Connecticut officially raised its minimum wage to $10.10, making it the highest minimum hourly rate in the United States.
According to Reuters, Governor Dannel Malloy signed the law to help with President Obama’s push for a nationwide change in pay for base-level work.
“This is just a step in moving people in the right direction,” Malloy said at the signing. “We will be lifting people out of poverty in the state of Connecticut. Increasing the minimum wage is not just good for workers, it’s also good for business.”
The Wire reports that the wage will be increasing in increment of about 45 to 50 cents a year until it reaches $10.10 in January 2017.
Those who are reportedly against the raise in minimum wage come from those who believe the raise in pay will damage smaller businesses. This isn’t, however, the highest Connecticut minimum wage has ever been. Back in 1968, minimum wage workers were paid $10.78 an hour for their jobs.