The change is the result of legislation he signed into law four years ago that schedules several gradual increases in the minimum wage to occur over a five-year period.

“No one should work a full-time job and live in poverty,” Governor Lamont said. “For too long, while the nation’s economy grew, the income of the lowest earning workers stayed flat, making existing pay disparities even worse and preventing hardworking families from obtaining financial security. That is why four years ago I signed a law implementing several gradual increases in the minimum wage and then ultimately connecting it to the employment cost index. This is a fair, modest increase, and the money earned will be spent right back into our own economy and support local businesses.”

“The minimum wage was established to provide a fair, livable baseline of income for those who work. But increasing costs and varied levels of inflation coupled with stagnant wages has resulted in our lower paid workers falling further behind,” Lt. Governor Susan Bysiewicz said. “This gradual increase has helped uplift individuals and families, especially people of color and working mothers. Governor Lamont and I remain committed to ensuring that nobody working a full-time job is living in poverty.”

Signed into law by Governor Lamont in May of 2019, Public Act 19-4 requires the minimum wage to increase five times over a five-year period, from the then-rate of $10.10 per hour to:

 $11.00 on October 1, 2019;

• $12.00 on September 1, 2020;
• $13.00 on August 1, 2021;
• $14.00 on July 1, 2022; and
• $15.00 on June 1, 2023.

Ultimately, beginning on January 1, 2024, that same law requires the minimum wage to become indexed to the employment cost index, which is calculated by the U.S. Department of Labor, and for the first time in Connecticut, the rate will grow according to economic indicators.