A GOP state senator wants to raise Pennsylvania’s minimum wage to $11 per hour

A Republican state senator wants to see Pennsylvania’s minimum wage increased to $11 an hour.

Sen. Dan Laughlin (R-Erie) announced his plan Wednesday to introduce legislation that would gradually raise the wage in three phases.

The first increase would be to $9 per hour, effective Jan. 1, 2026, while the second jump would be implemented on Jan. 1 2027, for $10 per hour, and the final phase would be $11 per hour, effective Jan. 1, 2028.

“This legislation is about catching up,” Laughlin said. “Most employers in Pennsylvania are already paying above minimum wage because they have to in order to attract workers. It’s time the law reflects that reality.”

Pennsylvania’s minimum wage is $7.25 per hour, which is the same as the federal minimum wage and is lower than all bordering states – New York, Ohio, New Jersey, West Virginia, Maryland and Delaware. Laughlin’s proposal would put the commonwealth’s figure ahead of Ohio and West Virginia, but behind its other neighboring states.

It has not increased in the commonwealth since 2008 and Laughlin said that puts Pennsylvania at a competitive disadvantage.

“Raising the minimum wage is not just about fairness. It’s also an economic necessity,” Laughlin said. “It helps reduce dependence on public assistance, boosts consumer spending and strengthens local economies.”

There have been multiple efforts to raise the minimum wage over the past several sessions in the General Assembly.

In June, the state House passed a bill along party lines that would increase the minimum wage to $15 per hour for most Pennsylvanians, while smaller, rural counties would see it raised to $12 per hour effective Jan. 1, 2028.

That bill has not advanced in the Republican majority state Senate. Laughlin emailed the Capital-Star following the passage of the House Bill that he would not support a bill with a county-by-county approach.

“While I appreciate that the House is trying to advance the conversation, I do not support HB 1549 in its current form,” Laughlin said at the time. “A minimum wage tied to county size just deepens the economic divides we’re supposed to be addressing. If we’re going to get serious about raising the minimum wage, we need to do it uniformly across the state, not with a patchwork approach that leaves people behind based on where they live.”

This is not the first time that Laughlin, who has also authored bipartisan legislation to legalize adult-use cannabis, has called for increasing the wage. Two years ago, he proposed an increase to $15 per hour by 2026, beginning with $11 per hour on Jan. 1. 2024, and permanently index it to inflation thereafter.

He describes his current proposal as a “modest, phased approach designed to help workers keep pace with the rising cost of living without placing sudden burdens on small businesses.”

Laughlin plans to formally introduce his measure in the coming weeks.

While Democrats have largely led the charge to raise the minimum wage, GOP U.S. Sen. Josh Hawley (R-MO), introduced legislation earlier this year to increase the federal minimum wage to $15 per hour.