JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – The country’s largest employer, Walmart, announced that starting March 13, 425,000 store workers in its digital and stocking workgroups will see a pay raise between $13 and $19 an hour based on the store’s location and market.
“These are investments in people that are important to our future,” said Walmart Chief Executive Doug McMillon.
With the latest pay increase, about 730,000 of Walmart’s employees will make at least $15 an hour.
But these pay increases are only for some current employees. Walmart said its starting wage will stay at $11 an hour.
McMillon said that a minimum wage of $15 an hour was “an important target but also think that should be paced in a way that’s good for the U.S. economy.”
Other retailers such as Amazon, Target and Best Buy have increased their starting minimum wage to $15 an hour.
Walmart’s current minimum wage is still above Florida’s minimum wage, which starts at $8.65 an hour. However, that too will soon change after Amendment 2 passed last year in Florida. The amendment will raise the state’s minimum wage to $15 an hour by 2026.
President Joe Biden included a $15 federal minimum wage in his $1.9 trillion stimulus proposal last month. The legislation calls for the minimum wage to increase to $15 an hour by 2025. If that bill passes, it would override Florida’s current plan.
A vote on that bill is expected by the end of the month.