State Chamber, OK Farm Bureau challenge SQ 832
OKLAHOMA CITY (KFOR) - The State Chamber of Oklahoma and the Oklahoma Farm Bureau Legal Foundation are looking to challenge State Question 832.
SQ 832 focuses on raising the minimum wage in Oklahoma. Officials say SQ 832 would double the state's minimum wage to $15 an hour by 2029.
The plan would raise the current minimum wage from $7.25 and hour to $9 in 2025, then it would increase by $1.50 a year until it reaches $15 an hour in 2029.
According to the petition, beginning in 2030 the minimum wage would increase yearly based on the U.S. Department of Labor's consumer price index.
The State Chamber and Oklahoma Farm Bureau filed the legal challenge at the Oklahoma Supreme Court to argue the proposed question. They say SQ 832 is "unconstitutional under Oklahoma law because it unlawfully delegates the legislature's power to federal administrative officials."
“State Chamber member companies have no interest in artificially holding down wages, and in
today’s labor market, they could not stay in business if they tried to do so,” said Chad
Warmington, president and CEO of The State Chamber. “Let’s be clear, most of our members
already pay well above the current minimum wage hourly rate to their non- salaried employees.
What is a major concern to us is the automatic, open-ended increase being linked to a federal
government produced index that is based upon cost-of-living rates in cities like New York or San
Francisco. Those areas are not reflective of the actual cost of living in Oklahoma. This ill-conceived plan would give Oklahomans no opportunity to adjust or halt these automatic
increases.”
According to the State Chamber, the Inflation Escalator in the state question would bump the government-mandated wage from today’s $7.25 per hour to:
- $22.16 per hour, if CPI-W grows at the 10-year average
- $27.56 per hour, if CPI-W grows at the 5-year average
- $35.61 per hour, if CPI-W grows at the 3-year average
Both organizations say they acknowledge the importance of fair compensation for workers but insist that the proposed measure could have "unintended consequences for Oklahoma’s economic landscape."
Below is the petition for State Question 832.