to the minimum wage here. After winning a more than six-year fight to raise Pennsylvania’s minimum wage, Tartaglione said both the state and federal governments should automatically adjust the minimum wage for the rising cost of living. “The minute we pass a minimum wage law, inflation begins to rob working families at the rate of a dollar a day,” Tartaglione said. “While lawmakers stall and delay, thousands of families fall below the federal poverty line. No parent in Pennsylvania working full time should be living in poverty.” While Pennsylvania’s July 1 increase will bring the minimum wage to $7.15 an hour, certain small businesses are allowed to raise the minimum wage at a slower rate. The minimum wage for businesses with the equivalent of 10 or fewer full-time employees rises to $6.65 on July 1, and to $7.15 on July 1, 2008. The following is a schedule for federal and state minimum wage levels: July 1 - $7.15 – Pa. businesses with more than 10 full-time employees July 1 - $6.65 – Pa. businesses with 10 or fewer full-time employees July 24 - $5.85 – federal minimum wage July 1, 2008 - $7.15 – All Pennsylvania employees July 24, 2008 - $6.55 – federal minimum wage July 24, 2009 - $7.25 – federal minimum wage |
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