D.C. Council Committee Backs Minimum Wage Hike
WASHINGTON (AP) -- A D.C. Council committee has unanimously approved a bill that would raise the city's minimum wage to $11.50 an hour, one of the nation's highest, by 2015.
The committee voted 6-0 Monday to send the bill to the full council, which could take the first of two votes as early as December.
Councilmember Vincent Orange says he believes he has a veto-proof majority of nine of the 13 councilmembers backing his minimum wage proposal.
Mayor Vincent Gray has told the council he would support increasing the minimum wage to $10 an hour from its current $8.25. He's concerned that a larger increase would hurt the job market, and he's planning to hire a consultant to study the issue.
San Francisco has the nation's highest minimum wage at $10.74 an hour.
(Copyright 2013 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
