BOSTON (WHDH/AP) — Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker signed a bill Thursday that will increase the minimum wage, require paid leave for workers and mandate an annual August sales tax holiday.
The so-called “grand bargain” was designed to keep a series of ballot questions off the November ballot, including a proposal to cut the state sales tax from the current 6.25 percent to 5 percent.
The Republican signed the bill in his office alongside Democratic legislative leaders.
“Grand compromise” bill signed into law by @CharlieBakerMA. Increases min wage to $15/hr. pic.twitter.com/JuLSCUaZI3
— Kim Lucey (@KimLucey) June 28, 2018
“I am thankful that all parties came together, compromised and found common ground to produce a better set of policies than what the ballot questions represented,” Baker said. “The Massachusetts workforce continues to grow with more and more people finding jobs and our administration is committed to maintaining the Commonwealth’s competitive economic environment.”
The bill will let workers take up to 12 weeks of paid leave to care for a sick family member or new baby and up to 20 weeks of paid leave for their own medical needs. Weekly benefit amounts will be calculated as a percentage of the employee’s average weekly wage, with a maximum benefit of $850.
It will also gradually raise the state’s minimum wage from $11 to $15 an hour by 2023, with an initial increase taking effect in January 2019.
A two-day weekend sales tax holiday will now be held annually, starting in August 2019. The particular weekend will be determined at a later time.
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