HB343: HB343 Georgia Living Wage Act; enact

Georgia's state minimum wage law currently sets a base rate of $5.15 per hour, far below the federal minimum wage employers actually must pay. This bill, called the "Georgia Living Wage Act," rewrites Georgia's minimum wage law (O.C.G.A. § 34-4-3) to set the rate at $20.00 per hour, then adjusts it every year starting in 2027 to keep pace with the cost of living, measured using a federal consumer price index. It narrows the list of employers exempt from minimum wage rules, repeals a state law that had blocked local governments from setting their own wage and benefit mandates, and repeals the Labor Commissioner's power to grant exceptions. The bill also stops employers from using a federal certificate to pay disabled workers less than minimum wage, creates a new civil lawsuit and misdemeanor charge for retaliating against workers who sue over unpaid wages, and requires inmates in work-release, industry, and other labor programs to be paid at least minimum wage for their work. The changes would take effect January 1, 2026.

• Raises Georgia's minimum wage from $5.15 to $20.00 per hour for covered employees, effective January 1, 2026.
• Creates automatic yearly minimum wage increases starting January 1, 2027, tied to a federal cost-of-living index measured each September.
• Repeals the state law (O.C.G.A. § 34-4-3.1) that barred local governments from setting their own wage, benefit, or scheduling mandates.
• Removes the Labor Commissioner's authority to grant exceptions to the minimum wage law and marks that section reserved.
• Bars employers from using a federal certificate under 29 U.S.C. § 214(c) to pay workers with disabilities less than minimum wage.
• Requires paid inmate labor in work-release, prison industry, and rehabilitation work programs to be paid at least minimum wage, up from the current $25 per month cap in some programs.

Georgia employers of all sizes, especially small businesses that fall outside the bill's narrow exemptions; hourly workers, including those with disabilities currently paid sub-minimum wages; local governments that want to set their own wage rules; and incarcerated people working in county or state correctional work programs.

Millions of Georgia workers earning less than $20 an hour would see mandatory pay increases, and businesses would face higher labor costs and new legal exposure for retaliation claims. Incarcerated workers in labor programs would also see guaranteed pay increases, changing how correctional work programs and their budgets operate.

• Section 3 rewrites O.C.G.A. § 34-4-3 to raise the minimum wage to $20.00 per hour and sets up annual adjustments starting January 1, 2027 based on the Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers.
• Section 3 narrows exemptions, still excluding very small businesses with $40,000 or less in annual sales, employers with five or fewer employees, domestic and farm employers, and tipped, student, and newspaper carrier workers.
• Section 4 repeals O.C.G.A. § 34-4-3.1, removing the state's preemption of local wage and benefit mandates.
• Section 5 repeals the Labor Commissioner's authority to grant minimum wage exceptions under O.C.G.A. § 34-4-4.
• Section 6 revises O.C.G.A. § 34-4-6 to let underpaid workers sue for double damages plus attorney's fees, and creates a new misdemeanor and civil lawsuit for employer retaliation against workers who file wage claims.
• Section 7 adds a provision barring employers from using a federal disability wage certificate to pay disabled workers less than minimum wage.
• Sections 8 through 10 amend Title 42 prison labor laws so inmates in community work release, prison industries, and other work programs must be paid at least minimum wage, replacing lower fixed rates like the $25 per month cap.
• Section 11 sets the effective date as January 1, 2026.

1. 2025-02-12House Second Readers (House)
2. 2025-02-11House First Readers (House)
3. 2025-02-10House Hopper (House)

• Gabriel Sanchez (D, HD-042)Primary sponsor
• Dewey McClain (D, HD-109)
• Derrick Jackson (D, HD-068)
• Bryce Berry (D, HD-056)
• Sheila Jones (D, HD-060)
• Kimberly Alexander (D, HD-066)

• minimum wage
• labor law
• workers with disabilities
• inmate labor
• wage retaliation