BY JOHN REID BLACKWELL
Richmond Times-Dispatch
Some Virginians will be getting a pay raise thanks to an increase to the state's mandatory hourly minimum wage.
As of May 1, the minimum wage goes from $7.25 per hour to $9.50 per hour â a 31% increase.
It is the first of three scheduled increases that will raise minimum pay for most non-farm jobs in Virginia to $12 per hour by 2023. And the rate is slated to go even higher â to $15 an hour â if the General Assembly approves.
Virginia joins several other states and big cities in raising the minimum wage above the federal rate of $7.25 an hour.