North Carolina HB 1059: State of Em./Religious Occupancy Exempts.

Bill Text

GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF NORTH CAROLINA
SESSION 2025
H 1
HOUSE BILL 1059

Short Title: Fair Minimum Wage Act. (Public)
Sponsors: Representatives Prather, Longest, Buansi, and K. Brown (Primary Sponsors).
For a complete list of sponsors, refer to the North Carolina General Assembly web site.
Referred to: Rules, Calendar, and Operations of the House
April 28, 2026
*H1059-v-1*
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED 1
AN ACT ESTABLISHING STATE MINIMUM WAGES THAT ADJUST UPWARD 2
AUTOMATICALLY FOR INFLATION, CREATING THE NORTH CAROLINA WAGE 3
BOARD, ESTABLISHING THE SHORT-TIME COMPENSATION PROGRAM, 4
REPEALING THE RESTRICTION ON LOCAL MINIMUM WAGES, AND 5
APPROPRIATING FUNDS FOR IMPLEMENTATION OF THIS ACT. 6
Whereas, the wages paid to working North Carolinians should be sufficient to better 7
reflect the rising cost of basic necessities, including housing, food, transportation, and health 8
care; and 9
Whereas, indexing the State minimum wage for inflation will help preserve workers' 10
purchasing power over time and reduce the need for repeated legislative intervention; and 11
Whereas, allowing local governments to adopt higher minimum wages, where 12
appropriate, gives communities greater flexibility to respond to local labor market conditions and 13
cost pressures; and 14
Whereas, a Wage Board and a short-time compensation program can help the State 15
promote fair wages, reduce avoidable layoffs, and support workforce stability during economic 16
downturns; and 17
Whereas, improving wage standards and employment stability advances the general 18
welfare of the people of North Carolina; Now, therefore, 19
The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts: 20
SECTION 1.1. G.S. 95-25.3 reads as rewritten: 21
"§ 95-25.3. Minimum wage. 22
(a) Every Except as provided by subsection (a1) of this section, every employer shall pay 23
to each employee who in any workweek performs any work, wages of at least six dollars and 24
fifteen cents ($6.15) per hour or the minimum wage set forth in paragraph 1 of section 6(a) of the 25
Fair Labor Standards Act, 29 U.S.C. 206(a)(1), as that wage may change from time to time, 26
whichever is higher, except as otherwise provided in this section.fifteen dollars ($15.00) per hour, 27
which shall be adjusted automatically for inflation annually to reflect increases in the Consumer 28
Price Index, with the first adjustment occurring effective January 1, 2027. These adjustments 29
shall be effective January 1 of each year. The adjustments shall be calculated by the 30
Commissioner as the percentage of change between the October Consumer Price Index in the 31
year most recently ended, calculated to the nearest tenth of one percent (1/10 of 1%), provided 32
that this percentage change is positive. For the purposes of this section, the term "Consumer Price 33
Index" means the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U), U.S. City Average, 34

General Assembly Of North Carolina Session 2025
Page 2 House Bill 1059-First Edition
all items, not seasonally adjusted, standard reference base, as published by the Bureau of Labor 1
Statistics of the U.S. Department of Labor. 2
(a1) Notwithstanding the provisions of subsection (a) of this section, an employer whose 3
gross annual receipts for the preceding calendar year were less than four hundred thousand dollars 4
($400,000) shall pay to each employee who in any workweek performs any work wages of at 5
least eleven dollars ($11.00) per hour or the minimum wage set forth in paragraph 1 of section 6
6(a) of the Fair Labor Standards Act, 29 U.S.C. § 206(a)(1), as that wage may change from time 7
to time, whichever is higher, except as otherwise provided in this section. The rate of eleven 8
dollars ($11.00) per hour is effective January 1, 2027, and shall be adjusted annually thereafter 9
in the same manner and on the same schedule as provided in subsection (a) of this section. An 10
employer that qualifies under this section has the burden of establishing its eligibility by 11
maintaining records sufficient to demonstrate gross annual receipts for the preceding calendar 12
year. The records shall be retained for at least three years and shall be made available to the 13
Commissioner upon request. 14
(a2) A local government may adopt an ordinance establishing a local minimum wage 15
within its territorial jurisdiction that is higher than the statewide minimum wage; then, in that 16
case, every employer in the jurisdiction shall instead pay the higher local minimum wage. 17
(a3) The North Carolina Wage Board is established within the Department. Wage Board 18
members shall be appointed by, and serve at the pleasure of, the Commissioner. The Wage Board 19
shall review wages in this State annually and publish a report establishing targets for the State to 20
remain competitive and that allow wage earners to afford housing, health care, and other basic 21
necessities. 22
(b) In order to prevent curtailment of opportunities for employment, the wage rate for 23
full-time s