Governor Wants to Raise Minimum Wage to $10.10

Gov. Dannel Malloy wants to raise Connecticut's minimum wage to $10.10 over the next three years, he announced during a news conference this afternoon in Bridgeport.

"Full-time workers should not live in poverty. A good and decent wage is good for workers and good for business," Malloy said during his news conference at CTWorks Center.

The announcement comes one week after President Barack Obama called on Congress to increase the minimum wage across the country during his State of the Union Address. The president said he plans to use an executive order to raise the hourly rate for federal contract workers to at least $10.10.

Connecticut's minimum wage is $8.70. It went up from $8.25 on Jan. 1.

The Democratic governor is now proposing to modify next year’s increase to $9.15 on Jan. 1, 2015.  The proposal would then add a 45-cent increase, bringing the rate to $9.60, beginning Jan. 1, 2016, followed by a 50-cent increase to $10.10, effective Jan. 1, 2017.

Malloy, who is expected to run for re-election this year, estimates that 70,000 to 90,000 of the state's 1.7 million workers earn the minimum wage. The proposal would bring the earnings of an employee working 40-hours per week to $21,008 per year. 

The federal poverty guideline for a family of four is $23,850.

In the past, opponents to legislation that raised the state's minimum wage have said it will cripple the state's economy because many businesses are still struggling. 

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