Maryland Considers Minimum Wage Increase, How Will Small Businesses Fare?

The Maryland General Assembly voted Wednesday to approve a state $15 minimum wage, sending the bill to GOP Gov. Larry Hogan’s desk for final approval, The Baltimore Sun reports. Hogan has opposed raising the current $10.10 minimum wage by a nearly 50 percent increase. The bill passed Maryland’s legislature with enough votes to overcome an executive veto, all but ensuring the bill’s eventual implementation. The bill would raise the state’s minimum wage to $15 an hour incrementally by Jan. 1, 2025, for employers with 15 or more workers. All other employers will have until July 1, 2026, before seeing the law’s full effect.