If approved, the bill will be devastating to most Maryland small business.
ANNAPOLIS, March 28, 2019 — The legislature voted today to override Governor Hogan’s veto of legislation that will increase the state’s minimum wage to $15 per hour. NFIB, which represents thousands of small businesses in the state, reacted to the vote and the following comments are attributable to Mike O’Halloran, state director of NFIB in Maryland:
“We are very disappointed the legislature has voted to override the Governor’s veto of the $15 minimum wage bills. The small business community has been clear throughout the debate that this legislation would be devastating to them.
“This will send Maryland in the wrong direction. By the proponent’s admission, this bill will cause pain in the small business community. There’s a misconception by many about who makes the minimum wage and who pays the minimum wage. These jobs are vital to our economy, and they are a way for workers to enter the job market, learn necessary soft skills, customer relations, and responsibility.
“We hope for the sake of Maryland small businesses that the negative impacts we’ve seen in other parts of the country where a $15 minimum wage was adopted will not happen here. Unfortunately, the evidence tells us otherwise.”
