POSTED: TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 24, 2015 5:13 PM | UPDATED: 5:13 PM, TUE FEB 24, 2015.
DES MOINES (AP) – The Iowa Senate voted Tuesday to raise the state’s minimum wage and try to curtail cases of wage theft.
By a 27-22 vote, the Senate approved increasing the minimum wage level to $8.75.
Sen. Tony Bisignano, D-Des Moines, said a minimum wage increase would help Iowa’s workforce.
“We are trying to build a high wage, high skill economy. We don’t want to become a regional haven for low wage employers,” he said in prepared remarks.
Senators also voted 26-23 to establish more rules to avoid alleged wage theft by employers.