A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT INCREASING THE STATE'S MINIMUM WAGE IN PHASES UNTIL 2024 WHEN THE WAGE SHALL BE ADJUSTED AUTOMATICALLY EACH YEAR BY INCREASES IN THE COST OF LIVING.
The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts:
SECTION 1.  G.S. 95‑25.3(a) reads as rewritten:
"(a)	Every employer shall pay to each employee who in any workweek performs any work, wages of at least the following amounts:
(1)	Effective January 1, 2020, eight dollars and eighty cents ($8.80) per hour or the minimum wage set forth in paragraph 1 of section 6(a) of the Fair Labor Standards Act, 29 U.S.C. § 206(a)(1), as that wage may change from time to time, whichever is higher, except as otherwise provided in this section.
(2)	Effective January 1, 2021, ten dollars and thirty‑five cents ($10.35) per hour or the minimum wage set forth in paragraph 1 of section 6(a) of the Fair Labor Standards Act, 29 U.S.C. § 206(a)(1), as that wage may change from time to time, whichever is higher, except as otherwise provided in this section.
(3)	Effective January 1, 2022, twelve dollars ($12.00) per hour or the minimum wage set forth in paragraph 1 of section 6(a) of the Fair Labor Standards Act, 29 U.S.C. § 206(a)(1), as that wage may change from time to time, whichever is higher, except as otherwise provided in this section.
(4)	Effective January 1, 2023, thirteen dollars and fifty cents ($13.50) per hour or the minimum wage set forth in paragraph 1 of section 6(a) of the Fair Labor Standards Act, 29 U.S.C. § 206(a)(1), as that wage may change from time to time, whichever is higher, except as otherwise provided in this section.
(5)	Effective January 1, 2024, fifteen dollars ($15.00) per hour or the minimum wage set forth in paragraph 1 of section 6(a) of the Fair Labor Standards Act, 29 U.S.C. § 206(a)(1), as that wage may change from time to time, whichever is higher, except as otherwise provided in this section. Beginning September 30, 2022, and on each September 30 thereafter, the Commissioner of Labor shall calculate an adjusted minimum wage rate using the Consumer Price Index (All 29 Urban Consumers, U.S. City Average for All Items), CPI‑U, or its successor index, as calculated by the U.S. Department of Labor for the 12‑month period preceding the previous September 1. Each adjusted minimum wage rate calculated shall be published on September 30 and take effect on the following January 1."
SECTION 2.  This act is effective when it becomes law.