Pennsylvania House member pushing legislation that would raise inmates pay from less than $1 per hour to as much as $21 per hour.
The proposal is to raise Pennsylvania’s current minimum wage from $7.25 per hour to $16.50 in July 2025, eventually reaching $21 per hour in July 2028. That minimum wage also would apply to inmates.
Not surprisingly, Pennsylvania Republicans weren’t amused. “Not only are House Democrats making it harder to do business in Pennsylvania by increasing the mandated wage to $21 per hour,” House Republican Spokesperson Jason Gottesman said in a statement, “but Pennsylvania House Democrats want to provide that wage to the most dangerous incarcerated individuals in Pennsylvania, including violent criminals, rapists, cop killers and child molesters.”