Business groups are pressuring Democratic officials in several states to postpone planned minimum-wage increases, arguing that embattled businesses can’t afford to give workers a raise as they face the coronavirus-related economic crisis.
Virginia, California, Illinois, Michigan and Massachusetts are among the states where small-business advocates and groups representing restaurants, hotels and other industries are urging delays in wage increases agreed to before the outbreak, and its related business shutdowns, began.
They’ve had some success, even in states governed by Democrats, showing how fundamentally altered political thinking has become, and how rapidly, as a result of the pandemic-driven downturn. Delaying wage ...