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January 9, 2016
By Steven Wishnia and Neal Tepel 
Albany, N.Y.- Minimum-wage workers in 14 states got a raise Jan. 1. In 12, the increases came from legislation raising the minimum going into effect.
They include New York, where it rose from $8.75 an hour to $9; Massachusetts, from $9 to $10; and Rhode Island, from $9 to $9.60. Increases enacted by state ballot initiatives in 2014 raised the minimum from $8.75 to $9.75 in Alaska, from $7.50 to $8 in Arkansas, and from $8 to $9 in Nebraska. Cost-of-living increases raised Colorado’s minimum by 8¢, to $8.31, and South Dakota’s by 5¢, to $8.55. Later this year, Maryland’s minimum will go from $8.25 to $8.75, and Washington, DC’s will rise from $10.50 to $11.50 on July 1, higher than any state minimum. Five states, all in the South—Alabama, Louisiana, Mississippi, South Carolina, and Tennessee—have no state minimum wage, and Georgia and Wyoming set theirs below the federal minimum of $7.25 an hour. Read more
