While most cities are raising their minimum wage, St. Louis is decreasing its hourly payment.
The city passed an ordinance in 2015 that raised the minimum wage to $10, which went into effect May 2017 after a long court battle. Next January, it would have gone up to $11, reports CNN.
A new state law is overriding the city's ordinance; the state legislature voted in favor of a law that prohibits local government from setting a minimum wage higher than what the state requires.
The law has been highly controversial, pitting a city against a rural state.
"This increase in the minimum wage might read pretty on paper, but it doesn't work in practice. Government imposes an arbitrary wage, and small businesses either have to cut people's hours or let them go," the Republican Governor Eric Greitens said in a statement released last week.
It's unclear if St. Louis businesses will now drop their worker's wages.
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