Hello retailers, fast food restaurants, and employers in general. Expect your costs of doing business will soar in 2017.
In over half the nation, population-wise, minimum wages hikes kick in this year.
The minimum wage will be increased in Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Florida, Hawaii, Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan, Missouri, Montana, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, South Dakota, Vermont, and Washington to start 2017.
Oregon, Washington, D.C., and Maryland will see wage increases in their states later on this year.
Wages will be increased by different amounts in different states, and sometimes by different amounts within those states.
Many business owners, however, oppose increasing the minimum wage on the grounds that in some cases it could make it hard for them to turn a profit.
Some restaurant owners may consider reducing portion sizes or charging for side dishes that were once included in the price of a meal to absorb the increase, Melissa Fleischut, president of the New York State Restaurant Association, told the AP about the decision.
Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont, who made raising the minimum wage a central issue of his campaign for the Democratic nomination in 2016, referred to the #Fightfor15 movement on Twitter today, a group that has advocated for a minimum wage increase to $15 per hour on behalf of employees who they argue are underpaid and struggling to survive, saying that “people everywhere” see justice in the movement to achieve higher pay for low wage workers.
Minimum wage hikes will reduce store expansion and increase the push to get rid of workers by automation.
