On Friday, President Bush signed the Iraq war spending bill that included language that will increase the federal minimum wage for the first time in a decade.
Title VIII - Fair Minimum Wage and Tax Relief, from the new law, will increase the minimum wage to $7.25 an hour from $5.15 in three stages over two years. The increases will be done in three phases of 70 cents more an hour. The first increase will bring the minimum wage up to $5.85 an hour, 60 days after signing. The other increases will follow a year apart and will be completed by the summer of 2009.
On Friday, Senator Edward M. Kennedy, Chairman of the Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, released the following statement in response to the President signing the minimum wage increase into law.
"While I know that many Americans are deeply troubled about the bill the President has signed today, there is one thing in this legislation that we can all celebrate – a long-overdue increase in the minimum wage. Minimum wage workers have been waiting for this raise for ten long and difficult years. They have worked more than one job. They have saved every penny they can for the future of their children. They have decided each day what food they can afford to buy and what bills they can afford pay. Today, these hardworking Americans have hope for a brighter future. And we are one step closer to becoming the America we want to be – where anyone who works hard and plays by the rules can build a better life for their family."
Please head over to gneil.com to see what that means for federal labor law posting requirements or read our Federal Minimum Wage Increase Q & A and learn more.
President Signs War Spending Bill - Increases Federal Minimum Wage
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