Georgia CommonsHB 600: Minimum Wage and Second Chance Act of 2025; enact
Última acción: 27 de febrero de 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.
Los resúmenes de abajo son traducciones de resúmenes en inglés escritos por un modelo de IA (claude-sonnet-5) a partir del texto del proyecto de ley; no forman parte de él. El proyecto de ley está en inglés. Cite el texto, no el resumen. El texto almacenado es la versión Introduced, la más reciente que tiene LegiScan.
El resumen en español de este proyecto de ley se está preparando. Mientras tanto se muestra el resumen en inglés.
En lenguaje claro
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.
Qué hace el proyecto de ley
- 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.
A quién afecta
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.
Por qué importa
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.
Disposiciones clave
- 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.
Del proyecto de ley
“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”
“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.”
“'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.”
Cronología del estado
- House Second Readers (Cámara de Representantes)
- House First Readers (Cámara de Representantes)
- House Hopper (Cámara de Representantes)
Patrocinadores
- Derrick Jackson (D, HD-068)
- Dewey McClain (D, HD-109)
- El-Mahdi Holly (D, HD-116)
- Gabriel Sanchez (D, HD-042)
- Kimberly Alexander (D, HD-066)
- Rhonda Taylor (D, HD-092)
Temas
- minimum wage
- farm labor
- state employee pay
- criminal justice reentry
- Georgia Department of Labor