What's a 'Living Wage' in Wisconsin?
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Low-wage Wisconsin workers and a labor-backed coalition are suing the state’s Republican governor, Scott Walker, demanding a higher minimum wage.
At issue is unusual language in Wisconsin’s century-old minimum wage statute. Rather than just establishing a wage floor, a 1913 law also states that the wage should be “a living wage,” and it allows Wisconsinites to bring complaints to the state Department of Workforce Development if they believe it falls short. The executive branch then has the authority to appoint a wage council to address the issue, or even to raise the wage floor itself, subject to legislative review.