A workforce shortage and low wages have created a crisis for those who need help from direct care workers. On Monday, some workers made their case for a pay hike to the Legislature’s Health and Human Services Committee.
minimum wage
Posted inBusiness, Nation & World
Biden signs $15 minimum wage for federal contract workers
The increase could be dramatic for workers who earn the current minimum of $10.95 an hour.
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Posted inBusiness, Nation & World, News, Politics
Minimum wage increase must be stripped from COVID relief bill, Senate arbiter decides
The proposal would gradually raise the federal minimum wage to $15 over 5 years, well over the $7.25 in effect since 2009.
Posted inBusiness, Local & State
Portland businesses struggle to keep up with new $18 hazard pay
Some have cut hours and laid off staff. Others have raised prices. Many say the situation isn’t sustainable.
Posted inMaine Voices, Op-Eds, Opinion
Maine Voices: Government by referendum is almost always a bad idea
Approval of Portland’s rent-control and minimum-wage proposals shows what happens when the public decides issues without asking many hard questions.
Posted inOp-Eds, Opinion
Commentary: I’m young and Black. Barack Obama is not my hero
His politics have always been those of a cautious centrist.
Posted inBusiness, Local & State
Some employers plan to pay Portland’s new hazard wage
City Hall has said it will not enforce a new $18 emergency minimum wage until 2022, but businesses fear a delay would leave them open to lawsuits.
Posted inBusiness, Local & State
Portland chamber says minimum wage increase could devastate businesses
Proponents say the increase to $15 by 2024 will help women and people of color, but many employers are concerned that a hazard pay provision requiring time-and-a-half pay during a declared emergency will put them out of business.
Posted inOp-Eds, Opinion
Maine Compass: Overtime abuses fuel a race to the bottom
Employers can be competitive without exploiting their workforce, a local businessman writes.
Posted inOp-Eds, Opinion
Scholars Strategy Network: Getting by with less and less
Inflation inequality means that policymakers likely underestimate the number of people living in poverty.