RICHMOND, Va.- Democratic legislators reached a compromise on raising the minimum wage for all Virginians and passed an increase to the minimum wage that includes a path to $15 for all.
The final bill will raise the minimum wage to $9.50 in January 2021 and $12 in 2023 with a path to raising the wage to $15 an hour for everyone by 2026.
The bill would raise the minimum wage on the following schedule:
- January 1, 2021 $9.50
- January 1, 2022 $11.00
- January 1, 2023 $12.00
After that there would be a pause in the schedule to study the impact of regionalism and a second vote would have to pass in 2024 before we could raise the minimum wage to $15 by 2026. The bill removes exemptions for:
- Domestic workers (including home health care workers)
- Workers with disabilities
- Piece workers
- Employers with four or fewer employees
The bill keeps in place exemptions for:
- Agricultural workers
- Au pairs
- Participants in work-study programs
- Temporary foreign workers
- Workers with disabilities who are paid pursuant to 29 U.S.C. § 214(c)
The bill adds additional exemptions for:-Certain seasonal workers covered by 29 U.S.C. § 213(a)(3)-Participants in training programs during the first 90 days of employment (paid 75% of Virginia minimum wage)