MoCo Minimum Wage Gets Boost to $15/Hour After Unanimous Vote

Caroline Tucker

WMAL.com

ROCKVILLE – (WMAL) Montgomery County has made history. With a unanimous vote on Tuesday morning, the county is now set to become the first suburban jurisdiction in the country to put a $15 per hour minimum wage in place.

Earlier this year, County Executive Ike Leggett vetoed a similar measure. So the council went back to the drawing board.

In the end, a compromise was reached on just when a raise in the minimum wage should happen and how to implement it.

“Strike the right balance to move this forward on a pace that is right for working people and on a pace that our small businesses can ultimately absorb,” said Council President Roger Berliner.

Under the amended legislation passed today, large employers (51+ employees) will be required to boost the minimum wage to $15 per hour starting July 1, 2021.

Medium-sized businesses (11-50 employees, some non-profits, and service providers) will follow starting July 1, 2023, and small-sized businesses (10 or fewer) will start in 2024.

Council members also added in a cost-of-living adjustment to the bill.

Tuesday afternoon, County Executive Leggett released a statement:

“Montgomery County residents who work hard to support themselves and their families need and deserve yet another increase in the minimum wage. The question over the past year has been how much, within what time period, and how we mitigate possible negative impacts on our small businesses and on youth employment. Good intentions are not enough. That is why I vetoed the bill passed 5-4 by the Council last January.”

“Based on the changes from the original bill, what the County Council approved today is close enough to the conditions I laid down for my support that I will sign the measure into law.”