Voters in each Nebraska and the District of Columbia on Tuesday accredited greater minimal wages, whereas the ends in the same Nevada poll measure are nonetheless pending.

In D.C., voters accredited Initiative 82, a poll measure to extend the minimal wage for tipped employees to $16.10 per hour from the present $5.35 per hour by 2027, matching the ground for non-tipped workers.

And Nebraska voters supported Initiative 433, which will increase the state’s minimal wage to $15 per hour, up from $9 per hour, by 2026. The minimal wage will regulate yearly based mostly on inflation after 2026. 

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Votes for the Minimal Wage Modification in Nevada are nonetheless being tallied. But when accredited, the minimal wage would rise to $12 per hour by 2024, up from $9.50 or $10.50 per hour, relying on medical health insurance advantages.

Ben Zipperer, an economist on the Financial Coverage Institute, stated these outcomes align with previous state and native efforts, noting that elevating the minimal wage is “a particularly widespread coverage initiative.”

He stated it reveals there’s demand for will increase, even in “very pink states or pink areas,” pointing to Florida voters approving a minimal wage hike to $15 per hour in the course of the 2020 presidential election. 

Whereas President Joe Biden has supported a $15 minimal wage for all employees and signed an government order for federal workers, the $7.25 federal minimal wage hasn’t modified since July 2009.

It has been the longest interval and not using a federal minimal wage improve because the legislation was enacted in 1938, in keeping with a current evaluation from the Financial Coverage Institute. 

The worth of the federal minimal hourly fee has reached its lowest level in 66 years amid hovering costs, based mostly on June inflation knowledge, the evaluation discovered.

However over the previous 20 years, many state and native efforts to spice up minimal wages have been profitable, Zipperer defined. At present, 30 states and the District of Columbia have minimal wages above the $7.25 federal hourly fee, in keeping with the Financial Coverage Institute.

The group estimates that roughly 40% of U.S. employees reside in states that have already got a $15 minimal wage or will improve to $15 within the close to future.  

“That is a exceptional victory for advocates of low-wage employees, the ‘Battle for 15’ actions and people pursuing improved working circumstances for essentially the most weak employees,” he stated.