Oklahoma Senator Files Bill to Raise Minimum Wage in the State

A couple of extra bucks an hour goes along way, especially with everything going on the past few months.

Oklahoma Senator George Young of Oklahoma City, filed Senate Bill 161 to increase Oklahoma's minimum wage requirement. Oklahoma currently follows the federal minimum wage of $7.25 an hour. Senate Bill 161 would increase the minimum wage to $10.50 an hour. The bill also states that if the federal minimum wage went higher, the state would match whatever is greater.

29 states in the country currently have higher minimum wages than the federal minimum of $7.25. Oklahoma hasn't increased the minimum wage since 2008, which was $6.55 back then. That was also the new increase by the federal government for their minimum wage, so not something that Oklahoma decided to do.

“It’s been more than a decade since hard-working Oklahomans have seen an increase to the minimum wage schedule,” Young said. “During this time, the spending power of a minimum wage paycheck has drastically decreased.”

“Many of our essential workers during this pandemic have been paid a minimum wage. Raising the rate at this point in time would be a well-deserved ‘thank you’ for their dedication and service during an extremely challenging year,” Young said. “If we truly want to be a ‘Top 10 State,’ we must raise our minimum wage rate to be competitive with other states on a national level.”

We will see if this bill goes anywhere in the state of Oklahoma, but it looks like they seem to follow what the federal government standard is. I know many would be happy to see that increase in their paycheck if this were to happen.