---
title: "Minimum Wage Is Going Up in 24 States Starting in 2020, But Operators Aren’t As Worried As You Might Think"
url: https://burnaze.com/article/4375bbe9-4530-4168-80c3-7ae046921184
source: "1851 Franchise"
original_url: https://1851franchise.com/minimum-wage-is-going-up-in-24-states-starting-in-2020-but-operators-arent-as-worried-as-you-might-think-2711603
category: "Restaurants"
industry: "Restaurants"
topics: ["Regulation & legal"]
published: 2019-11-13T16:11:01.000Z
modified: 2026-11-01T02:29:02.239Z
image: https://newimage.1851franchise.com/cdn-cgi/image/quality=85,format=webp,width=1280,height=720/story/featureImage/1d387cc2602546d1f243873019fff71c98.jpg
---

# Minimum Wage Is Going Up in 24 States Starting in 2020, But Operators Aren’t As Worried As You Might Think

**TL;DR:** Minimum wage is increasing in 24 states starting in 2020, but restaurant operators are not as concerned as they have been in the past. The National Restaurant Association's survey shows that labor costs and minimum wage increases have fallen as a concern for restaurant operators in 2019.

*originally published in 1851 Franchise on 2019-11-13. [Read the original](https://1851franchise.com/minimum-wage-is-going-up-in-24-states-starting-in-2020-but-operators-arent-as-worried-as-you-might-think-2711603).*

## Story

**Minimum wage has been a contentious issue for restaurant workers and owners for years, but regardless of feelings on either side, incremental increases are taking effect in nearly half of U.S. states in 2020. Some more ambitious legislation has been passed by the U.S. House of Representatives, including the** **Raise the Wage Act****—which would increase the federal minimum wage by more than double—but said act has shown no signs of moving through the Senate, according to** **Nation’s Restaurant News****.**

**The U.S. federal minimum wage has been $7.25 an hour for 10 years. According to a simple** **Inflation Calculator****, the purchasing power equivalent to $7.25 in 2019 (as compared to 2009) would come out to about $8.68. That may not seem like much, but anyone who has worked for low wages know that small raises can go a long way.**

**According to the** **National Restaurant Association’s Restaurant Trends Survey** **as reported by NRN, labor costs and minimum wage increases have actually fallen as a concern for restaurant operators in 2019 in terms of biggest challenges. While representatives from the NRA and other industry organizations have** **voiced concerns** **over minimum wage increases in the past, this survey indicates that operators are shifting priorities to employee recruitment and retention, building sales and competition from other restaurants. Franchises like Chipotle have combated recruitment issues with increased employee incentives including not only raised wages, but access to** **more comprehensive healthcare packages****,** **debt-free higher education** **and more.**

## Entities

- 1851 Franchise (publication)
- Restaurants (sector)
- Nation's Restaurant News (publication)
- Chipotle (company)
- employee retention (topic)
- National Restaurant Association (company)
- labor costs (topic)
- minimum wage (topic)
- restaurant trends (topic)
- U.S. House of Representatives (regulator)
- employee recruitment (topic)
- Raise the Wage Act (regulator)

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Originally reported by 1851 Franchise (https://1851franchise.com/minimum-wage-is-going-up-in-24-states-starting-in-2020-but-operators-arent-as-worried-as-you-might-think-2711603). Summarized by Burnaze (https://burnaze.com/article/4375bbe9-4530-4168-80c3-7ae046921184).