Amendment #16, as changed to H3983

Minimum Wage Study

Representatives Jones of North Reading, Peterson of Grafton, Hill of Ipswich, Poirier of North Attleborough and deMacedo of Plymouth moves to amend the bill by inserting after SECTION 30 the following section:

SECTION 30A. Chapter 151 of the General Laws, as appearing in the 2012 Official Edition, is hereby amended by adding at the end thereof the following new section:---  Section 23. The Department of Unemployment Assistance shall perform a minimum wage study evaluating the effect of minimum wage on the unemployment rates in the commonwealth. In the study, the Department shall evaluate and produce a report detailing the adequacy of the commonwealth’s minimum wage relative to the following factors: (1) the overall cost of living in the commonwealth; (2) changes in the calculation of the cost of living which impact low-wage workers, including increases in the cost of housing, food, transportation, health care and child care; (3) trends in the purchasing power of the minimum wage; (4) characteristics and statistics of minimum wage workers and industries employing minimum wage works; (5) the value of the commonwealth’s minimum wage relative to federal poverty guidelines; and (6) the effect, if any, on unemployment caused by raising the Massachusetts minimum wage.

The Department shall also study how employers bear the cost of the long-term unemployed, in particular the number of employees, and the cost to those employers, who incur benefit charges due to separations initiated by other employers.

The Department shall report its finding to the general court by filing an annual report, on or before July 1, 2015. The report shall be filed with the clerks of the house of representatives and the senate who shall forward the report to chairs of the house and senate committees on ways and means and the chairs of the joint committee on labor and workforce development.”.

Additional co-sponsor(s) added to Amendment #16, as changed to H3983

Minimum Wage Study