Howard County Chamber of Commerce has yet to take an official position on adjustment to local minimum wage, but has major concerns as to the impact on small employers

From the Howard County Chamber of Commerce via email blast:

Howard County Council Considers Adjustment to Local Minimum Wage

Earlier this week, Councilmembers Opel Jones and Christiana Rigby introduced “late-filed” legislation that would increase the local minimum wage. While the bill did not pass under a motion to “Suspend the Rules to Allow Introduction,” the bill (CB 82, the original bill was CB 81) has since been “pre-filed” and will be introduced at the Council Legislative Session on November 1, 2021. Public testimony will be accepted at a public hearing on Monday, November 15, 2021. The legislation will be up for a vote at the Council Legislative Session on Monday, December 6, 2021.

Employers will recall that the state minimum wage is currently $11.60 for employers with 14 or fewer employees, and $11.75 for employers of 15 or more employees. This is part of an overall transition to $15 by 2024. In the Jones/Rigby proposal, the County wage would increase to $16 for large employers in 2025 and 2026 for small employers, respectively. The bill also calls for the minimum wage to be reviewed every four years with the election of a new county council whereby based upon a number of factors, they will determine whether or not to adjust the wage further.

The Chamber has yet to take an official position, but has major concerns as to the impact on small employers. If you have an opinion where for or against, please email Leonardo McClarty at [email protected].

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You can find additional details here:

Councilmembers Again Propose Minimum Wage Legislation in Howard County To Raise it from $11.75 to $16 over the next several years

Howard County legislation that would raise the minimum wage to $16 per hour in the future fails to move forward on October 4th

Scott E