Here’s one example of state service contracts going up as a result of the living wage law passed last year. An analysis (PDF) of the Comptroller’s budget highlights a significant increase in the cost of bringing in temporary employees during tax season.
The cost of that contract will increase by $760,000 because of the living wage, according to the nonpartisan Department of Legislative Services. The living wage requires contractors working on many state contracts to pay their employees $11.30 an hour for contracts performed in Baltimore City and Montgomery, Prince George’s, Howard, Anne Arundel and Baltimore counties. The rate is $8.50 in all other counties.
The bill was not expected to have a substantial effect on contract costs, as Dori Berman reported for The Daily Record last year.
This one budget increase doesn’t say much, but it will be worth watching other budgets to see if there are any more living wage-linked cost increases.
