Hawley Targets Billion-Dollar Corporations in Proposal on $15 Minimum Wage Hike

Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) is announcing a plan requiring large corporations to pay their employees at least $15 per hour.

Hawley’s legislation targets companies with revenues of $1 billion or more and requires the minimum wage for billion-dollar corporations to be indexed to the federal median wage after 2025.

“For decades, the wages of everyday, working Americans have remained stagnate while monopoly corporations have consolidated industry after industry, securing record profits for CEOs and investment bankers,” Hawley said in a statement.

He continued, “Mega-corporations can afford to pay their workers $15 an hour, and it’s long past time they do so, but this should not come at the expense of small businesses already struggling to make it.”

Hawley noted employees at small businesses would benefit from his previously introduce Blue Collar Bonus.

The legislation would give small business workers making below the median wage a bonus through an automatic, advanceable tax credit connected to hours worked.

“Wages for blue-collar workers have been stagnant for decades. And government made the problem worse by shutting down the economy a year ago. It’s time we give blue-collar workers some respect and a pay raise,” Hawley said.

He added, “This plan would deliver meaningful relief for families and working Americans through higher pay while incentivizing and promoting work.”

Senate Finance Committee Chairman Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) similarly