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Baltimore's Mayor Vetoes $15/Hour Minimum Wage Bill


Last Friday, in a somewhat surprising move, the Mayor of Baltimore vetoed a bill which would have raised the minimum wage rate in the city to $15/hour.  Currently, the minimum wage in the state of Maryland is $8.75/hour with a mandated hike to $9.25/hour coming in July and another hike to $10.10/hour coming next year. Under this proposed measure, employers with 50 or more employees in Baltimore would have been required to raise wages to $15/hour by 2022; employers with fewer than 50 employees would have been required to meet that pay threshold by 2026.

The Mayor, Catherine Pugh, noted that she vetoed the bill in part because of concern that a $15/hour wage rate in the city would disadvantage businesses and hourly workers.  Given that surrounding cities and states would have lower wage rates (in comparison to the proposed $15/hour wage rate), the Mayor expressed concern that employers in Baltimore would leave and take jobs elsewhere.  It is interesting to note, however, that Mayor Pugh is a Democrat yet she still vetoed this bill.  Given that Democrats have traditionally been the party that advocates for higher wage rates, Mayor Pugh's opposition to the bill is somewhat of an eye brow raising situation.

The bill, which had been approved by an 11 - 3 vote by the Baltimore City Council, now faces an uncertain future.  To overcome the Mayor's veto, 12 votes in favor of the bill would be required.  However, at this time, it does not appear that 12 City Council members would actually vote in favor of the bill (and take the somewhat unprecedented step of overriding the veto).  I will still say to stay tuned..but for those hoping for a minimum wage hike in Baltimore (beyond what is mandated statewide), I do not think this bill has much of a likelihood of becoming a reality at this point.



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