LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- A Kentucky lawmaker wants to change the minimum wage in the state, LEX18 reported this week.Â
The federal minimum wage is set at $7.25 an hour, but nearly half the states nationwide will increase the minimum wage this year. But it will remain at $7.25 in Kentucky.
Kentucky state Sen. Reggie Thomas, D-Lexington, filed Senate Bill 11, which would incrementally raise the minimum wage to $15 an hour.Â
"It's past time here in Kentucky that we increase minimum wage," Thomas said.
The bill would also allow local governments to establish minimum wage ordinances in excess of the state minimum wage.
Around 14,000 workers in Kentucky earned minimum wage in 2023, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Thomas believes people should be able to live off their wage without additional assistance.
"No one should have to work for a living and still need state and federal assistance," Thomas said to LEX18. "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."
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