Bank of America boosts its minimum wage to $17 an hour on way to $20 by 2021

As many as 22 states and the District of Columbia could see increases to their minimum wages in 2019, according to the National Employment Law Project.

Bank of America is raising its starting wage to $17 an hour beginning in May in a longer-term effort to increase it to $20 by 2021.

The retail banking giant currently pays $15 an hour to start.

The raise will affect tens of thousands of the bank's 205,000 employees at its 4,300 U.S. locations, according to the company.

“We are raising our minimum wage because we believe that to best serve our customers and clients, we need the best teams,” said Sheri Bronstein, chief human resources officer at Bank of America, in a press release.

Bank of America’s efforts also underscores a larger movement in corporate America and at the state level to boost wages for the lowest-earning workers.

Bank of America vs. other banks

Many banks across the country have announced raises to their minimum wages over the past year as a way to invest some of their expected tax savings from the new tax law, according to a tally maintained by the American Bankers Association.

The most common increased wage is $15 an hour, with Discover, Central Pacific Bank and American Savings Bank going as high as $15.25 per hour, according to the ABA. Last year, Chase said it was increasing its wages by 10% on average – ranging from $15 to $18 an hour – for 22,000 employees.

Retailers and restaurants

Much of the minimum wage momentum has been on the retail and restaurant front. Last week, Target said it planned to raise its starting hourly wage to $13 from $12 in June, its third increase in the less than two years.

Also last week, McDonald’s said it’s abandoning its lobbying efforts against raising the minimum wage at the federal, state or local level, an about-face for the fast food chain.

Also last week, McDonald’s said it’s abandoning its lobbying efforts against raising the minimum wage at the federal, state or local level, an about-face for the fast food chain.

State and city efforts

Workers in 22 states and the District of Columbia also received or will receive higher minimum wages this year because of aggressive policies aimed at helping lower-income workers or regularly scheduled cost-of-living increases, according to the National Employment Law Project.

Additionally, 38 cities and counties also raised or will raise their starting wages this year. About 17 million workers will benefit from the raises, the nonprofit estimates.

The e-commerce giant said it would increase its minimum wage on November 1 to $15 for all U.S. full-time, part-time, seasonal and temporary employees, including temps hired by agencies