Taking a page from President Obama’s playbook, Gov. Steve Beshear is raising the minimum wage to $10.10 an hour for some state employees through executive order. Beshear signed the order Monday during a ceremony at the Kentucky Horse Park.
In his remarks, the governor said Kentuckians working full-time jobs should make enough money to live on and the current $7.25 is not sufficient – adding that the extra income could move some state employees off of government assistance.
The change affects close to 800 workers and comes with a price tag of $1.6 million. Officials say less than half of those dollars will come from the General Fund.
As part of the announcement, Beshear issued a challenge to public and private employers to follow his lead.
