Vote Smart's Synopsis:

Vote to pass a bill that increases the state minimum wage based on county size in Pennsylvania.

Highlights:

• Requires the base wage for employees who make tips to be at least 60% of the minimum wage (Sec. 3).

• Increases the minimum wage for employees in a county of the first class to $15 per hour beginning on January 1, 2026 (Sec. 4).

• Requires an annual cost-of-living adjustment to the minimum wage in counties of the first class beginning January 1, 2029, that is calculated using the percentage change in the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U) for Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Delaware, and Maryland (Sec. 4).

• Increases the minimum wage for counties of the second, third, fourth (if population is between 157,159-159,000 or 168,250-168,400), and sixth (if population is between 57,000-59,000) class to the following totals (Sec. 4):

• $12 per hour beginning January 1, 2026;

• $13 per hour beginning January 1, 2027;

• $15 per hour beginning January 1, 2028; and

• An annual rate based on percentage change in the CPI-U for Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Delaware, and Maryland beginning January 1, 2029.

• Increases the minimum wage for counties of the fourth (if population is not between the previously stated figures), fifth, sixth (if population is not between the previously stated figures), seventh, or eighth class to the following totals (Sec. 4):

• $10 per hour beginning January 1, 2026;

• $11 per hour beginning January 1, 2027;

• $12 per hour beginning January 1, 2028; and

• An annual rate based on percentage change in the CPI-U for Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Delaware, and Maryland beginning January 1, 2029.

• Repeals minimum wage exemptions for employers of businesses with 10 or less full-time employees (Sec. 5).

Full Bill Text