SQ 832 is on the June 16 Ballot

• SQ 832 will appear on Oklahoma’s statewide primary ballot in June.

• The proponents of SQ 832 have already gathered the necessary number of valid signatures to qualify for the ballot.

• Gov. Stitt has set the vote on SQ 832 for June 16, 2026.

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What SQ 832 Does

• If passed by voters, SQ 832 will raise Oklahoma’s minimum wage in three steps, reaching $15 an hour beginning Jan 1, 2029—but it doesn’t stop there.

• Every year afterward, even after Oklahoma’s minimum wage reaches $15 an hour, SQ 832 would continue increasing Oklahoma’s minimum wage based on the U.S. Department of Labor’s Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers (CPI-W).

• This means bad decisions made by liberal politicians that raise the cost of living in big cities including New York City, Los Angeles and San Francisco will have a direct impact on how much Oklahoma’s minimum wage increases each year.

 

No Limits in SQ 832

• There is no limit or cap in SQ 832 on how many times Oklahoma’s minimum wage can be increased or how high it can go.

• The minimum wage hikes in SQ 832 apply to all ages, all experience levels, any level of education, all industries, all areas of Oklahoma, and whether an employee is full-time or part-time.

• SQ 832 will apply to 8 out of every 10 small businesses in Oklahoma.

• The fine print of SQ 832 makes clear that it would apply to any employer that does gross business of more than $100,000 a year, even if a business has fewer than 10 employees.

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Results in Other States & Cities

• In states and cities that have had the same minimum wage structure as SQ 832 for at least 10 years, the results have not been good.

• When faced with increased costs, small businesses have often been forced to either cut jobs or cut hours, while large businesses are inclined to replace even more people with automation.

• Studies show that these states and cities have have seen either a loss of jobs or an accelerated rise in prices—usually a mix of both.

• Typically, as in Seattle, the job losses occur most at the lower end of the wage scale—the very people minimum wage increases are allegedly intended to help.

• In California, the same minimum wage structure as SQ 832 has pushed 2 million people out of the workforce.

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SQ 832 is a Job Killer

• In other states and cities with minimum wage structures similar to SQ 832, the first jobs lost are entry-level jobs for younger and low-skilled workers, including teenagers.

• Many Oklahoma small businesses will be forced to cut hours and benefits for their employees.

• There are no protections in SQ 832 that guarantee a person’s job will be protected, or that a person’s hours will not be slashed, or that a person won’t see their job replaced by automation.

• SQ 832 would give Oklahoma the same minimum wage structure as California, which has the highest unemployment rate in America.

• The NFIB Research Center projects SQ 832 will result in the loss of 16,000 jobs and $700 million in economic output for the state of Oklahoma by 2035, with 60 percent of those job losses at small businesses.

• The severity of SQ 832’s negative effects is due at least in part to the fact that Oklahoma’s minimum wage would increase so high so quickly, more than doubling in just two years’ time.

• SQ 832 will result in Oklahoma losing even more jobs to Texas, which still has the federal minimum wage of $7.25.

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SQ 832 Will Raise Prices Even More

• The minimum wage increases in SQ 832, year after year, will contribute to more price increases beyond what Oklahoma families and senior citizens are already experiencing.

• SQ 832 will raise prices even more on essentials like groceries, gas, medication, child care and utilities.

• While prices in Oklahoma have been rising already, a quick comparison with other states with the same minimum wage structure as SQ 832—in particular, California and Washington—shows that prices in those states have risen much more than in Oklahoma.