Massachusetts Senate Passes Minimum Wage Increase

The Massachusetts State Senate voted Tuesday to approve raising the state’s minimum wage to $11 an hour over the next three years. The bill also increases wages to 50 percent of the minimum wage for tipped workers and includes a provision to tie future increases to the Consumer Price Index.

In a statement released Tuesday night, Senator Ken Donnelly (D-Arlington) said the increase is a long time coming.

“This wage increase is long overdue for all of the employees in the Commonwealth who are working full time on a minimum wage and still unable to provide for themselves and their families,” Donnelly said in the statement. “Ensuring our residents are able to earn a living wage will stimulate our economy while supporting hardworking employees as well as businesses.”

The language in the senate version of the bill would raise the minimum wage over the course of three years starting with an increase of $8 to $9 on July 1, 2014. It would increase again to $10 on July 1, 2015 and then to $11 an hour on July 1, 2016.