January 15, 2021 | less than a minute read

Biden Stimulus Plan Includes Doubling Minimum Wage

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Peter Spanos

Partner

Get in touch

Peter Spanos

Partner

President-elect Joe Biden declared his intention to seek an increase in the federal minimum wage to $15 per hour as one of many significant changes to labor and employment laws and regulations included in his campaign promises. The process of fulfilling those declared objectives has begun, with the inclusion of a $15 per hour federal minimum wage in the pandemic relief bill. More than doubling the current federal minimum wage early in 2121 will no doubt affect many businesses, but as part of the pandemic relief stimulus plan this may become law.

Incoming President Joe Biden will seek to increase the federal minimum wage to $15 an hour as part of his $1.9 trillion pandemic relief bill, a move that could complicate its passage through the closely divided U.S. Senate. The measure was included in an outline of the legislation released by the president-elect’s economic team on Thursday. Biden had previously said he would make increasing the minimum wage -- currently $7.25 an hour -- an early priority, but he hadn’t specified that it would form part of the stimulus bill.