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June 03, 2021 - Harrisburg, PA

Nearly 300,000 Workers Age 40 and Older Would Get Pay Boost from Minimum Wage Increase

Dispelling the harmful stereotype that hardworking and experienced adults will not benefit from a minimum wage increase, Department of Labor & Industry (L&I) Acting Secretary Jennifer Berrier joined Senator Nikil Saval, a Westmoreland County home health aide and Giant Eagle worker to call on the legislature to raise the wage to $12 an hour with a pathway to $15.

"While we so often hear minimum wage workers portrayed as 'teenage burger flippers,' the reality is more than a quarter of the Pennsylvanians who would benefit from an increase in the minimum wage to $15 an hour are over age 40," said Acting Secretary Berrier. "Despite years of experience, these Pennsylvanians often struggle to afford necessities like food and housing. It's well past time that we pay all hardworking Pennsylvanians a fair, livable wage."

Governor Tom Wolf's proposal to raise the minimum wage to $12 an hour with a pathway to $15 by 2027 will benefit working families, directly raise incomes for more than 1.1 million workers and add $4.4 billion to the state's economy. About 300,000 of these workers are age 40 or older.