Minnesota Lawmakers Boost Minimum Wage to $9.50

ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) - Minnesota's minimum wage will climb to $9.50 by 2016 and go up automatically in future years under legislation bound for Gov. Mark Dayton's signature.

The state House gave final approval Thursday to a bill raising Minnesota's minimum in three stages. Dayton says he'll sign it.

When fully phased in, Minnesota will go from having one of the nation's lowest minimum wages to one of the highest.

The floor wage required of most employers will climb from $6.15 per hour to $8 per hour in August. It goes to $9 next year and $9.50 the year after. In future years, the rate could rise by 2.5 percent through an inflationary mechanism. Minnesota last raised its minimum wage in 2005.