Hobby Lobby Boosts Full-Time Workers Wages To $18.50 An Hour

A Hobby Lobby store is pictured on June 30, 2014, in Plantation, Florida.

Hobby Lobby is the latest retailer to announce that it is raising the minimum wage of its full-time workers to $18.50 per hour, effective Jan. 1, 2022.

The arts & crafts retailer, which was founded in 1972, said it has raised its minimum wage 12 times over the last 13 years.

In 2009, Hobby Lobby said it was “one of the first retailers to establish a nationwide minimum hourly wage well above the federal minimum wage.”

Costco, Target, Amazon, and Walmart have all raised the wages of their employees in recent months. Costco is paying its employees $17 per hour, while Amazon and Target announced that they increased their workers’ wages to $15 an hour.

Walmart raised the wage of 565,000 U.S. employees in September by at least $1 an hour. The starting wage at Walmart is between $12 and $17 per hour, depending on the position.

By 2014, Hobby Lobby’s minimum wage was $15 per hour.

Hobby Lobby CEO and founder David Green said in a statement, “We have a long track record of taking care of our employees.

He continued, “We’ve also worked hard over the years to provide the best pay and benefits in retail, which has allowed us to attract and retain an outstanding group of associates to serve our devoted customers.”

Hobby Lobby also offers a series of benefits for its employees that include medical plans, 401(k) with company match, personal paid time off, holiday pay, and an employee discount, among other perks.

In 2014, the chain won a Supreme Court case that gave the company the right to deny their workers birth control because it went against its religious beliefs.

With 956 retail stores, Hobby Lobby is closed on Sundays and has been since 1998 to allow its employees time to worship.