SF3852 requires small and large businesses to pay their employees the same minimum wage, eliminates exceptions for minors and J-1 visa workers, and stipulates an annual increase by the lesser of 5 percent (previously 2.5) or the inflation-rate percentage.
The Senate passed SF3852 on May 13, 2024, by a vote of 34 to 33. We have assigned pluses to the nays because minimum-wage laws are anti-constitutional, discriminatory acts of government theft. They forcibly deny the property rights of both employers and employees by violating their freedom of association, preventing individuals from entering into contracts voluntarily according to their own terms. As dishonest and manipulative tactics to control labor in the economy, minimum-wage laws create an unequal balance of wealth confiscation and redistribution, hindering the best workers from getting the best jobs at the best prices.
