Further providing for definitions, for minimum wages and for exemptions.
HB2189 amends Pennsylvania’s Minimum Wage Act to phase in a higher statewide minimum wage and then index it to inflation. The bill would raise the minimum wage to $11 per hour on January 1, 2027, $13 per hour on January 1, 2028, and $15 per hour on January 1, 2029, with annual cost-of-living adjustments beginning January 1, 2030 based on the CPI-U for the Pennsylvania-New Jersey-Delaware-Maryland region. It also updates the tipped wage rule so the cash wage for tipped employees is set at 60% of the regular minimum wage, while preserving existing notice and tip-retention requirements.
The bill also adds a new county-level provision allowing counties, beginning after December 31, 2026, to adopt ordinances setting a local minimum wage above the state floor, up to $15 per hour, with annual inflation adjustments after adoption. Counties would have to notify the Department of Labor and Industry before the ordinance takes effect, and any local wage rate could not fall below the statewide minimum. In addition, the bill preserves the training wage for workers under age 20 during their first 60 calendar days of employment, tied to the federal Fair Labor Standards Act training wage, and removes an outdated exemption that had allowed certain small employers to pay a lower minimum wage.
The bill’s impact on state law is to substantially revise wage standards under the Minimum Wage Act of 1968, replacing the long-standing $7.15 minimum wage schedule with a multi-year increase and automatic inflation indexing. It also changes the legal treatment of tipped employees and eliminates the prior small-employer subminimum wage exemption in section 5(c). Employers statewide, especially low-wage businesses and those with tipped workers, would be directly affected, and counties would gain new authority to set higher local wage floors within the bill’s limits.
The general sentiment reflected in the voting history is mixed but ultimately favorable enough for passage in the House. The bill faced close and repeated votes in committee and on the floor, including a failed amendment vote and narrow committee and floor margins, suggesting substantial disagreement. The final House passage was 103-95, indicating support from a slim majority but significant opposition.
The main points of contention appear to be the pace and size of the wage increase, the inflation indexing mechanism, and the new county authority to exceed the state minimum. Opponents likely viewed the bill as imposing higher labor costs on employers, while supporters likely emphasized wage growth for low-income workers and local flexibility. The tipped wage change and elimination of the small-employer exemption are also likely to have been debated because they directly affect restaurant and service-sector employers.
HB2189 would amend the Minimum Wage Act of 1968 by replacing the current minimum wage schedule with a phased increase to $15 per hour and by adding annual CPI-based adjustments thereafter. It would also revise the tipped wage formula, preserve training wage rules for young workers, authorize counties to adopt higher local minimum wages up to $15 per hour, and repeal the prior reduced wage exemption for certain small employers. These changes would affect employers, employees, tipped workers, and county governments across Pennsylvania.
The bill appears to have generated divided but ultimately sufficient support in the House. Voting was close at multiple stages, including failed amendment efforts and narrow committee approvals, followed by final passage by a slim margin. That pattern suggests the bill was politically contentious, with supporters and opponents both organized and active.
The most notable disputes likely centered on whether Pennsylvania should raise the minimum wage to $15, how quickly the increase should occur, and whether wages should then be automatically indexed to inflation. Another likely point of contention was the county opt-in authority, which would allow local governments to set higher wage floors, potentially creating geographic variation in labor costs. Employers in low-margin sectors, especially small businesses and tipped-wage industries, would be most concerned about the bill, while labor advocates and low-wage workers would likely support it.