Hobby Lobby Increases Minimum Wage for Workers
- Religion Today
- Updated Apr 22, 2013
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Hobby Lobby Stores, Inc., announced this week a minimum wage increase to $14 per hour for full-time employees of Hobby Lobby and its affiliate Hemispheres, effective immediately, Christian News Wire reports. The company also announced a minimum wage increase for all part-time employees to $9.50 per hour. This is the fifth year in a row that the company has raised wages for full-time employees. Founder and CEO of Hobby Lobby David Green said, “We are very fortunate to be able to increase hourly wages for our employees, because we know our company would not be successful without the great work they do each day in our stores across the nation.”
This increase will raise the pay of more than 17,726 employees nationwide. Hobby Lobby’s new minimum wage for full-time hourly employees is 93 percent above the national minimum wage of $7.25 per hour. In 2013, Hobby Lobby projects continued growth and plans to open around 33 additional stores, creating 1,200 jobs across the country.
Hobby Lobby has recently been in the news due to their legal battle against the federal government’s abortion/contraceptive mandate. Under the government's mandate, businesses must cover contraceptives and abortion-causing drugs as part of their employee health insurance plans. The Christian owners argue that the mandate violates their beliefs.