Activists demonstrate in support of a $15-per-hour minimum wage and tips for restaurant workers in Washington, D.C. on Feb. 8, 2022.
Mandel Ngan | AFP | Getty Images
The federal minimum wage recently marked a new anniversary. But for affected workers, that may not be something to celebrate.
The federal minimum wage has now been stuck at $7.25 per hour for 15 years.
On the campaign trail, Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris recently suggested that should change.
“When I am president, we will continue our fight for working families of America, including to raise the minimum wage and eliminate taxes on tips for service and hospitality workers,” Harris said at an Aug. 10 Nevada campaign event.
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Many states have enacted minimum hourly pay rates that are higher than the federal minimum wage. Yet 20 states have wages that are no higher than the federal level, according to Business for a Fair Minimum Wage. They include Alabama, Georgia, Idaho, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, New Hampshire, North Carolina, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Wisconsin and Wyoming.
The federal minimum wage for tipped workers is $2.13 per hour, provided their tips bring them to the $7.25 per hour federal minimum wage. Michigan recently became the first state in more than four decades to eliminate the subminimum wage for tipped workers.
Harris has not said how high she wants to raise the minimum wage, though she has praised states that have raised the rate to at least $15 per hour.
The Harris campaign did not return a request for comment by CNBC.
Congressional Democrats in 2021 tried to raise the federal minimum wage to $15 per hour as part of a broader Covid relief package. However, those efforts failed after it was determined the change could not be included in legislation handled through a one-party majority.
During a 2020 debate, then President Donald Trump expressed concerns about whether raising the federal pay threshold would hurt small businesses.
“How are you helping your small businesses when you’re forcing wages?” Trump said during the 2020 debate. “What’s going to happen and what’s been proven to happen is when you do that these small businesses fire many of their…
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