House Passes Minimum Wage Increase

The newly Democratic-controlled House of Representatives passed a bill that would increase the federal minimum wage in three steps over 26 months to $7.25/hour. The bill must still be approved by the Senate and signed by the President before it can become law. (Remember, "I'm just a bill . . ."?), but this looks like it may result in the first hike in the federal minimum wage in nearly 10 years.

As always, business interests are concerned about the impact this will have on labor costs, especially for small "mom and pop" operations.