Around New England

Massachusetts Minimum Wage Increasing Again in 2020

December 26, 2019

At the start of the new year, minimum wage workers in Massachusetts will see a slight pay raise.

In June 2018, Massachusetts Governor Charlie Baker signed legislation that is set to raise the statewide minimum wage to $15 an hour by 2023 for non-tipped workers and $6.75 hourly for tipped workers. As a result, the statewide minimum hourly wage for non-tipped workers increased to $12 in 2019 from $11 in 2018. For tipped workers, it increased from $3.75 to $4.35 hourly.

In 2020, the Massachusetts minimum wage for non-tipped workers will be $12.75 an hour. For tipped workers, it will rise to $4.95 an hour from $4.35.

The change will be official as of January 1, 2020. Massachusetts is one of 21 states set to increase its minimum wage on that day, according to MassLive.com.

Changes to minimum wage laws benefit some workers, but not others. Analysis from the Congressional Budget Office earlier this year revealed that if the federal minimum wage increased to $15 an hour, it would result in 1.3 million jobs lost. As a result, all of those workers would fall below the poverty line.

The current federal minimum wage for non-tipped workers is $7.25 an hour. It has not changed since 2009. For tipped workers, it is $2.13 an hour, as it has been since 1991, according to the Economic Policy Institute.

Currently, New Hampshire is the only New England state with a $7.25 hourly minimum wage for non-tipped workers.

New Hampshire Governor Chris Sununu vetoed a proposal in August to raise their state’s minimum wage to $10 an hour in 2020 and $12 an hour in 2022, according to New Hampshire Public Radio.