Pro-worker?

More than 60 percent of 2,200 full-time hiring and HR managers surveyed by Harris Poll on behalf of CareerBuilder believe the minimum wage should be increased:

• Twenty-nine percent believe it should rise to $8 or $9 an hour.

• Another 29 percent would like to see it at $10.

• Nineteen percent prefer $11 to $14.

• Seven percent would like to see it climb to $15 or more.

• Nine percent would prefer to have the minimum wage eliminated.

The expected results of a higher minimum wage include:

• Improve living standards (74 percent).

• Increase employee retention (58 percent).

• Bolster the economy (55 percent).

• Increase consumer spending (53 percent).

• Raise productivity and work quality (48 percent).

• Allow workers to pursue more education (39 percent).

"When workers have more money in their pockets, businesses benefit, because consumers have more money to spend in their communities and local stores," Neera Tanden, president of the Center for American Progress in Washington, D.C., said in a statement. "And it's good news for taxpayers, who currently spend billions of dollars annually subsidizing the low wages provided by companies that pay poverty wages. When companies pay poverty wages, millions of Americans — even those who work 40 hours per week, 52 weeks per year — must rely on programs such as nutrition assistance to make ends meet."

Anti-growth?

Not so fast, Saltman says. "Our position is that you can have the same number of jobs or you can have a $15 minimum wage, but you can't have both," he says.

Opponents argue that the higher the minimum wage, the more marginal workers will be priced out of the market. These include teenagers seeking their first paid jobs, the poorly educated or disabled, and people living in areas with chronically low productivity — perhaps because of inadequate investment in the machinery and software that workers need to boost output. The buzz phrase "gig economy" refers to predictions about increased automation, especially in the fast-food industry.

Opponents also make these points:

• The primary value of minimum-wage jobs is that they are learning positions. They teach inexperienced employees basic employment skills that make them more productive and enable them to earn raises or move to better jobs.

• More than half of all Americans started their careers making within $1 of the minimum wage. Few stayed there long.

• Two-thirds of minimum-wage workers earn raises within a year — without the government's help.

• Correctly adjusted for inflation, the minimum wage currently stands above its historical average.

Economists are all over the board on this issue. However, as the proposed minimum wage increases, the number of economists who support it decreases.

In January 2014, seven Nobel laureates and eight ex-presidents of the American Economic Association signed a letter backing a federal minimum wage of $10.10 an hour by 2016, up from $7.25. They said it would "provide a much-needed boost" to low-income workers while causing "little or no" job loss. Fifteen dollars an hour is another story. None of those economists signed a letter in July that endorsed a Senate bill introduced by Sanders to raise the federal minimum to $15 an hour by 2020.

HR implications

HR professionals in Seattle, Los Angeles and other cities already are dealing with a higher minimum wage. For others, it may be further in the future. But for all them of, it raises questions beyond dollars and cents that they may need to address.

What about the overall pay structure? An assistant manager at a fast food restaurant who has worked her way up to $15 after several years may not be happy about an entry-level worker receiving the same salary.

Other wages may need to be adjusted accordingly. One HR expert recommends looking for a natural spot where adjustments can stop, such as jobs that are paid 135 percent to 150 percent of the minimum wage.

How about exempt workers? In California, for example, the minimum salary for an exempt employee who doesn't qualify for overtime or certain break regulations is calculated at twice the minimum wage.

Can benefits be maintained? One thing is certain: Businesses must increase prices or reduce expenses to pay higher wages. Increasing insurance deductibles or reducing benefits may be an unpopular but necessary step.

What about multiple locations? A business with headquarters in New York City and manufacturing in Mississippi may pay vastly different wages for the same basic work.

"From a logistical standpoint, it creates all sorts of headaches," Saltman says, "and it's not just different wages in different cities. Some employees work in multiple cities. Employers must deal with the paper work of major differences in rate schemes."

A multi-state business with varying minimum wages also may have to soothe the ruffled feathers of lower-paid workers.

How do I retain employees? Just imagine an employer in Orange County, California, with a large number of minimum-wage workers who can cross into Los Angeles County and receive a significant raise for doing the same job.

Where do we find the money? "What businesses have to do is find ways other than prices increases to offset the increases," Saltman says. "Many businesses that pay minimum wage are price-sensitive. Customers are not able to pay double the price they used to for their burger."

What about the management structure? Supervisors earning only a few dollars more than their subordinates might return to the ranks, complaining that the hassles of being a boss are not worth the meager extra pay. Imposing outside pressure to change pay rates requires employers to re-evaluate all of the positions in the company.

Should we make a pre-emptive strike? One option is to stay ahead of the curve and make your business so attractive that minimum wage earners want to stay. The much-maligned Walmart for example, raised its minimum wage to $9 an hour this year and will bump it to $10 in 2016. An attractive wage, combined with a solid work environment and supportive management, may work.

Looking ahead

It's hard for HR professionals to have all of the answers right now, because no one is even certain what the questions will be. Perhaps the best advice is to follow the news and keep an eye on what businesses are doing in cities that already have opted in to a high minimum wage.

"Phasing in a bewildering number of wage schedules raises questions from an HR perspective," Saltman says. "You need to tell the story of how it has affected your business. And you need to pay attention to where the next battles will be."