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Beacon Hill Committee Backs $15-Per-Hour Fast Food Wage

BOSTON (AP) — Fast food workers are praising a Beacon Hill committee for supporting legislation aimed at raising the minimum wage for some workers to $15-per-hour over 3 years.

The bill approved Tuesday by the Legislature's Labor and Workforce Development Committee would apply to employees of large retail stores and fast food chains.

The vote came as demonstrators marched through Boston in support of the measure.

The $15-per-hour wage, which would take effect by 2018, would apply only to large corporations with over 200 employees. The increase would phase in over three years.

The measure has a ways to go before becoming law. It must be approved by both the House and Senate and signed by Gov. Charlie Baker.

Under a law approved last year, the state's minimum wage will increase to $11 per hour by 2017.

Copyright 2015 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

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