
Above: Food workers protested low wages and some struck to demand $15 an hour wages at the Uptown McDonalds Thursday, Sept. 4, 2014, in Minneapolis (David Joles)
Minneapolis leaders are pressing forward with a study of how a potential citywide or countywide minimum wage increase would impact the local economy.
A council panel authorized staff on Tuesday to solicit proposals for such a study, which would be completed in March 2016 if a contract is ultimately signed. The $150,000 study will examine impacts of a $12 and $15 minimum wage, applied either just in Minneapolis or in Hennepin and Ramsey counties.
The state, meanwhile, is phasing in a wage increase that will reach $9.50 for large employers by August 2016.
It remains unclear, however, whether the city has authority to impose its own minimum wage under state law. It's expected that will be known before the city officially commissions the study later this year.
"We are not yet at the point where we are comfortable issuing an opinion on that question," said city attorney Susan Segal.
Five cities have created some form of a municipal minimum wage. Minneapolis is unique compared to other major cities examining the issue, however, because it has the lowest percentage of workers who also live in the city itself. Only 33 percent of low-wage workers who live in the city also work there, the city has found.
New York City is moving faster than New York state to implement a $15 minimum wage for fast food workers. Seattle is phasing in a $15 minimum wage until 2019. Los Angeles is phasing in a $15 minimum wage until 2020. San Fransisco is phasing in an increase to $15 until 2018, Chicago is aiming for $13 by 2019.