Five States Vote To Increase Minimum Wage

Illinois, Alaska, Arkansas, Nebraska and South Dakota voters passed initiatives in Tuesday’s election that will increase each state’s minimum wage, according to a SmithAmundsen. The increases are as follows:

• The Illinois initiative, which is non-binding, seeks to raise the state’s minimum wage from $8.25 to $10.00 per hour by January 2015.
• The Arkansas minimum wage will increase from $6.25 to $8.50 in increments between 2015 and 2017.
• The Alaska state minimum wage will rise from $7.75 to $9.75 by January 2016.
• Nebraska will raise its minimum wage from $7.25 to $9.00 per hour by January 2016.
• South Dakota will increase its minimum wage from $7.25 to $8.50 per hour on January 1, 2015. A minimum wage increase will occur each year based upon inflation. Full blog.