Initiative petition 446 was recently filed. If it makes it to the ballot, it will be State Question 832.
The proposal would amend the Oklahoma Minimum Wage Act (“OMWA”) to increase the state minimum wage. Employers would be required to pay employees at least $9 per hour beginning in 2025, $10.50 per hour beginning in 2026, $12 per hour beginning in 2027, $13.50 per hour beginning in 2028, and $15 per hour beginning in 2029. Beginning in 2030, the minimum wage would increase yearly based on the increase in the cost of living.
This measure also eliminates a number of exemptions in the current OMWA, including those for part-time employees, certain students and individuals under the age of 18, certain farm and agricultural workers, domestic service workers, newspaper vendors or carriers, and feedstore employees.
Under this measure, federal and state employees would not be covered under the OMWA. Some employers with ten or fewer employees, as well as certain other types of employees and volunteers, would remain exempt.
The measure includes this language, “This Act shall be liberally construed in favor of its purposes and shall not limit any law, policy, standard, or regulation that requires payment of higher or supplemental wages or benefits to any employees or other working individuals.” My reading of that (I am not an attorney) is that an amendment to the law or a new law could require payment of higher wages.
Here’s the link to the whole petition, https://www.sos.ok.gov/documents/questions/832.pdf
The 10-day protest period began today, 11/6. If there are no protests filed (this would surprise me) the signature collection period could begin in early December.
As those of you who attended our last Zoom know, I am disappointed with the low dollar amount of the wage increases. That said, the annual raise based on cost-of-living increases beginning in 2030 is very significant, as is the removal of most of the exemptions. Furthermore, I have learned that the forces behind the petition are credible, and have done good work on other progressive issues.