Two states and Washington, D.C., will vote on ballot measures pertaining to the minimum wage in this year’s midterm elections.
Currently, the federal minimum wage sits at $7.25 per hour, but over the years, many states have raised that figure through legislation or referendums — some by a significant margin. Raising the minimum wage has proved popular in both blue and red states.
This year, voters in Nebraska, Nevada, and the district will vote on measures that would, if enacted, increase the minimum wages of residents.
Nebraska
In Nebraska, voters will decide whether to approve Initiative 433, which would incrementally increase the minimum wage in the Cornhusker State from its current $9-per-hour level to $15 over the next four years.
Should it pass, it would increase the hourly minimum wage as follows:
- $10.50 on Jan. 1, 2023
- $12.00 on Jan. 1, 2024
- $13.50 on Jan. 1, 2025
- $15.00 on Jan. 1, 2026
The last time voters approved a minimum wage increase in Nebraska was during the 2014 midterm elections, which raised hourly pay to $9 by 2016. That measure passed with about 60% of voters agreeing to the hike.
Nevada
Nevadans will mull Question 2 on the ballot come Nov. 8. The ballot provision would raise the minimum wage in the Silver State to $12 per hour by July 2024. It would also match the state’s minimum wage to the federal minimum wage, should the federal minimum wage increase beyond $12 per hour.
The ballot provision also ends the current system of marrying increases in the minimum wage to inflation.
Nevada’s current minimum wage is $9.50 per hour if an employer offers health benefits and $10.50 per hour if the employer does not. The vast majority of people already earn above the minimum wage, with just 0.9% getting paid at or below the threshold, according to the Las Vegas Review-Journal.
Washington, D.C.
Residents in the District of Columbia will also get a say in the minimum wage debate, although it won’t pertain to all workers. Voters will decide on Initiative 82, which would significantly raise the minimum wage for tipped workers.
Employers are allowed to pay tipped workers, for example, servers, below minimum wage to a floor of some $5 per hour if those workers’ hourly wage plus tips clocks in above the district’s regular minimum wage of $16.10.
Should the initiative pass, employers would be forced to pay $16.10 to tipped employees by 2027. The move is sure to encounter legal obstacles, though. In 2018, voters approved a similar proposal, although it was ultimately overturned by the City Council.
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Proponents argue that, given high inflation and the soaring cost of living in Washington, workers would benefit from the increased and more stable wages, although critics have pointed out that the burden of paying workers that much more could end up causing restaurants to close and workers to be cut.
