The state’s minimum wage currently is $5.15 an hour but few, if any, employers pay that. If a company engages in interstate commerce, it must pay the federal rate of $7.20 an hour.

Byrd said $9 an hour is still not a living wage in Wyoming. Workers would not be able to feed themselves and pay rent and utilities in Wyoming on $9 an hour. But an increase to $9 is better than nothing. It will get conservative lawmakers thinking, Byrd said.

“The reality is the $9 figure is also gauging the temperature of the political waters,” he said. “If I want to raise the minimum wage, where can I go and have people give me consideration? And $9 is the threshold. If I go much higher, the ‘no’ votes will stack up.”

The bill would increase the wages of tipped employees from $2.13 an hour to $5 an hour. Byrd said the Wyoming Restaurant and Lodging Association has said members will oppose the bill. The association did not return a message from the Star-Tribune.

Collection of unpaid wages