Democrats appear to be abandoning the $15 minimum wage as their latest alternative is cut, and some leaders signaled an unwillingness to overrule the Senate parliamentarian, which earlier ruled that the wage hike wasn't admissible through the stimulus plan.

A backup plan to implement the $15 minimum wage hike through tax incentives has proven too complex and unreliable, leaving Democrats with few options but to pursue the measure independently later on, The Washinton Post reports.

Hopes had remained high in the immediate aftermath of the parliamentarian’s decision, with Congressional leaders pledging to fight and senior Democrats moving to a planned alternative. That plan would increase taxes on large companies that paid employees below $15 an hour, not technically raising the minimum wage but creating a strong financial incentive to independently follow it.

The measure rapidly proved unworkable. Sen. Ron Wyden and Sen. Bernie Sanders, leaders of the effort and chairs of the Finance and Budget Committees respectively, would have only days to draft the complicated legislation and get majority approval. They would also have to face a daunting variety of loopholes, such as companies shifting workers to independent contractor status.

With Joe Biden and congressional leadership apparently unwilling to overrule the parliamentarian outright, chances of the minimum wage increase making it into the stimulus bill are increasingly slim.

“We’re going to have to spend the next several days or even weeks figuring out what the best path forward is, but [Biden’s] committed to doing that,” White House press secretary Jen Psaki told Fox.

US President Joe Biden said he respects the ruling against including the $15 minimum wage language in the Covid relief package, but said he wants Congress to swifly pass the measure to help millions of American families
US President Joe Biden said he respects the ruling against including the $15 minimum wage language in the Covid relief package, but said he wants Congress to swifly pass the measure to help millions of American families AFP / ANDREW CABALLERO-REYNOLDS

The stimulus bill will have to pass by March 14 to avoid federal benefits running dry.

The minimum wage hasn’t gone this long without an increase in the eight-decade history of the law, and raising it has been a priority for the Democrats’ progressive caucus. Any attempt to drop the provision would likely provoke defections, a daunting prospect considering the stimulus passed the House with a 219-212 margin on Saturday.

Nancy Pelosi has said she’s “absolutely” confident the bill could pass without the minimum wage increase, Bloomberg reports.

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