Gov. Dannel P. Malloy, a Democrat, has signed legislation into law that will increase Connecticut”™s minimum wage to $10.10 by 2017.
The law is titled “An Act Concerning Working Families”™ Wages” and is Senate Bill No. 32. President Barack Obama visited the state recently to draw attention to the effort.
Last year, Malloy signed a bill that increased the state minimum wage Jan. 1 from $8.25 to $8.70. The new law will raise the minimum wage by an additional 45 cents, to $9.15, on Jan. 1, 2015, followed by another 45-cent increase, to $9.60, on Jan. 1, 2016, and then a 50-cent increase, to $10.10, effective Jan. 1, 2017.
Two states ”” Washington and Oregon ”” are currently above $9 per hour, topping hourly minimum wages nationally. New York is $8 per hour.
“This legislation is about making sure that people working full time and supporting families aren”™t living in poverty,” Malloy said. “The extra money that these folks earn will put back into our economy and help our communities. I am proud that Connecticut is once again a leader on an issue of national importance.”
“In signing this bill, Governor Malloy positioned Connecticut as a state that is truly committed to its workforce,” said Lt. Gov. Nancy Wyman.
“Three weeks to the day after President Obama”™s visit to New Britain, the Connecticut General Assembly sent a message that it values its hardworking residents,” said state Senate President Donald E. Williams Jr., D-Brooklyn. “The majority of workers earning the minimum wage are men and women who struggle to provide for themselves and their families. Those men and women deserve an honest wage for a hard day”™s work.”
Speaker of the House Brendan Sharkey, D-Hamden, said, “Raising the minimum wage helps people who need it most, is good for our economy and is the right thing to do. This will put a little extra money in the pockets of hardworking families who will spend it in our communities, and I hope other states and Congress will follow our lead.”
