Connecticut has become the first state in the nation to pass a bill that hikes the minimum wage to $10.10 an hour — the same level touted by President Obama as his wish for federal law.
Gov. Dannel P. Malloy is expected to sign the piece of legislation into law on Thursday, NBC reported. Symbolically, he’s going to sign it in the same jurisdiction Mr. Obama stopped in to campaign for a national minimum wage of $10.10 per hour, in New Britain.
The bill sped through the House and Senate on Wednesday.
And while Republicans criticized the measure, saying small business owners would be financially hurt, Democrats and Mr. Obama applauded.
“Today, the Connecticut legislature took an important step towards … giving more Connecticut workers the raise they deserve,” Mr. Obama said in a statement on Wednesday night reported by NBC.
A handful of other states — Maryland, Massachusetts and Hawaii, to name a few — are mulling similar minimum wage increases.
• Cheryl K. Chumley can be reached at cchumley@washingtontimes.com.
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