At the State House in Annapolis on Monday, Gov. Martin O’Malley into law a measure that will raise the state’s minimum wage to $10.10 per hour. The governor made the wage hike his top legislative priority for his last year in office.
“It is not fair, it is not right, it is not just that people should play by the rules, work 16-hour days and still be raising their children in poverty,” O’Malley said.
O’Malley said the measure will bolster consumer demand by putting more cash into working people’s pockets.
The legislation will phase in the wage hike over the next four years. Minimum wage workers will see their first pay raise in January, when the wage goes up to $8 dollars an hour.
Tipped workers and some amusement park employees won’t see any raises, though. They’re excluded from the wage hike.
At the signing ceremony, O’Malley also signed legislation to expand the state’s Earned Income Tax Credit, which is also designed to help workers.
