HB343, the “Georgia Living Wage Act,” would substantially rewrite Georgia’s minimum wage law by raising the state minimum wage from $5.15 to $20.00 per hour for covered employees. It also requires annual cost-of-living adjustments beginning in 2027, tied to the Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers, so the wage floor would continue to rise with inflation. The bill states that minimum wage rules should be broadly construed and exceptions narrowly interpreted.
The bill also expands worker protections and remedies. It creates a private right of action for employees to recover unpaid wages, including liquidated damages, attorney’s fees, and costs, and it prohibits employer retaliation against workers who complain about wage violations. Retaliation would be a misdemeanor and could also trigger civil remedies such as reinstatement, lost wages, punitive damages, and other relief. In addition, the bill bars employers from using federal disability subminimum-wage certificates under Section 214(c) to pay workers with disabilities less than the federal minimum wage.
HB343 would repeal Georgia’s current law preempting local wage and employment-benefit mandates, and it would eliminate the Commissioner’s authority to grant exceptions from the minimum wage chapter. It also revises the state’s minimum wage exemptions, although several existing exemptions remain in the text, including certain small employers, domestic workers, farm-related employers, tipped workers, students, newspaper carriers, and some nonprofit residential institution employees. The bill would take effect January 1, 2026.
The bill also changes wage rules for incarcerated workers. It would require inmates working in the community, in hiring-out programs, or in prison industries to be paid at least the state minimum wage, or market wage comparable to non-incarcerated workers, and it limits deductions so that inmate pay cannot be reduced below the minimum wage floor. It also revises how inmate wages may be used for keep and confinement, medical or dental costs, incidental expenses, dependent support, and victim compensation fund payments.
Because there are no committee transcripts or recorded votes in the provided materials, the overall sentiment cannot be measured from legislative debate or roll call history. Based on the bill’s content, it appears to be a strongly pro-worker proposal aimed at raising wages and expanding enforcement, but it would likely be controversial because of its large increase in labor costs, its repeal of local preemption, and its changes to inmate labor compensation and deductions.
HB343 would amend Titles 34 and 42 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated to create a new state wage floor of $20 per hour, add annual inflation indexing, expand wage-recovery and anti-retaliation remedies, and prohibit use of federal disability subminimum-wage certificates to pay below the federal minimum wage. It would also repeal Georgia’s local-employment-benefits preemption and the Commissioner’s exception authority, while revising inmate labor statutes to require at least minimum-wage-level compensation and to limit deductions from inmate earnings. The bill would significantly affect employers, workers, local governments, correctional institutions, and entities employing people with disabilities.
No committee discussion or vote history was provided, so there is no recorded legislative sentiment to summarize from debate or roll calls. From the bill text itself, the measure is framed as a broad worker-protection and living-wage proposal, suggesting support from labor advocates and sponsors seeking higher wages and stronger enforcement. At the same time, the size of the wage increase and the changes to inmate labor and local authority suggest it would likely face opposition from employer groups, correctional stakeholders, and others concerned about cost and implementation.
The main points of contention are likely the dramatic increase in the minimum wage to $20 per hour, the annual inflation adjustment, and the repeal of local preemption, which would allow local wage and benefit mandates. Employers may also object to the expanded private right of action, liquidated damages, attorney’s fees, and misdemeanor retaliation penalty. Another likely flashpoint is the bill’s treatment of inmate labor, which would require wages at least equal to the minimum wage and restrict deductions, as well as the prohibition on paying workers with disabilities below the federal minimum wage using Section 214(c) certificates.