House · Introduced · 2025-2026 Regular Session

HB 600: Minimum Wage and Second Chance Act of 2025; enact

Last action February 27, 2025 · House Second Readers

A Georgia House bill would raise the minimum wage for agricultural workers at large farms and for state employees, and create a grant program rewarding employers who hire people with criminal records.

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In plain language

Georgia's minimum wage law currently sets a base wage of $5.15 per hour and exempts many employers, including farm owners, from any state minimum wage requirement. This bill, called the Minimum Wage and Second Chance Act of 2025, removes the blanket exemption for farm owners, sharecroppers, and land renters and instead creates a phased-in minimum wage specifically for agricultural employers with ten or more workers, rising from $15 per hour in mid-2025 to $27 per hour by July 2028. Separately, the bill sets a $20 per hour minimum wage for state government employees and independent contractors. It also directs the Georgia Department of Labor to create a 'second chance' grant program that pays employers who keep a rehabilitated offender (someone convicted of certain crimes, hired within five years of release) employed full time for at least a year. The department must set eligibility rules, certify offenders, run an application process, and report annually on results starting December 31, 2026. The law would take effect as soon as the Governor signs it.

What the bill does

Removes the current exemption that lets farm owners, sharecroppers, and land renters skip Georgia's minimum wage law entirely.
Creates a separate, higher minimum wage for agricultural employers with ten or more workers, phasing in from $15 to $27 per hour between 2025 and 2028.
Sets a $20 per hour minimum wage for all Georgia state government employees and contractors.
Directs the Department of Labor to build a grant program paying employers who hire and retain 'rehabilitated offenders' as full-time workers for a year.
Requires the Department of Labor to write eligibility rules, certify eligible ex-offenders, and manage applications and grant payouts.
Requires an annual report to legislative labor committees on how many grants were paid and who received them, starting December 31, 2026.

Who it affects

Agricultural employers with ten or more workers and their employees, all Georgia state government employees and independent contractors, the Department of Labor, and private employers who hire people recently released from prison for certain misdemeanors or felonies.

Why it matters

Farmworkers at larger agricultural operations and state employees would see substantial wage increases well above Georgia's current $5.15 base minimum wage. Employers willing to hire people with recent criminal records could receive state grant money, potentially affecting hiring decisions and reentry opportunities for former offenders.

Key provisions

Section 2 amends O.C.G.A. § 34-4-3 to remove the exemption for farm owners, sharecroppers, and land renters from the minimum wage chapter, marking it 'Reserved.'
Section 3 creates new Code Section 34-4-7 setting a phased agricultural minimum wage: $15/hour (July 2025-June 2026), $18/hour (2026-2027), $21/hour (2027-2028), and $27/hour from July 2028 onward, for employers with ten or more agricultural workers.
Section 3 creates new Code Section 34-4-8 requiring all state agencies to pay employees and contractors at least $20 per hour.
Section 3 creates new Code Section 34-4-9 establishing a Department of Labor grant program for employers who retain rehabilitated offenders full time for at least one year, with department-set eligibility criteria and certification.
Section 3 requires the Department of Labor to report annually to House and Senate labor committees starting December 31, 2026, detailing grants distributed and program outcomes.
Section 4 makes the Act effective immediately upon the Governor's signature or upon becoming law without signature.

From the bill

“A covered employer in the agricultural industry shall pay a covered employee a minimum wage for each hour worked in the employment of such employer which shall be not less than $15.00 per hour from July 1, 2025, to June 30, 2026”
Sets the first-year minimum wage rate for larger agricultural employers under the bill's new phased schedule.

“A state agency shall pay to a state employee a minimum wage which shall be not less than $20.00 per hour for each hour worked in the employment of such agency.”
Establishes a new $20 per hour minimum wage floor for Georgia state government employees and contractors.

“'Rehabilitated offender' means an individual who was convicted of a certain misdemeanor or felony as determined by the department and who is hired not more than five years after release from prison for such offense.”
Defines who qualifies as a rehabilitated offender for purposes of the new employer grant program.

Status timeline

2025-02-27House Second Readers (House)
2025-02-26House First Readers (House)
2025-02-24House Hopper (House)

Topics

minimum wage
farm labor
state employee pay
criminal justice reentry
Georgia Department of Labor

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