$35,000 Minimum Salary Law Still Incomplete at Six Agencies Five Months Later

Among the pressing issues discussed during Friday’s meeting of the Committee on Budget, Appropriations, and Finance was the status of the minimum wage increase owed to government workers.   Act 8995, sponsored by Senator Kurt Vialet, should have increased the annual minimum salary for full-time government employees to $35,000. The act should have taken effect on October 1, 2025, the start of the financial year.  But as lawmakers learned on Friday, the Office of Management and Budget is still working with several departments to meet that mandate.  In his testimony, Finance Commissioner Kevin McCurdy shared that the territory’s semi-autonomous agencies as well as the Legislative and Judicial branches, had “achieved full compliance.” The other agencies, he said, are “approximately 80% compliant.” When Senator Dwayne DeGraff pressed further, Mr. McCurdy explained that there are “some operational hiccups there.”  Senator Ray Fonseca was irritated. He demanded a “drop dead date” from Mc...