Minneapolis $15 Minimum Wage Could Affect St. Cloud Businesses

ST. CLOUD -- A $15 minimum wage in Minneapolis could have a major impact on St. Cloud area businesses.

President of the St. Cloud area Chamber of Commerce, Teresa Bohnen says the increased minimum wage could hurt local businesses.

"It's devastating for business I think because this isn't just about businesses in Minneapolis, it's about any business that have employees go into Minneapolis to do business."

Bohnen says many St. Cloud area businesses do work in Minneapolis on a daily basis.

"We have Spee-Dee Delivery that is delivering into Minneapolis all the time, they would have to figure out how many minutes their employees were in Minneapolis and make sure they were complying with Minneapolis laws while they were in Minneapolis. The record keeping is more devastating than setting a false minimum wage."

The issue is far from worked out, the majority of the Minneapolis city council voted earlier this month against adding a $15 minimum wage proposal to the November ballot.

Hennepin County Judge Susan Robiner has overruled the council saying the proposal should go on the city’s ballot this fall.

Cities including Seattle, Los Angeles and San Francisco have passed ordinances to raise the minimum wage to $15 over the next few years.

-This story was written with information from the Associated Press-