Large Debt Collector Voluntarily Moves its Minimum Hourly Wage to $10.10

Debt buyer and collection firm Portfolio Recovery Associates (NASDAQ: PRAA) announced Tuesday that it has decided to increase the minimum hourly wage it pays its employees in the U.S. to $10.10 citing a recent debate on minimum wage laws in the country.

The company noted that although a Congressional bill to raise the minimum wage over three years from $7.25 to $10.10 was unsuccessful, the company last week voluntarily increased its minimum hourly pay for all U.S. employees to $10.10 – well ahead of the three-year timetable for the gradual minimum wage increase that had been proposed in the legislation.

That bill failed last week in the Senate under a Republican filibuster. Supporters of the bill could not find enough votes to clear the 60-vote filibuster-busting threshold, with the bill being “defeated” after a 54-42 vote in favor of advancement.

“PRA’s hard-working employees are among the most productive in the industry, so we are pleased to voluntarily pay the much-debated minimum wage of $10.10 or more to all of our U.S. employees,” said company President and CEO Steve Fredrickson. “This is in addition to the significant pay-for-performance bonuses offered to most PRA employees, as well as a full benefits package, including medical insurance, to all our full-time employees.”

The increase will result in a modest wage increase for about 120 of the company’s 3,300 U.S. workers, the company said. All of its other employees were already making $10.10 per hour or more.

PRA employs more than 3,500 people worldwide at offices in 10 U.S. states and one in Kilmarnock, Scotland.