People on the bottom rung of the corporate ladder at Bank of America are about to take home more money.
The financial institution has announced plans to raise its minimum wage to $20 per hour in the next two years. The first step in that process will be made May 1, when the lowest salary will be $17 per hour. The bank has also frozen healthcare cost increases for its lower-paid employees.
Chairman and CEO Brian Moynihan made the announcement on MSNBC’s Morning Joe Tuesday morning, declaring “If you get a job at Bank of America, you’ll make $41,000”.
Two years ago, Bank of America raised its minimum wage from $13.50 to $15 per hour. It’s not the only bank doing so. JPMorgan Chase, last year, announced plans to raise its minimum wage to between $15 and $18, depending on local costs of living.
Those increases followed a 2013 report from The Committee for Better Banks, which found that one-third of bank tellers were forced to depend on some form of public assistance.
Moynihan’s announcement comes one day before he’s scheduled to appear before a congressional hearing that will focus on issues including executive pay and income inequality.
Bank of America employs over 204,000 people nationwide.