LOS ANGELES - Hundreds of new laws are going into effect that Americans should be aware of in 2022.
Public health and financial security were major concerns amid the coronavirus pandemic. In many states, new legislation focused on minimum wage increases, as well as law enforcement reform.
The federal minimum wage remains at $7.25 an hour, a rate that applies in states without their own minimum wage laws.
Starting on Jan. 1, Arizona’s minimum wage will increase from $12.15 an hour to $12.80 an hour under a law approved by the state’s voters in 2016 that gradually increases the bottom rate employers are allowed to pay.
The increase in 2022 is the second since the phased-in wage boosts hit $12 an hour and automatic increases based on the cost of living increases kicked in.
Arizona’s minimum wage was just $8.05 an hour when groups that advocate for low-income workers collected enough signatures to put a ballot measure boosting the lowest wages on the ballot. The measure was opposed by Republican Gov. Doug Ducey and business groups like the Arizona Chamber of Commerce and Industry. They argued it would hurt the state’s economy but that that did not happen. Instead, Arizona’s economy has soared.
But a majority of voters approved Proposition 208 by a 58% to 41% vote in November 2016. Wages went to $10 an hour the following year and have increased every year since. The measure also guaranteed paid sick time.
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