Millions of American workers will see pay raises in the new year due to minimum wage increases in 20 states and 21 cities.
As NPR reports, the federal minimum wage has remained at $7.25 an hour since 2009, but in the years since, 29 states and the District of Columbia have established minimum wages above the federal level.
The minimum wage in Indiana has matched the federal rate since 2009, increasing from $6.55 per hour.
Since then, the minimum wage has lost about 9.6 percent of its purchasing power to inflation, according to a 2017 report by the Pew Research Center.
Sen. Karen Tallian (D-Portage) is proposing a bill for the 2019 session that would increase the wage to $11.12 an hour. State lawmakers have proposed increases to the minimumw age over the years, but they haven't gotten much traction.
A study from an IU researcher last year found that increasing the minimum wage would likely reduce the number of child neglect cases.
Listen: Minimum Wage In Indiana (Noon Edition, Jan. 5 2018)
In Georgia and Wyoming, the minimum wage is lower than the federal level at $5.15 an hour, and five states do not require a minimum wage by law, according to the Department of Labor.
Neighboring Ohio will increase the minimum wage to $8.55 an hour starting Jan. 1, and the wage in Michigan will increase to $9.45 the same day.
