Minimum wage bill filed in Mass.

Boston — A joint committee of the Massachusetts state House of Representatives and Senate has filed a bill to gradually raise the state’s minimum wage from its current hourly rate of $8 to $11. The increase would occur in stages until reaching $11 in 2017.

The House of Representatives previously filed a bill that would raise Massachusetts’ minimum wage to $10.50 by 2016. The Senate previously approved a different bill that would raise the minimum wage to $11 by 2017 and also tie future increases to inflation. The current compromise bill does not include inflationary adjustments.