VIRGINIA - Legislation to raise the minimum wage in Virginia cleared its first hurdle in the Commonwealth’s Senate this week.
SB 1, which would increase the minimum wage to $13.50 per hour in 2025 and then to $15 in 2026, advanced through the Senate Committee on Commerce and Labor yesterday, January 15th.
The bill will now be considered by the Senate Finance and Appropriations Committee. If approved by that Committee, it will go on to a vote by the full Senate.
“No one should have to choose between putting food on the dinner table and keeping the lights on, but until the minimum wage is increased to at least $15 an hour, that’s what many families in our community are struggling with,” LaTwyla Mathias, Executive Director of Progress Virginia, said. “It is exciting that SB1 has passed today, but we will continue to put pressure on our legislators and, in particular, Governor Youngkin to ensure this bill becomes law. Working families deserve a raise, and we won’t stop fighting until we make that a reality.”
The minimum wage in Virginia is currently $12 an hour, a $1 increase from the previous minimum wage that took effect in 2023.
