Hawaii considers raising hourly minimum wage by $1.25

Hawaii lawmakers are considering raising the state’s minimum wage to $8.50 an hour. Senate Bill 2244, introduced by Senate leadership on Jan. 21, proposes to increase the wage from $7.25 effective July 1. The increase would end Jan. 1, 2012, but the bill also calls for adjustments from that time on “in accordance with the consumer price index.”

The Senate Labor Committee held a hearing on the bill on Feb. 9 and recommended that it be passed with amendments. It now goes to the Senate Ways and Means Committee for its approval. Hawaii’s minimum wage has been increased twice in the past four years. It is one of more than two dozen states to have the same minimum wage as the federal level. The minimum wage in California and Massachusetts is $8 per hour, while Connecticut and the District of Columbia set their rates at $8.25.

Washington State has the highest minimum wage, at $8.55, according to the U.S. Department of Labor, while Tennessee, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama and South Carolina have no minimum wage law. Five states and Puerto Rico have minimum wages lower than the federal rate.