Mass. groups advocate more pay for employee time
Community activists in Massachusetts, including labor organizations and church groups, are advocating for an increase to the state's minimum wage.
The activists' strategy is to add ballot questions for the state's next election. Those items will allow residents to vote on increasing the state's minimum wage, said an article in The Patriot Ledger. Under the plan, the state's minimum wage would rise from the current $8 to $9.25 in 2014 and $10.50 the following year. Massachusetts' minimum wage would be pegged to the inflation rate after the initial increases.
Another proposed ballot initiative is a statewide earned sick time policy where workers would accrue up to five sick days per year. Time earned is based on the total number of hours worked, according to The Patriot Ledger.
Although Massachusetts has the eighth-highest minimum wage in the nation, based on information from The Detroit Free Press, many activists believe $8 an hour isn't enough to get by.
"I encourage everyone to support an increase in the minimum wage and help their brothers and sisters who are trying to live on this meager amount of money, as well as support getting sick time for workers," said local church leader Joe Raeke in The Patriot Ledger.
Whether the minimum wage increases in Massachusetts or not, employers across the country can make sure they are maximizing time and attendance efficiency by using equipment like online time clocks.
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