CT minimum wage increases to $15 an hour on June 1

HARTFORD, CT (WFSB) - Lawmakers held a news conference on Thursday to remind the public of an upcoming increase to Connecticut’s minimum wage.

The minimum wage will increase to $15 an hour on June 1.

“No one should work a full-time job and live in poverty,” said Gov. Ned Lamont. “For too long, while the nation’s economy grew, the income of the lowest earning workers stayed flat, making existing pay disparities even worse and preventing hardworking families from obtaining financial security. That is why four years ago I signed a law implementing several gradual increases in the minimum wage and then ultimately connecting it to the employment cost index. This is a fair, modest increase, and the money earned will be spent right back into our own economy and support local businesses.”

It was part of a law passed in 2019 that called for the minimum wage to go up five times over five years.

The federal minimum wage was as low as $7.25 an hour.

There were only two places in the United States where minimum wage is higher than $15 an hour: Washington D.C., and Washington State.

With the minimum wage going to $15 an hour, a person working 40 hours a week would make $31,200 a year.

The Economic Policy Institute’s Cost of Living calculator said an adult with no kids must make almost $41,000 a year to have a modest yet adequate standard of living in Hartford.

Connecticut’s minimum wage won’t remain at $15 an hour long.

The law passed in 2019 said the minimum wage would be indexed to the employment cost index beginning next year. That means the minimum wage in Connecticut will automatically adjust to economic indicators starting in January.

Here was the schedule:

• $11.00 on Oct. 1, 2019
• $12.00 on Sept. 1, 2020
• $13.00 on Aug. 1, 2021
• $14.00 on July 1, 2022
• $15.00 on June 1, 2023.

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