---
title: HB 394. Labor and industrial relations; minimum wage for certain state employees; increase
collection: bills
id: 2025-2026/hb394
cite_as: HB 394, 2025-2026 Regular Session (Ga.)
canonical_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb394
md_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb394.md
text_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb394/text
source_url: https://www.legis.ga.gov/legislation/70195
date: 2025-02-13
status: introduced
corpus_version: bills-2026-09-13
license: Public record of the Georgia General Assembly, via LegiScan; see about.md
publisher: Georgia Commons, an independent project of Georgia Civic Data. Not the State of Georgia. Not legal advice.
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index: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/index.md
omitted: votes and history
omitted_chars: 129
omitted_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb394.md?full=1
bill_number: HB 394
session: 2025-2026 Regular Session
session_slug: 2025-2026
chamber: House
bill_type: bill
status_date: 2025-02-11
last_action: House Second Readers
sponsors:
  - Dewey McClain
  - Carolyn Hugley
  - Kimberly Alexander
  - Sheila Jones
  - Derrick Jackson
  - Gabriel Sanchez
text_version: Introduced
has_text: true
legiscan_url: https://legiscan.com/GA/bill/HB394/2025
upstream_id: 1965792
summaries_model: claude-sonnet-5
topic_tags:
  - minimum wage
  - state employees
  - labor law
  - wages and pay
---

# HB 394. Labor and industrial relations; minimum wage for certain state employees; increase

## Text

House Bill 394
By: Representatives McClain of the 109th, Hugley of the 141st, Alexander of the 66th, Jones
of the 60th, Jackson of the 68th, and others
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
To amend Chapter 4 of Title 34 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to
minimum wage law, so as to increase the minimum wage for certain employees and eligible
full-time state employees; to provide for definitions; to provide for related matters; to repeal
conflicting laws; and for other purposes.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF GEORGIA:
SECTION 1.
Chapter 4 of Title 34 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to minimum wage
law, is amended in Code Section 34-4-3, relating to amount of minimum wage to be paid by
employers and employers and employees covered by the chapter, by revising subsection (a)
as follows:
"(a) Except as otherwise provided in this Code section, every employer, whether a person,
firm, or corporation, shall pay to all covered employees a minimum wage which shall be
not less than <del>$5.15</del> <ins>$15.00</ins> per hour for each hour worked in the employment of such
employer."
SECTION 2.
Said chapter is further amended by adding a new Code section to read as follows:
<ins>"34-4-3.2.
(a) As used in this Code section, the term:
(1) 'Eligible full-time state employee' means a full-time state employee who is paid on
an hourly basis for actual hours worked.
(2) 'Full-time state employee' means an individual who works at least 30 hours per week,
whose employment is intended to be continuing in nature, and who receives his or her
compensation in a direct payment from a state agency.
(3) 'State agency' means any department, agency, commission, or any other institution
of the executive, judicial, or legislative branches of the government of this state. Such
term shall not include the Board of Regents of the University System of Georgia.
(b) Beginning January 1, 2026, all eligible full-time state employees shall be paid a
minimum wage of not less than $15.00 per hour."
</ins> SECTION 3.
All laws and parts of laws in conflict with this Act are repealed.

## Summaries written by Georgia Commons

The following was written by claude-sonnet-5 from the text above and is not part of the bill. Quote the text, not the summary.

A Georgia House bill would raise the state's minimum wage from $5.15 to $15.00 an hour and set the same $15.00 hourly floor for full-time state employees starting January 1, 2026.

### Plain-language summary

Georgia's minimum wage law (O.C.G.A. § 34-4-3) currently sets a state minimum wage of $5.15 per hour, far below the federal minimum wage that already applies to most workers. This bill would raise that state-law minimum wage to $15.00 per hour for all covered employees.
The bill also adds a new Code section creating a specific $15.00 hourly minimum wage for full-time state employees who are paid hourly for actual hours worked. It defines a full-time state employee as someone working at least 30 hours a week in an ongoing job paid directly by a state agency, but excludes the Board of Regents of the University System of Georgia from that definition. This new state employee wage floor would take effect January 1, 2026. The bill repeals any conflicting laws.

### What it does

- Raises Georgia's state minimum wage under O.C.G.A. § 34-4-3 from $5.15 per hour to $15.00 per hour for covered employees.
- Creates a new Code section setting a $15.00 per hour minimum wage specifically for eligible full-time state employees paid hourly.
- Defines 'full-time state employee' as someone working at least 30 hours a week in an ongoing job paid directly by a state agency.
- Excludes the Board of Regents of the University System of Georgia from the definition of state agency covered by the new wage floor.
- Sets January 1, 2026 as the start date for the new state employee minimum wage requirement.
- Repeals any existing state laws that conflict with these changes.

### Who it affects

Employers and employees covered by Georgia's minimum wage law, and full-time hourly state employees working at least 30 hours a week for state agencies. University System of Georgia employees under the Board of Regents are not covered by the new state employee provision.

### Why it matters

Because federal minimum wage law already exceeds Georgia's outdated $5.15 state figure, this change mainly matters for state government hourly workers, who would get a guaranteed $15.00 hourly floor starting in 2026, and it updates state law to reflect a higher baseline wage generally.

### Key provisions

- Section 1 revises O.C.G.A. § 34-4-3(a) to change the state minimum wage from $5.15 to $15.00 per hour for all covered employees.
- Section 2 adds new Code Section 34-4-3.2, defining 'eligible full-time state employee,' 'full-time state employee,' and 'state agency.'
- Section 2 specifically excludes the Board of Regents of the University System of Georgia from the definition of state agency.
- Section 2 sets the new $15.00 per hour minimum wage for eligible full-time state employees effective January 1, 2026.
- Section 3 repeals any conflicting laws.

## Status

- Status: Introduced (2025-02-11)
- Last action: House Second Readers (2025-02-13)
- Sponsors: Dewey McClain, Carolyn Hugley, Kimberly Alexander, Sheila Jones, Derrick Jackson, Gabriel Sanchez
- Official page: https://www.legis.ga.gov/legislation/70195

> The history, votes, and amendments (129 characters) are at https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb394.md?full=1