Heather Curtis
WMAL.com
WASHINGTON (WMAL) – It’s a historic day in Montgomery County. Executive Ike Leggett will sign a bill into law that will raise the minimum wage to $15 an hour by 2024.
“This is one of most important pieces of legislation that we’ve passed in my time on the council,” said Montgomery County Council member Marc Elrich who proposed the legislation.
The bill passed unanimously last week will require employers with 51 or more employees to boost the minimum wage to $15 per hour starting July 1, 2021. Businesses with between 11 and 50 employees will have until July 1, 2023 to raise the minimum hourly page for employees, and businesses with 10 or fewer employees will have to pay $15 an hour starting in 2024.
Before last week’s vote, Elrich added raising the minimum wage to $15 an hour brings the county closer to having a wage that allows people to meet their basic needs and achieve a level of independence that isn’t possible with lower wages.
Council member Nancy Navarro said in a county with so much wealth, there are still many people who struggle financially. Despite this, she said the quality of life for all residents remains high.
“We are really a reflection of what you could aspire to be nationally or internationally,” said Navarro.
Council member George Leventhal said he doesn’t take lightly concerns of some employers who say paying their employees more will make it difficult for them to pay their rent and, in some cases, stay in business. He said numbers over the past few years, however, have found that a rising minimum wage hasn’t correlated with a rise in unemployment.
Council member Tom Hucker said contrary to what a lot of people say, the increased minimum wage is good for taxpayers because it will allow more people to support themselves without public assistance. He said studies have shown each minimum wage job costs taxpayers around $9,000.
Hucker added the increased minimum wage is also good for kids because family income is the number one factor affecting how kids do in school.
Monday’s bill signing will happen at Casa. Leggett will sign the bill alongside Berliner, Elrich, minimum wage workers and Casa’s director Gustavo Torres.
Council members are hoping the state legislature will pass a similar bill increasing the state minimum wage to $15 an hour.
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