662K Workers Will Get Pay Bump Next Week, Analysis Says

At least 662,000 workers will benefit from the minimum wage hike being phased in starting next week, according to a new analysis. On Jan. 1, 2019 the road to a $15 an hour minimum wage begins when it increases from $11 to $12, and from $3.75 to $6.75 for restaurant servers.

The Massachusetts Budget and Policy Center said the total wage increase beginning Tuesday will be $817.5 million. It will benefit 15 percent of working parents and 79 percent of working teenagers in the state, the report said.

The boost is thanks to a multi-pronged law signed by Gov. Charlie Baker this summer. The law also instituted a paid family and medical leave program and a yearly sales tax holiday.

The so-called "grand bargain" law was signed as a compromise to keep a series of ballot questions off the November ballot, including a proposal to cut the state sales tax from the current 6.25 percent to 5 percent.

As a result, 40 percent of retail workers, 68 percent of restaurant workers 34 percent of human service workers will see a bump.

Nineteen states are set to kick off 2019 with minimum wage hikes, according to the group Business for a Fair Minimum Wage. California and Washington are also raising theirs to $12.

The wage hikes will increase pay for 5.3 million workers across the country, according to the Economic Policy Institute. The increases range from a 5-cent inflation adjustment in Alaska to a $2 per hour increase in New York City.

The institute said the increases will boost wages for affected workers by about $5.4 billion.

Reporting from the State House News Service was used in this report.

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