§ 1-2. Findings; policy.

(a) Findings of fact.

The Mayor and City Council, after conducting an investigation of employment conditions in the City of Baltimore, hereby find:

(1) that many persons employed in Baltimore are paid wages which, in relation to the cost of living in the City and the income necessary to sustain minimum standards of decent living conditions, are insufficient to provide adequate maintenance for themselves and their families;

(2) that the employment of such persons at such wages:

(i) impairs the health, efficiency, and well-being of the persons so employed and of their families;

(ii) reduces the purchasing power of such persons;

(iii) diminishes and depresses business, trade, and industry in the City;

(iv) threatens the stability and well-being of the City's economic life;

(v) fosters and contributes toward slum conditions and housing evils;

(vi) creates conditions of want and deprivation tending to weaken and undermine family life and breed crime and juvenile delinquency;

(vii) threatens the health, welfare, and well-being of the people of the City; and

(viii) injures the City economically.

(b) Declaration of policy.

(1) Accordingly, it is the declared policy of the Mayor and City Council that such conditions be eliminated as rapidly as practicable without substantially curtailing opportunities for employment or earning power.

(2) To that end, legislation is necessary in the public interest in order to end these conditions so inimical to the public health, safety, and welfare of the citizens of Baltimore, to establish minimum wage standards for all employees as herein defined at a level consistent with their health, welfare, and general well-being.