CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Mecklenburg County leaders raised the minimum wage for its full-time employees to $15 an hour Tuesday night, which had workers outside of the government agency hoping for a raise as well.
[New South Carolina bill would raise minimum wage by $3 in 3 years]
Many of the 89 government employees work for the county library, parks and rec, Department of Social Services and the Sheriff’s Office.
However, county commissioners do not have the power to raise the minimum wage for everyone else. Only the state can do that.
North Carolina is not a home-rule state, which means local counties and cities only have the power granted to them by the General Assembly.
Last year, North Carolina lawmakers approved a minimum wage increase to $15 an hour for state workers, which also only affects government employees.
Twenty-nine states and Washington, D.C., have passed minimum wage higher than the federal wages of $7.25.
The Carolinas have not done that.
Across the country, Pew Research said 52 percent of people favor increasing the federal minimum wage to $15.
That topic is extremely partisan and because of that, the minimum wage has not increased since 2009.
If it was based on inflation, some economists estimate the wage would have risen to about $12 an hour.
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