---
title: HB 600. Minimum Wage and Second Chance Act of 2025; enact
collection: bills
id: 2025-2026/hb600
cite_as: HB 600, 2025-2026 Regular Session (Ga.)
canonical_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb600
md_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb600.md
text_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb600/text
source_url: https://www.legis.ga.gov/legislation/70726
date: 2025-02-27
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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previous: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb599.md
next: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb601.md
index: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/index.md
omitted: votes and history
omitted_chars: 129
omitted_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb600.md?full=1
bill_number: HB 600
session: 2025-2026 Regular Session
session_slug: 2025-2026
chamber: House
bill_type: bill
status_date: 2025-02-24
last_action: House Second Readers
sponsors:
- Derrick Jackson
- Dewey McClain
- El-Mahdi Holly
- Gabriel Sanchez
- Kimberly Alexander
- Rhonda Taylor
text_version: Introduced
has_text: true
legiscan_url: https://legiscan.com/GA/bill/HB600/2025
upstream_id: 1982045
summaries_model: claude-sonnet-5
topic_tags:
- minimum wage
- agricultural workers
- state employees
- criminal justice reentry
- labor law
---
# HB 600. Minimum Wage and Second Chance Act of 2025; enact
## Text
House Bill 600
By: Representatives Jackson of the 68th, McClain of the 109th, Holly of the 116th, Sanchez
of the 42nd, Alexander of the 66th, and others
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
To amend Title 34 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to labor and industrial
relations, so as to increase the minimum wage for certain employees and to provide for grants
to certain employers; to provide for definitions; to increase the minimum wage for
agricultural workers and state employees; to provide for the Department of Labor to
implement a grant program for certain employers; to provide for criteria; to provide for
annual reporting; to provide for rules and regulations; to provide for related matters; to
provide for a short title; to provide for an effective date; to repeal conflicting laws; and for
other purposes.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF GEORGIA:
SECTION 1.
This Act shall be known and may be cited as the "Minimum Wage and Second Chance Act
of 2025."
SECTION 2.
Title 34 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to labor and industrial relations,
is amended in Chapter 4, relating to minimum wage law, by revising Code Section 34-4-3,
relating to amount of minimum wage to be paid by employers and employers and employees
covered by the chapter, as follows:
"34-4-3.
(a) Except as otherwise provided in this Code section and Code Sections 34-4-7
and 34-4-8, every employer, whether a person, firm, or corporation, shall pay to all covered
employees a minimum wage which shall be not less than $5.15 per hour for each hour
worked in the employment of such employer.
(b) This chapter shall not apply with respect to:
(1) Any employer that has sales of $40,000.00 per year or less;
(2) Any employer having five employees or less;
(3) Any employer of domestic employees;
(4) Any employer who is a farm owner, sharecropper, or land renter Reserved;
(5) Any employee whose compensation consists wholly or partially of gratuities;
(6) Any employee who is a high school or college student;
(7) Any individual who is employed as a newspaper carrier; or
(8) Any individual who is employed by a nonprofit child-caring institution or long-term
care facility serving children or mentally disabled adults who are enrolled in such
institution and reside in residential facilities of the institution, if such employee resides
in such facilities, receives without cost board and lodging from such institution, and is
compensated on a cash basis at an annual rate of not less than $10,000.00.
(c) This chapter shall not apply to any employer who is subject to the minimum wage
provisions of any act of Congress as to employees covered thereby if such act of Congress
provides for a minimum wage which is greater than the minimum wage which is provided
for in this Code section."
SECTION 3.
Said title is further amended in said chapter by adding new Code sections to read as follows:
"34-4-7.
(a) As used in this Code section, the term:
(1) 'Agricultural industry' means any business in this state that is centered on the
processing, packing, or storage of agricultural products, including preparing crops and
livestock for consumption, sale, and distribution.
(2) 'Covered employee' means an individual who works for salary, wages, or other
remuneration for a covered employer in the agricultural industry.
(3) 'Covered employer' means an individual or legal entity that employs ten or more
covered employees in the agricultural industry.
(b) 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; $18.00 per hour from
July 1, 2026, to June 30, 2027; $21.00 per hour from July 1, 2027, to June 30, 2028; and
$27.00 per hour on or after July 1, 2028.
34-4-8.
(a) As used in this Code section, the term:
(1) 'State agency' means any agency, authority, department, institution, board, bureau,
commission, committee, office, or instrumentality of the executive, legislative, or judicial
branch of government of this state.
(2) 'State employee' means an officer, official, employee, or independent contractor of
a state agency.
(b) 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.
34-4-9.
(a) As used in this Code section, the term:
(1) 'Qualifying employer' means an employer in this state that has employed a
rehabilitated offender as a full-time employee for at least one year.
(2) '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.
(3) 'Second chance grant' means a grant to a qualifying employer that has employed a
rehabilitated offender as a full-time employee for at least one year.
(b) Subject to appropriations, the department shall establish a grant program for the
purpose of compensating qualifying employers that have employed rehabilitated offenders
as full-time employees for at least one year.
(c) The department shall:
(1) Establish criteria for determining any restrictions on permitted offenses committed
by rehabilitated offenders;
(2) Certify rehabilitated offenders for employment;
(3) Establish criteria for the second chance grant;
(4) Implement an application process; and
(5) Distribute any second chance grants to qualifying employers.
(d) No later than December 31, 2026, and annually thereafter, the department shall submit
a report to the chairpersons of the House Committee on Industry and Labor and the Senate
Insurance and Labor Committee on the effect and implementation of this Code section,
including the number and amount of grants distributed, the number of rehabilitated
offenders employed, the number and names of qualifying employers, the types of positions,
the industry impacted, and any recommendations for improving the program.
(e) The department shall promulgate such rules and regulations that are necessary to
implement the provisions of this Code section."
SECTION 4.
This Act shall become effective upon its approval by the Governor or upon its becoming law
without such approval.
SECTION 5.
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.
House Bill 600 would set new minimum wage rates for agricultural workers and state employees in Georgia and create a state grant program for employers who hire people with past convictions.
### Plain-language summary
Georgia's general minimum wage law currently sets a floor of $5.15 per hour, well below the federal minimum, and that base rate stays unchanged under this bill. Instead, the bill adds two new categories with their own higher minimums: agricultural employers with ten or more workers would have to pay a rising minimum wage starting at $15.00 per hour in 2025 and climbing to $27.00 per hour by July 2028, and all state government agencies would have to pay their employees and contractors at least $20.00 per hour.
The bill also creates a 'Second Chance' grant program run by the Department of Labor to pay employers who keep a rehabilitated offender (someone hired within five years of release from prison) as a full-time employee for at least a year. The department would set eligibility rules, certify offenders, run the application process, and report yearly to legislative committees starting December 31, 2026. The law would take effect as soon as the Governor signs it.
### What it does
- Leaves the general state minimum wage at $5.15 per hour but adds a separate, higher minimum wage schedule for agricultural employers with ten or more workers, rising from $15.00 in 2025 to $27.00 per hour by July 2028.
- Requires all Georgia state agencies to pay state employees and independent contractors at least $20.00 per hour.
- Creates a Second Chance grant program at the Department of Labor to pay employers who keep a rehabilitated offender employed full-time for at least one year.
- Directs the Department of Labor to set eligibility criteria, certify rehabilitated offenders, run an application process, and distribute grants.
- Requires the department to submit an annual report starting December 31, 2026 to House and Senate labor committees on grants, employers, and program impact.
- Removes the existing exemption from minimum wage law for employers who are farm owners, sharecroppers, or land renters, replacing that subsection with 'Reserved.'
### Who it affects
Agricultural businesses with ten or more employees and their workers, all Georgia state agencies and their employees or contractors, the Department of Labor, employers who hire people with recent criminal convictions, and those formerly incarcerated individuals seeking employment.
### Why it matters
Agricultural workers at larger farm-related businesses and state employees would see mandated pay increases well above Georgia's current minimum wage. Employers who hire people leaving prison could receive state grant money, which may affect hiring decisions and reentry job prospects for people with convictions.
### Key provisions
- Section 2 revises O.C.G.A. § 34-4-3 and eliminates the prior exemption for farm owners, sharecroppers, and land renters from the minimum wage chapter, marking that subsection 'Reserved.'
- Section 3 adds O.C.G.A. § 34-4-7, setting a phased minimum wage for agricultural employers with ten or more employees: $15.00/hour (2025-26), $18.00/hour (2026-27), $21.00/hour (2027-28), and $27.00/hour from July 2028 onward.
- Section 3 adds O.C.G.A. § 34-4-8, requiring all state agencies to pay state employees and independent contractors at least $20.00 per hour.
- Section 3 adds O.C.G.A. § 34-4-9, creating the Second Chance grant program for employers who keep a rehabilitated offender employed full-time for at least a year, subject to available state funding.
- Section 3 requires the Department of Labor to certify rehabilitated offenders, set grant criteria, and submit an annual report to legislative labor committees starting December 31, 2026.
- Section 4 states the Act takes effect upon the Governor's signature or upon becoming law without signature.
## Status
- Status: Introduced (2025-02-24)
- Last action: House Second Readers (2025-02-27)
- Sponsors: Derrick Jackson, Dewey McClain, El-Mahdi Holly, Gabriel Sanchez, Kimberly Alexander, Rhonda Taylor
- Official page: https://www.legis.ga.gov/legislation/70726
> The history, votes, and amendments (129 characters) are at https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb600.md?full=1