Minimum wage question on November ballot

[Sherman A1]

Arkansas voters will decide in a few weeks whether to increase the state’s minimum wage.

An initiative on the ballot proposes to increase the minimum wage from $6.25 per hour to $7.50 on Jan. 1, 2015, and to $8.50 on Jan. 1, 2017. The popular name of the initiative is “An Act to Increase the Arkansas Minimum Wage.”

According to the Arkansas Department of Labor, “All employers with four or more employees must pay at least $6.25 per hour. If the employer does more than $500,000 per year in business, they must pay the federal minimum wage of $7.25 per hour. Certain other situations may also require an employer to pay the federal minimum wage.”

According to online research, the ballot initiative was sponsored by Give Arkansas a Raise Now. Other supporters are the Arkansas Interfaith Alliance, NAACP-Arkansas Chapter, AFL-CIO and the Arkansas Hunger Relief Alliance. Organizations opposing the increases include the Arkansas Hospitality Association and the Arkansas State Chamber of Commerce.

http://thecabin.net/news/local/2014-10-11/minimum-wage-question-november-ballot#.VDr6jUvobmZ

[blkmusclmachine]

1. Remember, the Republican Party would like everybody working for one penny per hour with no benefits.

[SickOfTheOnePct]

2. OK, I'm confused

I thought states already had to pay at least the federal minimum wage, except for restaurant workers.

Is that what this law would change?