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Labor Report

Renewing the Push to Raise the Minimum Wage

Minimum WageI have put out for cosponsorship of a new Senate bill that would raise the minimum wage in Pennsylvania. Rep. Patty Kim has introduced similar legislation in the House (HB 1520). These bills would incrementally increase the minimum wage from its current $7.25 per hour level to $15 per hour by 2024. The bills would also raise the minimum wage for tipped employees from the current level of $2.83 an hour to $12 by 2024. After 2024, the minimum wages for tipped and non-tipped employees would increase automatically through an annual cost-of-living adjustment.

All of Pennsylvania’s neighboring states, along with 28 states across the nation, have minimum wage rates that are higher than the federal minimum wage. But in Pennsylvania, a full-time employee who works 40 hours a week at the minimum wage earns just $15,080 per year. That’s below the federal poverty level for a two-person household.

Pennsylvania, which hasn’t raised its minimum wage in almost a decade, must act to ensure that all workers earn livable, family-sustaining wages. Adequate, appropriate wages improve the long-term quality of life for working families and bolster the economy as those families spend their earnings on goods and services.

Wage and Hour Division (WHD) Wage and Hour Division (WHD)

Overtime Pay Proposal Garners Support

Last Wednesday, Gov. Tom Wolf announced a proposal to modernize Pennsylvania’s overtime rules to ensure that nearly a half-million salaried employees receive appropriate compensation when they work more than 40 hours per week.

PaycheckUnder current regulations, salaried workers earning more than $23,660 annually are not guaranteed overtime pay. This regulatory change would update Pennsylvania’s overtime rules for the first time in more than 40 years and would raise the threshold for mandatory overtime pay to include most salaried workers who earn up to $47,892 annually. The changes would extend eligibility for mandatory overtime pay to an additional 460,000 Pennsylvania workers over four years.

This proposal is a tremendous step forward for Pennsylvania workers and it’s long overdue. It’s unconscionable that in 2018, workers who make less than the federal poverty level for a family of four could be deprived of overtime earnings when they spend extra time on the job. I look forward to the application of these new rules and will continue fighting to raise the minimum wage, which Pennsylvania hasn’t done in almost a decade, and to enact laws that protect Pennsylvania workers on a multitude of issues.

As part of the regulations change process, the Department of Labor & Industry expects to present the proposal for public comments in March.

PA County Unemployment Ranking
Ranked Lowest to Highest Rate (Seasonally Adj.)
Source: PA Department of Labor & Industry
November 2017 State Rate: 4.6%
 
Rank County Nov. 2017 Rate Oct. 2017 Rate Nov. 2016 Rate
T-1 Adams  3.5% 3.4% 4.0%
T-1 Chester  3.5% 3.3% 3.9%
T-3 Centre  3.6% 3.5% 4.2%
T-3 Lancaster  3.6% 3.6% 4.2%
T-5 Cumberland  3.8% 3.5% 4.1%
T-5 Montgomery  3.8% 3.5% 4.2%
T-7 Franklin  3.9% 4.0% 5.1%
T-7 Montour  3.9% 3.7% 4.1%
9 Lebanon  4.1% 3.9% 4.5%
T-10 Bucks  4.2% 3.9% 4.6%
T-10 Perry  4.2% 4.0% 4.6%
T-10 York  4.2% 4.1% 4.6%
T-13 Berks  4.4% 4.4% 5.1%
T-13 Dauphin  4.4% 4.1% 4.8%
T-13 Snyder  4.4% 4.3% 4.9%
T-16 Blair  4.5% 4.6% 5.3%
T-16 Delaware  4.5% 4.3% 4.9%
T-16 Elk  4.5% 4.4% 5.7%
T-16 Union  4.5% 4.0% 4.8%
T-20 Allegheny  4.6% 4.3% 5.2%
T-20 Butler  4.6% 4.3% 5.1%
22 Susquehanna  4.8% 4.4% 5.5%
T-23 Juniata  4.9% 4.5% 5.5%
T-23 Northampton  4.9% 4.6% 5.3%
T-25 Bedford  5.0% 4.8% 5.8%
T-25 Washington  5.0% 4.7% 6.0%
T-25 Westmoreland  5.0% 4.8% 5.8%
T-28 Fulton  5.1% 4.7% 6.3%
T-28 Lackawanna  5.1% 4.8% 5.6%
T-28 Lehigh  5.1% 4.7% 5.5%
T-28 Wayne  5.1% 4.8% 5.8%
T-28 Wyoming  5.1% 4.9% 6.0%
T-33 Columbia  5.2% 5.0% 5.4%
T-33 Crawford  5.2% 4.9% 6.0%
T-33 Mercer  5.2% 4.8% 6.0%
T-36 Beaver  5.3% 5.1% 6.2%
T-36 Bradford  5.3% 4.9% 6.2%
T-36 Jefferson  5.3% 5.2% 6.5%
T-36 Mifflin  5.3% 4.9% 5.7%
T-36 Warren  5.3% 5.1% 5.5%
T-41 Carbon  5.4% 5.0% 6.0%
T-41 Erie  5.4% 5.3% 6.6%
T-41 Lycoming  5.4% 5.4% 6.4%
T-44 Northumberland  5.5% 5.3% 6.2%
T-44 Sullivan  5.5% 5.3% 6.6%
T-46 Cambria  5.6% 5.7% 6.8%
T-46 Clarion  5.6% 5.3% 6.3%
T-46 Greene  5.6% 5.2% 7.3%
T-46 Indiana  5.6% 5.5% 7.0%
T-50 Armstrong  5.7% 5.4% 7.1%
T-50 Clearfield  5.7% 5.4% 6.9%
T-50 McKean  5.7% 5.3% 6.6%
T-50 Schuylkill  5.7% 5.3% 6.2%
T-50 Venango  5.7% 5.4% 7.3%
T-55 Luzerne  5.8% 5.5% 6.3%
T-55 Monroe  5.8% 5.5% 6.3%
T-55 Somerset  5.8% 5.6% 7.0%
T-58 Lawrence  5.9% 5.6% 6.7%
T-58 Pike  5.9% 5.6% 6.5%
T-58 Tioga  5.9% 5.4% 7.1%
61 Huntingdon  6.1% 5.4% 6.9%
62 Philadelphia  6.2% 5.8% 6.7%
63 Potter  6.3% 5.8% 7.7%
T-64 Cameron  6.4% 6.6% 7.0%
T-64 Clinton  6.4% 5.9% 6.9%
66 Fayette  6.7% 6.3% 8.0%
67 Forest  7.0% 6.5% 8.0%
T - indicates tie