MONTPELIER, Vt. (AP) - The Vermont House is slated to take final action on a bill that would make the state the first in the country to cross the $10 mark in its minimum wage.
A bill given preliminary House approval on Tuesday would boost the wage to $10.10 in January. Two other states - Connecticut and Maryland - plan to get to that level by 2017, and that’s when Gov. Peter Shumlin wants Vermont to do so.
Supporters of moving the wage to $10.10 sooner say the purchasing power of low-income working Vermonters has been severely eroded in recent years and they need a significant boost soon.
Critics of jumping in one step to $10.10 say small businesses need more time to adjust, and it would be better to phase the increase in.
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