This increase comes after the passage of AB456, which increased the minimum wage by 75 cents annually over a five-year period.

Before Nevada voters passed Question 2 in 2022, Nevada operated under a two-tier minimum wage system that allowed an employee to be paid a lower minimum wage if an employer offered qualified health benefits.  

But because of the constitutional amendment — and a multiyear effort to raise the minimum wage that was approved in the 2019 legislative session — Nevadans will make no less than $12 an hour starting July 1. That’s up from the previous minimum wage of $11.25 an hour, or $10.25 an hour if an employer offered qualifying health benefits.

The new law taking effect Monday was the product of arguments that Nevada’s workers should not be penalized with a lower minimum wage because their employers offered certain health benefits.

Critics had argued the change could harm employers by removing an incentive that encouraged them to offer certain health benefits to their employees in exchange for lowering the employees’ hourly wage. 

The ballot question passed by a 10-point vote margin.

The state’s minimum wage will increase to match the federal minimum wage if the federal minimum wage rises above $12 per hour. The federal minimum wage is $7.25 per hour and has remained unchanged since 2009.

Read the rest of this article, which was shared with Noticiero Móvil, over at The Nevada Independent. This story was reported by Kelsea Frobes and originally published on July 1, 2024.