Nevada’s minimum wage up to $12 per hour July 1; two-tier system is out

Monday, July 1, 2024 8:42 PM
  • Kelsea Frobes, The Nevada Independent

Before Nevada voters passed Question 2 in 2022, Nevada operated under a two-tier minimum wage system that allowed an employee to be paid a lower minimum wage if an employer offered qualified health benefits.

But because of the constitutional amendment — and a multiyear effort to raise the minimum wage that was approved in the 2019 legislative session — Nevadans will make no less than $12 an hour starting July 1. That’s up from the previous minimum wage of $11.25 an hour, or $10.25 an hour if an employer offered qualifying health benefits.

The new law taking effect Monday was the product of arguments that Nevada’s workers should not be penalized with a lower minimum wage because their employers offered certain health benefits.