Massachusetts governor to sign bill on $15 minimum wage

Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker (R) will sign a bill on Thursday to gradually increase the state’s minimum wage to $15 an hour by 2023.

The bill will also require paid leave for workers and mandate an annual sales tax holiday in August, The Republican, a newspaper based in Springfield, Mass., reported on Wednesday.

The legislation was pushed as a “grand bargain” compromise to keep a proposed state sales-tax cut off the November ballot, the newspaper reported.

The bill also institutes a paid family leave program, allowing workers up to 12 weeks of paid leave to care for a sick family member or baby and up to 20 weeks for care for their own medical needs.

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The state’s current minimum wage of $11 will gradually raise to $15 by 2023. Tipped workers will also see a minimum wage increase.

An estimated 840,000 workers in the state will see their wages rise, according to The Massachusetts Budget and Policy Center.

Washington, D.C. will reach a $15 minimum wage by 2020 while California’s $15 minimum wage will go into effect in 2022, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures.