LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — Proposals to raise the minimum wage in Nebraska are drawing support from advocates who say they would help the working poor, and opposition from business groups that say it would do just the opposite.
Sen. Jeremy Nordquist of Omaha presented a legislative committee Monday with a bill to raise the minimum wage from $7.25 to $9.00 by 2017. He says the bill would ensure that hard work pays in Nebraska.
Lawmakers also heard a bill by Sen. Steve Lathrop that would increase the minimum wage for tipped workers from the current $2.13 an hour up to 70 percent of minimum wage.
The Bureau of Labor Statistics says 32,000 Nebraskans earned the minimum wage in 2012.
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The minimum wage bill is LB943. The bill for tipped employees is LB947
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