Bill > S2125

This bill, relative to fair wages, amends existing Massachusetts General Laws to establish new minimum wage requirements for certain airport service workers. It defines "Covered Commercial Services at Logan Airport" to include a broad range of jobs such as wheelchair assistance, baggage handling, aircraft cleaning, and various security and janitorial roles performed at Logan Airport. Employees performing these services are termed "Covered Commercial Service Employees," and their employers are defined as "Covered Commercial Service Employers." The bill establishes that for these specific airport service employers, a wage less than $12.00 per hour will be considered an unreasonably low wage, with this rate increasing to $13.50 per hour on January 1, 2017, and then to $15.00 per hour on January 1, 2018. For all other occupations in the commonwealth, the minimum wage is set at $10.00 per hour, unless a lower wage is expressly approved by the commissioner, and it must always be at least $0.50 higher than the federal minimum wage. These changes, specifically the new minimum wage rates, are set to take effect on January 1, 2016, January 1, 2017, and January 1, 2018, respectively, for the different wage tiers.