McDonald's To Raise Pay 10% For 90,000 Workers

McDonald's Corporation (NYSE: MCD) will boost wages at its company-owned restaurants by 10 percent, lifting the average hourly wage of workers to $9.90 on July 1 and to more than $10 by next year.The fast-food chain closed at $96.29, down 1.1 percent.The action follows a similar recent move by Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. (NYSE: WMT), which said in February it would pay hourly workers at least $10 starting next year.More large employers raising wages could set a "de facto" minimum wage that is higher than the federal floor of $7.25 an hour, University of Michigan economist Donald Grimes told The Wall Street Journal, which first reported McDonald's wage plans.McDonald's raises don't affect workers at 90 percent of its restaurants operated as franchises.The company says it doesn't determine wages set by more than 3,000 U.S. franchisees.National Labor Relations Board administrative judge on Monday began deliberations on whether McDonald's should be responsible for employment conditions at many of its franchise restaurants.An NLRB attorney last year found that McDonald's should be treated as a "joint employer" with its franchisors.McDonald's has said it will contest the joint employer allegation as well as related unfair labor practice charges.