Hobby Lobby to Raise Minimum Wage to $17 by October

Hobby Lobby has announced that it is increasing its minimum full-time hourly wage to $17. This will take effect on October 1st. Hobby Lobby CEO David Green said this is to help their employees as the holiday season approaches.

“Because this year has presented so many challenges to our employees, we are very happy that we are able to provide pay increases to thousands of our associates before the Christmas season,” he said in a statement.

Fox Business reported that according to the company, “it was one of the first retailers to establish a nationwide minimum hourly wage well above the federal minimum wage in 2009.”

According to CBS News, the hourly wage hike will make Hobby Lobby among the highest-paying U.S. retailers. The baseline pay of retailers such as Amazon, Costco, and Target is $15, while Walmart offers at least $12.

Part-time workers at Hobby Lobby will not qualify for the new base pay. The company did not give information on how many employees will earn $17 per hour.

“If this applies to a reasonable share of their low-wage workers, then that's really putting their minimum wage at a decent level, and that's a nice thing to see,” said Heidi Shierholz of the Economic Policy Institute.

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