DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — A Senate committee has approved bills that would increase Iowa’s minimum wage and create a more detailed system for preventing wage theft.
The committee on labor and business relations voted Wednesday to advance both bills. The full Democratic-controlled Senate can now debate them.
The minimum wage bill would increase the state’s $7.25 minimum wage to $8.75 by 2016. Democrats previously pushed to raise Iowa’s minimum wage to $10.10 per hour, but they now say this new bill could have more bipartisan support.
Leaders in the Republican-majority House say they want to focus on skilled job training instead of the minimum wage.
The committee Wednesday voted largely on party lines.
The wage theft bill would require businesses to be more direct with workers about employment terms. Similar legislation failed last session.
