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Duke to Move to $15 Minimum Wage by 2019

Rate set to increase to $14 in July 2018 and $15 in July 2019

Duke University
Duke University and Duke University Health System have announced plans to increase the minimum wage for its workforce to $15 per hour by 2019.

The minimum wage for all eligible Duke employees and full-time contract workers will increase to $15 per hour by July 1, 2019, more than twice the current federal and state minimum wage of $7.25

Duke will increase its minimum wage from $13 to $14 per hour on July 1, 2018. The following year, the minimum wage will increase to $15 per hour. With the planned changes in the next two years, the Duke minimum wage will have increased by 37 percent since 2015.

“Duke has a longstanding commitment to providing a total compensation package that recognizes and rewards the talented people who continue to make this institution a national leader,” said President Vincent E. Price. “This starts with pay, which is why we are moving forward with these increases, but it also includes benefits such as health insurance, retirement, and paid time away. Our goal always is for Duke to be the best place to work in North Carolina”

The new rates will apply to all regular University and Health System staff (those eligible staff working at least 20 hours week/36 weeks per year). The increases over the next two years will increase pay rates for more than 2,300 staff members. Positions that are covered under a collective bargaining agreement will be addressed under the provision of the contract.

Duke, the largest private employer in Durham, has increased its minimum wage several times in recent years, including moving to $13 per hour in 2017 and from $10.91 to $12 per hour 2015.

The change will also apply to contractors who employ individuals working on Duke’s campus.  All contractors will be expected to move their full-time employees on campus to the new Duke minimum wage according to the same schedule.

“We will continue to review all of our pay ranges annually relative to the local and national markets,” said Kyle Cavanaugh, vice president for Administration, “and we’ll make adjustments as needed.”