Minimum wage

When Republicans talk about low-wage workers, they use the language of bigots. Republicans call fast food cashiers, home health aides and hotel maids stupid and unskilled and lazy.

Seattle Mayor Ed Murray on Thursday proposed a phased-in increase of the minimum wage to $15 an hour over the next seven years - a compromise endorsed by both business and labor that would make the city's pay baseline the highest in the nation.

The Senate filibustered a vote on gradually raising the minimum wage to $10.10 over the course of the next couple years. Obama was none to pleased, and laid in to his GOP colleagues at a press conference Wednesday.

Minnesota Governor Mark Dayton signed into law a bill that raises the state's minimum wage to $9.50 an hour over two years. The new law then allows the minimum wage to go up based upon inflation. "Our fight is more than raising the minimum wage, we're fighting to raise up people," said one of the bill's authors, Sen. Jeff Hayden.

The Minnesota Senate has passed a bill that would boost the minimum wage in the state – to $9.50 an hour for employees in larger businesses, and to $7.75 for smaller ones. Though still not quite a living wage, it's at least a step in the right direction.

For the first time, the U.S. Labor Department has gotten involved in a high-profile lawsuit brought by unpaid interns. On Friday, the federal agency filed an amicus brief in support of eight former interns suing Hearst Corporation for back wages.

Connecticut lawmakers Wednesday approved raising the minimum wage to $10.10 an hour by 2017, the highest for any state in the country and the same rate that President Barack Obama wants for the federal minimum wage.

Like many places across the country, there is mismatch between the average rent and a worker's income in the Green Mountain State. You might not be surprised to learn that a recent report demonstrates, once again, that Vermont is one of the hardest places to afford housing. Without rent control in place, some legislators are looking at a minimum wage increase and sick leave guarantees to help balance the equation.

President Obama highlights the importance of making sure our economy rewards the hard work of every American — including America's women. The President again calls for Congress to ensure that women earn equal pay for equal work and increase the minimum wage to $10.10, which would give nearly 28 million Americans the raise they deserve. He underscores his belief that providing opportunity for working women and families is the right thing to do for our economy, because when women succeed, America succeeds.

The Huffington Post reports that the state of New York has reached an agreement with the owner of seven Manhattan McDonald’s locations that will result in 1,600 current and former employees receiving a combined $500,000 in back pay. An investigation by the Labor Bureau found that workers were not properly compensated for uniform costs, did not receive overtime for shifts lasting more than 10 hours, and were routinely forced to perform duties off the clock.