by Michael Lyle, Nevada Current
June 27, 2024
When Democratic lawmakers celebrated passing legislation in 2019 that would gradually raise Nevada’s hourly minimum wage to $12 by July 2024, organizers and workers were encouraged by increased wages.
Now that the state’s minimum wage is set to top out, some advocates think lawmakers should consider a higher wage to reflect the current cost of living.
“We look at $12 an hour and that is still not enough,” said Jacob Solis, a spokesman for Battle Born Progress. “It’s not enough for people to sustain themselves in Nevada. You can’t rent a one-bedroom apartment for that much money, let alone a two bedroom apartment. This is not something that is sustainable.”
Laura Martin, the executive director for Progressive Leadership Alliance of Nevada, said the gradual increase to $12 was meaningful since it helped people see a continual rise in their paychecks each year.
It was never enough.
“Just knowing how much money flows in and out of the state, how much we give billionaires, I just think we can do better when it comes to holding (lawmakers) accountable for a solid minimum wage,” she said.
Discussions around pushing for legislation in the next legislative session have been limited, she said.
That’s partly because organizers fear Republican Gov. Joe Lombardo could easily block any proposed increase.
Martin pointed to the record number of vetoes Lombardo issued during the 2023 session. Among the 75 bills he killed were tenant protections, eviction reforms, universal free lunch for K-12 schools, and health care for pregnant undocumented women.
There is a possibility of Democrats securing a veto-proof majority, but Martin said “people aren’t putting a lot of energy into that until it becomes real.”
And even if there is a supermajority, there is no guarantee that Democrats would revisit the minimum wage, Martin said.
Democrats passed several bills in 2023 to rein in rental application fees that were vetoed by Lombardo, but a similar bill proposed in 2021 – when Democrat Steve Sisolak was governor and Democrats had a trifecta in Carson City – died.
“You can’t just take power and be afraid to govern,” Martin added.
The Current reached out to the Nevada Assembly and Senate Democratic caucuses to ask if lawmakers were considering revisiting the minimum wage in the 2025 legislative session.
They declined to provide comments.
Five years earlier
Five years ago, Nevada minimum wage was $8.25 per hour if the employer doesn’t provide qualified health insurance, $7.25 per hour if they do.
Organizers had been pushing lawmakers to consider an increase to $15 as part of the national Fight for $15 movement.
However, Democrats put forward Assembly Bill 456, which sought to raise it $12 over a five-year period. The bill increased wages 75 cents every year.
Then-Assembly Speaker Jason Frierson called the figure in the bill was “palatable” and would appease both workers and businesses groups who were opposed to any increase .
“Even back then we said by the time it’s $12 it’s not going to be enough,” Martin said.
The bill passed mostly on party lines, with only one Republican, then-state Sen. Keith Pickard, joining Democrats.
“For far too long, those working full-time earning minimum wage have been forced to work multiple jobs just to make ends meet,” then-Nevada State Democratic Chair William McCurdy said in a statement after the bill became law.
Democrats also passed a paid leave policy allowing people who work for businesses with more than 50 employees to earn up to five days of sick leave.
McCurdy said these bills would “boost paychecks but help employers retain talented employees and strengthen our economy, as well.”
The economy back then, Solis said, is much different than it is now.
The pandemic exacerbated Nevada’s affordable housing crisis. Rental rates in the state increased more than 20% with some local officials and organizers saying some tenants have seen at least 30% increases.
Martin said even people who make $50,000 a year are having to take on side jobs to afford the high cost of housing, child care, food and transportation.
Financial struggles are hitting minimum wage workers even harder.
The National Low Income Housing Coalition’s 2024 “Out of Reach” report said people earning $11.25, Nevada’s wage from July 2023 through June 2024, needed to work 82 hours to afford a one-bedroom apartment at the fair market rate of $1,196.
Solis said $15 might be deemed more “palatable” in the 2025 session than it was in 2019 when the wage was first being discussed. However, the rate might now be too low compared to what people need to earn to afford housing and child care.
“You cannot live on that amount of money in today’s economy,” Solis said. “We have to ask what is the point of the minimum wage if you can’t live on it? If you want a livable working wage, we have to figure out what that number is.”
Nevada is not the only place where the minimum wage will increase July 1.
Oregon will see a 50 cent increase to its minimum wage. The standard rate becomes $14.70, the Portland metro area rate increases to $15.95, and non-urban counties increase to $13.70.
The minimum wage will increase 50 cents to $17.50 in Washington D.C. The wage for tipped employees increases from $8 to $10 and employers are required to make up the difference if the wage plus tips don’t amount to the full wage rate.
Chicago’s rate increases to $16.20. Montgomery County in Maryland increases to $17.15 for employers with more than 51 employees and $15.50 to employers with 11 to 50 employees.
