After weeks of speculation, a Senate committee advanced a proposal Monday to increase the state’s minimum wage, potentially setting up another showdown between Gov. Tom Wolf and the members of his own party over whether to compromise on one of their key legislative priorities.
Despite Wolf’s hopes of a $15 an hour minimum wage, the Senate Labor and Industry Committee signed off on a more modest proposal: a minimum wage which rises to $9.50 an hour in 2022. In exchange, Wolf’s office will put on hold a controversial expansion to the state’s overtime law, agreeing to keep it in line with federal regulations until 2023.