Recently Raised Minimum Wage: A Cause for Concern

If you are currently a University of Hartford Student getting paid minimum wage or even a minimum wage employee working somewhere else in Connecticut, then you are most likely excited about the fact that starting on October 1st, the minimum wage increased from $10.10 to $11.00.

In a press release by the office of Governor Ned Lamont, Governor Lamont stated that “With this new law, thousands of hardworking women and men – many of whom are supporting families – will get a modest increase that will help lift them out of poverty, combat persistent pay disparities between races and genders, and stimulate our economy. This is a fair, gradual increase for the working women and men who will invest the money right back into our economy and continue supporting local businesses in their communities.” (Connecticut’s Official State Website, 2019)

On September 25th, Lynn Thibodeau published the article, “Minimum Wage Increase,” where she described how the wage increase applies to minimum wage employees at the University of Hartford. In it, she stated that “HRD and Payroll are working together to adjust affected individuals below $11.00 per hour to the mandatory minimum wage rate effective October 1, 2019.” (Thibodeau, 2019)

Another University of Hartford Human Resources representative has also confirmed that this minimum wage requirement applies to all University of Hartford Student workers.
UHart students are fortunate, because some employers from various colleges do not pay their students the minimum wage. According to Mary Retta, students who work for various universities in Massachusetts, Connecticut, New Jersey, Virginia, and other states, get paid less than the $11.00 minimum wage due to a provision in the Federal Fair Labor Standards Act (Retta, 2019).

However, Retta also states that when the administration of a college in New York agreed to raise student wage rates to meet minimum wage, one downfall was that the maximum hours a student could work per week decreased (Retta, 2019).

The state senate law to increase wages should raise some concern to all individuals. The rise of minimum wages is meant to boost the economy, but issues may arise. A spokesman for
Governor Lamont stated that the increase was one of many tough decisions made to balance the budget (WFSB, 2019).

Although minimum wage is increasing and is scheduled to continue to increase one dollar every 11 months until it reaches $15.00 in 2023, expenses are slowly creeping up (WFSB, 2019).
One of these expenses is taking the form of taxes, including the recent increase of sales tax on prepared foods from 6.35 percent to 7.35 percent on October 1st (WSFB, 2019). Digital service tax also increased from 1 percent to 6.35 percent (WFSF, 2019).

Some businesses and stores are having to close down because they cannot manage paying their workers the increased rates. Raff and Lank state that, “after nearly 10 years, a Shop Rite in West Hartford will be closing” (WSFB, 2019).

Yet another unfair aspect of the minimum wage increase is that those who were already paid around $11.00 per hour do not also get a raise in their wages. If minimum wage employees are getting a raise in wages, employees who are already paid $11.00 should get at least a few cents increase in hourly wage as well. Those few cents can matter. It has taken some employees years to raise their salary to just over $11.00, whereas people who have not earned raises are now being paid the same amount as them without those hard-earned raises.

If the expenses in CT are increasing and people need to spend more on what they are already spending, then naturally, other people’s wages, not just of those who are paid minimum wage, should increase. As we adjust to these new laws and changes, we should be on guard to not overspend and to think critically as expenses continue to heighten.

PHOTO CREDIT: WIRED.COM