Connecticut’s Minimum Wage Will Increase in January

On Monday, Governor Ned Lamont announced that beginning on Jan. 1, 2024, Connecticut’s minimum wage will increase from the current rate of $15.00 per hour to $15.69 per hour as a result of the state’s first-ever economic indicator adjustment. The newly enacted adjustment is required under Public Act 19-4, which implemented five incremental increases in the minimum wage between 2019 and 2023, followed by future adjustments that are tied to the percentage change in the federal employment cost index (ECI).

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Beginning Jan. 1, 2024, and occurring annually each January 1 thereafter, the state’s minimum wage will be adjusted according to the U.S. Department of Labor’s calculation of the ECI for the twelve-month period ending on June 30 of the preceding year. The law requires the commissioner of the Connecticut Department of Labor to review this percentage change and then announce any adjustments by Oct. 15 of each year. The minimum wage adjustments become effective on the next Jan. 1.

Labor Commissioner Danté Bartolomeo reports that the ECI increased by 4.6% over the twelve-month period ending on June 30, 2023, accounting for a $0.69 increase to the state’s minimum wage that will become effective on Jan. 1, 2024.

“This increase will benefit Connecticut’s 160,000 to 200,000 minimum wage workers and help offset some of the effects of national economic challenges, such as higher energy costs and interest rates,” Commissioner Bartolomeo said.

In testimony to the Labor Committee concerning the bill increasing minimum wage in 2019, HCAOA Connecticut said the increase would “increase the cost of home care and, if implemented without sufficient time for employers to adjust, could lead to loss of jobs and more seniors switching to nursing home care.”

To make participation in the Connecticut Medical Assistance program more sustainable and to adequately meet the needs of clients, HCAOA Connecticut continues to advocate for ongoing increases in Medicaid reimbursement from the Department of Social Services to offset any annual increases in minimum wage.