'Plan B' for $15 minimum wage unveiled
By Alexander Bolton - 02/26/21 10:12 AM EST Senate Finance Committee Chairman Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) on Friday announced Democrats’ “Plan B†to raise the minimum wage after the Senate parliamentarian ruled that an earlier proposal from House Democrats to raise the federal minimum wage $15 an hour did not meet special budgetary rules.
Wyden is proposing a work-around solution that would impose a five-percent tax penalty on large corporations if any of their workers earn less than a certain amount, with the penalty increasing over time.
The language would ensure that large companies would have a significant financial incentive to raise wages, even if they are not mandated by law to pay employees more than the current federal minimum wage of $7.25 an hour.
“As chair of the Finance Committee, I’ve been working on a ‘plan B’ that would make big companies pay for mistreating their workers. My plan would impose a 5 percent penalty on a big corporations’ total payroll if any workers earn less than a certain amount. That penalty would increase over time,†Wyden said in a statement.
Wyden said his plan would include safeguards to prevent companies from evading the penalty by outsourcing jobs.
more
https://thehill.com/homenews/senate/540668-plan-b-for-15-minimum-wage-unveiled
