UNSUSTAINABLE WAGE HIKE WILL DETER GROWTH IN MONTGOMERY COUNTY

UNSUSTAINABLE WAGE HIKE WILL DETER GROWTH IN MONTGOMERY COUNTY

ROCKVILLE, MD (January 17, 2017): In response to the Montgomery County Council passing $15 an hour minimum wage, the following statement may be attributed to Mike O’Halloran, Maryland State Director of the National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB):

Every time lawmakers make it more difficult to hire additional people, Marylanders lose. To impose a mandatory wage hike as staggering as $15 an hour is downright irresponsible. The small business community simply cannot afford to sustain existing jobs, never mind create new ones when they cannot afford the wages. The weight of paying new, oftentimes inexperienced workers a $15 minimum wage coupled with workers currently making $15 per hour who will no doubt expect a raise, is enough to crush the small business community in Montgomery County.

The minimum wage rate was never intended to feed entire families or sustain someone over a lifetime. It was created as an entry level, starting point, for young and inexperienced workers. Today the Montgomery County Council acted in a way that will deter job growth and stifle economic improvement for its residents.