LANSING (WTVB) – Minimum wage hikes took effect in many states across the nation this past week, although the minimum wage in Branch County and across Michigan already increased in 2014. Michigan’s minimum wage was boosted from $7.40 to $8.15 an hour on September 1, 2014. It’s locked in to increase to $8.50 next year, $8.90 in 2017 and then $9.25 for 2018.
The start of 2015 finds workers in a total of 29 states and the District of Columbia now being be paid more than the federal minimum wage of $7.25 an hour. The increases range anywhere from a few pennies up to $1.25 an hour. About 3 million workers will receive a pay bump under the new laws.
