Delaware set to raise minimum wage to $15 by 2025

The state of Delaware will raise its minimum wage to $15 an hour by 2025 following a bill that passed in the state’s House on Thursday.

The House bill was passed along party lines, with Democrats voting in favor of the bill and Republicans voting against it, The Associated Press reported. 

Gov. John Carney (D) is expected to sign the bill once it gets to his desk.

The state’s current minimum wage is $9.25 and will increase to $10.50 on Jan. 1, 2022. The wage will increase each year after that until it hits $15 per hour in 2025.

Several proposals by Republicans and one Democrat were rejected before the bill was voted on, according to AP. 

One Democrat proposed that the increases not apply to businesses with fewer than 20 employees for an additional year. 

Republicans wanted the controller’s office to submit a yearly report about the impact the minimum wage increases will have on the state budget and economy. GOP members also wanted small businesses and nonprofits to only have to pay 85 percent of the minimum wage. 

All the proposals were rejected, according to the wire service.

Democrats in Washington have pushed for a $15 federal minimum wage, but those efforts have been halted by Republicans and centrists, like Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.), in their own party.

The current federal minimum wage sits at $7.25, but many states have set their own minimum wage higher.