10-03-2025
Bill to raise North Carolina minimum wage filed by House Democrats
RALEIGH, N.C. (WGHP) — A new bill filed in the North Carolina House of Representatives seeks to raise the minimum wage across the state.
State Representatives Allison Dahl (D-District 11), Aisha Dew (D-District 111), Bryan Cohn (D-District 32) and Marcia Morey (D-District 30) filed House Bill 353 on Monday, entitled the 'Fair Minimum Wage Act.'
The bill seeks to raise the minimum wage across the state to $10 per hour for an hourly wage employee in North Carolina effective Jan. 1, 2026. Every year after that, the minimum wage would raise an additional $2 per hour.
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'Beginning September 30, 2030, and on each September 30 thereafter, the Commissioner of Labor shall calculate an adjusted minimum wage rate indexed to the percentage increase in the Consumer Price Index (All 29 Urban Consumers, U.S. City Average for All Items), CPI-I, or its successor index, as calculated by the U.S. Department of Labor for the 12-month period preceding the previous September 1,' the bill reads. 'Each adjusted minimum wage rate calculated shall be published on September 30 and take effect on the following January 1.'
The bill also addresses wage theft and penalties for employers who do not pay their employees the minimum wage.
'Any employer who violates the provisions of G.S. 95-25.13 or any rule adopted under that section shall be liable to the employee or employees affected in the amount of their actual damages, including, but not limited to, lost wages and benefits plus interest and reasonable attorneys' fees and costs,' the bill states.
North Carolina's current minimum wage is the same as the federal minimum wage, $7.25 an hour, though tipped employees can make less than the minimum wage.
Read the full text of the bill here.
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