Montgomery County Minimum Wage hike expected to pass Tuesday

A bill that would raise Montgomery County’s minimum wage to $15.00 is expected to pass Tuesday, according to sources inside County government.

Council member Marc Elrich (D-At-Large) introduced a bill over the summer that would raise the minimum wage from $11.50 to $15.00.

County Executive Ike Leggett vetoed a previous $15.00 minimum wage bill earlier this year. Leggett disagreed with the timeline for implementation and said the hike could harm small businesses.

Under Elrich’s bill, businesses with at least 26 employees would have until 2020 to raise wages to $15 an hour.  Smaller businesses, nonprofit groups and in-home health care providers would have more time to raise wages— until 2022 — to the proposed $15 level.

Sources say that Elrich has corraled six or more votes to pass the bill.

About the Author

Ryan Miner
Ryan R. Miner, MBA is the founder, editor in chief, and senior reporter of A Miner Detail, the Maryland investigative journalism publication he launched in April 2015. He hosts the A Miner Detail Podcast, distributed across Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and seven other platforms. A native of Hagerstown, Maryland, Miner holds a B.A. in political science from Duquesne University (2008) and an MBA from Mount St. Mary's University (2020). He teaches at Frederick Community College. He is also the founder of Sentinel Silver, LLC, Maryland's first older adult technology institute, and the publisher of The Senior Soup, a Maryland senior advocacy platform. His longer story is at ryanrminer.com. Reach him at Ryan@AMinerDetail.com or (240) 244-7075.