The Little Rock board of directors adopted a $15-per-hour minimum wage for all nonuniform, full-time city employees on Tuesday.

According to the press release, the increase came by way of an amendment to the 2022 budget. It brings Little Rock up to par with just a handful of cities in the United States to adopt a minimum wage of $15/hour for municipal employees.

"Improving quality of life is a foundational aspiration for my administration, and that applies not just to people who live in the city of Little Rock, but to those who work for the city of Little Rock as well," Mayor Frank Scott, Jr. said in a statement. "I want to thank the board for their approval of this measure, which will have an immediate and tangible impact on some of our most financially vulnerable people, bringing them up to livable wage and making sure our city remains a competitive employer."

The city said this emergency clause will take effect immediately and will impact nearly 100 employees. The departments most widely impacted will include the Little Rock Zoo, Parks and Recreation, and Public Works.

For more experienced workers already at $15-per-hour, the city said their pay will be increased based on their equity policy.

The release stated that this changed required nearly $300,000 to be set aside for additional salary and benefits including: $120,000 in the general fund, nearly $130,000 in the street fund, and $48,000 in the waste disposal fund.

City spokesperson Spencer Watson said the lowest salary before this Tuesday increase was $12.53-per-hour.