Governor Edwards will once again push to raise Louisiana’s minimum wage in the upcoming legislative session. During an appearance at the Baton Rouge Press Club, Edwards announced his support for New Orleans Senator Troy Carter’s bill that would lift the minimum wage from 7.25 to nine dollars an hour by January 2021 and ten dollars an hour by July 2021.
“We’ve fallen behind too far for too long in Louisiana, and we know that an overwhelming majority of the people of Louisiana agree with us on that,” said Edwards.
Edwards made raising the minimum wage a pillar of his 2015 election, and 2019 reelection efforts. But the proposal faces strong opposition from business organiziations.
The Governor is also once again supporting a push to prevent employers from firing workers who openly discuss their salary with other workers, and allow workers to keep their previous job’s pay secret.
“Important steps to make sure that every person is paid on their merits and the nature of their work, not on their gender and the payroll of their employer,” says Edwards.
He came out in favor of a series of bills by Alexandria Senator Jay Luneau that bars auto insurance companies from charging customers more based on their gender, credit, or military service.
“Premiums ought to be set on driving records, not on whether someone is poor or female, or that sort of thing. It’s common sense, and the right thing to do,” said Edwards.
Republicans are pushing to lower the jury trial threshold to 15,000 dollars, but Edwards says he believes the current 50,000 dollar level is adequate.
