Hobby Lobby Stores Inc. is boosting its minimum wage to $18.50 starting Jan. 1.
The privately held craft-store chain operates 956 stores and has paid employees an hourly rate above the minimum wage since 2009, the company said in a statement. It boosted pay to $15 an hour in 2014, far earlier than many other retailers. While the federal minimum wage has been $7.25 an hour since 2009, many companies — including Walmart, Target, Best Buy, and Chipotle Mexican Grill — have boosted starting or average hourly pay to $15 or more in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic and its economic fallout.
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Known for its religious roots, Hobby Lobby touts its benefits for workers — but has also made news for those it doesn’t support, like contraception. In 2014, the company won a Supreme Court case allowing for-profit corporations to invoke religious liberty to avoid compliance with the contraception-coverage mandate under the Affordable Care Act. In August of this year, a state appellate court ruled against Hobby Lobby, saying it violated Illinois anti-bias law by denying a transgender woman employee access to the women’s bathroom.
Hobby Lobby has 43,000 employees and operates in 47 states, according to its website.
Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Thursday accused the TMC of making false claims that the BJP would stop consumption of meat and fish if it wins the assembly polls in West Bengal. Addres...