From the State Capitol: We talk with Tanya Dawood, the Vice President and General Counsel for the Illinois Retail Merchants Association on the House passing a bill that would raise the minimum wage to $15 and hour in stages. We also talk to her about the proposed “Right to Know” bill that would require people visiting websites be informed about the information being gathered about them.
On Tuesday, the Illinois House passed a bill that would raise the minimum wage over a 5 year period. This increase is opposed by every major business group, including the NFIB and the State Chamber of Commerce. Opponents note a full-time worker would work approximately 2000 hours a year, and so every dollar of increase raises the cost of payroll by $2000 annually. With an increase of nearly $7 over a five year period, that would mean each full-time employee would increase the labor cost to a business by $14,000 a year, by the time the minimum wage hits the $15/hour level.
Those supporting the increase say that if someone works full time, they should be able to support themselves, and that a minimum wage of $8.25 is too low to live on without using social services, such as Food Stamps, or subsidized housing.
It is expected that if this bill were to pass the Senate, the Governor would veto the increase.
