The minimum wage has long been a source of debate among workers, business owners and governments. In the last few years, some cities and states have raised their minimum wage to $15 an hour—a number that inmany places still isn’t enough for people to get by, researchers say.
Before the fight for $15, cities had living wage ordinances. Rather than increasing pay for everyone, these ordinances only do so for certain workers, typically those at businesses that contract with or receive assistance from local government.
Burlington, Vermont, adopted a living wage ordinance in 2001 as part of a wave of cities taking that action. The ordinance in Vermont’s most populous city applies to any employer that gets paid at least $15,000 by the local government over a one-year period.
"It is definitely more palatable politically because you're dealing with a smaller pool of people who interact with the city government," said Dan Richardson, city attorney for Burlington. "It's a self-selecting pool. If you don't want to be covered by the living wage, then don't accept money from the city."
Living wage ordinances exist around the country, from Chicago to New Orleans to St. Petersburg, Florida. Their narrow scope means they don't significantly impact the local economies that implement them, researchers said, but they have benefits for both the workers and their employers. Living wage ordinances' biggest impact, they said, may be on current efforts to raise the minimum wage for everyone.
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