(LEX 18) — The minimum wage will increase in nearly half of states this year. But in Kentucky, it will remain the federal set wage of $7.25 an hour and one lawmaker wants to change that.
"It's past time here in Kentucky that we increase the minimum wage," said Sen. Reggie Thomas, (D) Lexington.
"Nobody - nobody - can live off of $7.25 an hour," he added. "That's poverty."
Thomas filed Senate Bill 11, which would incrementally raise the minimum wage to $15.00 an hour and allow local governments to establish minimum wage ordinances in excess of the state minimum wage.
According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, 14,000 workers in Kentucky earned the minimum wage in 2023. Thomas believes working Kentuckians deserve to be able to live off of their wage without needing additional assistance.
"No one should have to work for a living and still need state and federal assistance," Thomas said. "It's time that we get $15 an hour and maybe go beyond that so that working families can have the dignity of working and not needing other assistance."
