CHARLESTON, W.Va. – The state's new minimum wage law is not the mess it's been called, according to a new legal analysis.

Opponents of West Virginia boosting its minimum wage say the bill just passed by lawmakers would be expensive and complicated for employers.

But according to Tsedeye Gebreselassie, an attorney at the National Employment Law Project, that's a big exaggeration.

She says along with the new wage, it would mean more workers would receive other benefits, such as overtime protections.

She also says it isn't an unintended paperwork nightmare – just a one-time adjustment.

"All this law does is increase the minimum wage and then make sure that workers are actually covered by the new wage rate,” Gebreselassie explains. “Yes, employers will have to adjust, but that's just what happens when you update minimum-wage laws."

The law awaiting Gov. Earl Ray Tomblin's signature passed the Legislature with overwhelming support and is popular with the public.

It would increase the minimum wage by a $1.50 over two years.

Legislative leaders have written to the governor, saying if technical corrections are needed they can be easily handled in a special session.

And Gebreselassie says the law's critics are incorrect about some things.

For example, she says firefighters would still be exempt from overtime rules.

She adds the new law ends a quirk in the legal code that left West Virginia as the only state that exempts most employers from state wage and hour rules.

"Unlike all other states, West Virginia's state minimum wage law actually doesn't cover most employers, which is a strange anomaly,” she points out. “This is a fix to it, so that more employers and their workers will actually benefit when you raise the minimum wage."

Gebreselassie says that legal quirk didn't matter as much when the state's minimum wage was the same as the federal minimum wage.

Now that the state wage is increasing, she explains the legal code needs an update.

Gebreselassie says 22 states now exceed the federal minimum wage, and they are finding broader overtime protections are a good idea, and good for the economy.

"Both to prevent overwork, to make sure that workers don't work crazy hour weeks,” she explains. “And then also, to spread work out to more workers, which actually has the effect of increasing employment."





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Low-wage workers in Pennsylvania haven't seen a minimum-wage increase in more than a decade, but a new bill with bipartisan support would change that.

The Raise the Wage Act of 2025, introduced in both chambers of Congress on April 8, aims to gradually raise the federal minimum wage from $7.25 to $17 per hour by 2030.

Andrea Grove, owner of Elementary Coffee Co. in Harrisburg, said the change would lead to bigger paychecks and boost the economy.

"There has been a lot of movement, a lot of momentum, a lot of bills presented to hopefully get the minimum wage increased, even just incrementally," she said, "and I would really love to see this actually go through this time."

An analysis by the Economic Policy Institute finds that increasing the federal minimum wage to $17 per hour by 2030 would affect one million workers in Pennsylvania and more than 22 million workers nationwide.

Grove said she works with a lot of small and micro-businesses, with most already paying more than the federal minimum wage. She said the minimum wage remaining low results in employers paying less.

"Nine dollars an hour isn't even very good for minimum wage at this point in time," she said, "and if you look at the increase in rising costs and just what it takes for just to live, that's not keeping up, and that's not keeping pace with what just the average person needs to work a 40 hour work week and be able to provide for themselves."

The Pennsylvania House already passed House Bill 1500, which would raise the state's minimum wage to $15 per hour by 2026. The idea has bipartisan support but the Senate has not yet acted on a similar bill.

Nebraska lawmakers have reached a compromise on a measure to roll back a minimum wage increase but labor group advocates said the deal goes against the will of voters.

Nebraskans approved a measure in 2022 to incrementally raise the minimum wage from $9 an hour to $15 by the beginning of 2026. But Legislative Bill 258, sponsored by longtime grocery store chain owner, Sen. Jane Raybould, D-Lincoln, would reduce the increases to fall below the cost of living.

Now, lawmakers have reached a percentage-based compromise, which still limits wage increases.

Jodi Lepaopao, field director for the advocacy group Nebraska Appleseed, said the deal falls short of what Nebraskans voted for three years ago.

"We are a thumbs down on the compromise," Lepaopao stressed. "We want to be sure that we are upholding the will of the voters and the legislature does that."

Supporters of the compromise said it minimizes financial risk over time and offer as evidence data from the Midwest Bureau of Labor Statistics showing a fixed annual increase would be superior to tying increases to annual cost of living adjustments, which is the approach the current takes.

Lepaopao added the 2022 voter-approved measure was designed to help Nebraskans who most need the wage increase.

"This was to ensure that they were able to continue to meet their needs as costs continue to rise," Lepaopao explained. "This was for the rural workers in smaller communities so they don't lose their purchasing power."

The bill would also create a minimum a $13.50 hourly wage for 14- and 15-year-olds.


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Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s decision to cut a cut a majority of jobs at the federal agency responsible for worker health and safety is seen as a direct attack on Kentucky workers by labor unions in the state.

The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health could be trimmed from around 1,400 employees to fewer than 150. At the state level, House Bill 398 would also have dismantled Kentucky's worker protection standards and requirements.

Dustin Reinstedler, president of the Kentucky AFL-CIO, said similar proposals down the road are now more concerning.

"To think that Kentucky was supposed to fall back on the federal OSHA guidelines, and to think that it's under attack now, it's pretty alarming," Reinstedler stressed.

The federal cuts are expected to include the agency's 9/11 firefighter program, also known as the World Trade Center Health Program. The American Industrial Hygiene Association, the AFL-CIO and Laborers' International Union of North America have all launched campaigns to urge the feds to restore the agency's staff and funding.

The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health is part of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Reinstedler explained Kentucky relies on its data, research and recommendations to protect workers. He cited personal protective equipment, respirators, and HEPA vacuum systems as standards the agency set to protect workers from silica exposure.

"Myself, as a bricklayer, any time that you're cutting masonry or anything, or cutting concrete, you're throwing up silica into the air," Reinstedler pointed out. "There are guidelines against that."

National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health scientists also study Black Lung disease, which affects an estimated 20% of coal miners in Central Appalachia. The agency's mine safety research is regularly used by coal country's key regulatory agency, the Mine Safety and Health Administration.


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