“For too long, while the nation’s economy grew, the income of the lowest earning workers has stayed flat, making already existing pay disparities even worse and preventing hardworking families from obtaining financial security,” Gov. Ned Lamont said in a news release Monday. “This is a fair, gradual increase for workers who will invest the money right back into our economy and continue supporting local businesses in their communities.”

“Raising the minimum wage is going to benefit hundreds of thousands of people in Connecticut, especially people of color and working mothers,” Democratic Rep. Robyn Porter said when the law was passed. “That extra disposable income for each low-wage worker will go right back into the local and state economies, benefiting our communities and local businesses and producing more revenue for the state. A higher wage also will bring more dignity into the workplace. In the end, all of Connecticut will benefit.”

Porter helped champion the bill as co-chair of the Labor and Public Employees Committee.

Stefanowski has made inflation a central point of his campaign, blaming Lamont for high prices around the state. The minimum wage increase, and a recent endorsement from Connecticut’s AFL-CIO, come barely four months before the November election.