Harris County could raise minimum wage to $20 for county employees if proposal approved

HARRIS COUNTY, Texas (KTRK) -- Harris County leaders could vote to raise the minimum wage for county employees to $20 an hour, but this isn't like most pay raises commonly heard about.

If approved, the minimum wage could increase every year.

According to one commissioner advocating for it, the minimum wage would be increased annually based on the living wage scale from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).

County employees would first be bumped to make at least $20 an hour, and those who have county-contracted jobs would make at least $21.65 an hour.

MIT's calculator considers a livable wage to be the hourly amount that a worker must earn to afford their basic needs while remaining nominally independent.

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Harris County Commissioners Rodney Ellis and Lesley Briones are among those pushing for the new minimum wage.

According to ABC13's news partners at the Houston Chronicle, the last minimum wage increase was in 2019 when it went up to $15 an hour.

It's unclear if they have enough support to pass it during Thursday's meeting.

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