Senior Democrats ditch their backdoor proposal for a $15 minimum wage, throwing pay hike in doubt in $1.9 trillion stimulus package

• Senior Democrats tossed out a backdoor plan to raise the minimum wage to $15 an hour, per a person familiar with the decision.

• The proposal was ditched as Democrats appeared reluctant to finalize a complex plan that could delay stimulus passage.

• Experts said the backup plan risked being inefficient at raising hourly wages.

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Senior Democrats are abandoning their backdoor $15 minimum wage proposal, leaving a wage hike in doubt as they scramble to enact a $1.9 trillion stimulus plan within two weeks.

Sens. Bernie Sanders (I-Vermont) and Ron Wyden (D-Oregon) were in the midst of drafting a plan to levy a 5% tax on the payrolls of large corporations that don't compensate workers below an unspecified wage. It would be paired with tax credits to incentivize small businesses to raise their employees' wages.

The senators ditched their proposal. According to a person familiar with the decision, finalizing the plan and getting every Democrat onboard imperiled the passage of the legislation before the expiration of enhanced unemployment insurance on March 14 for millions of Americans.

The Washington Post first reported the development.

Sanders and Wyden came up with the alternative after the Senate parliamentarian ruled on Thursday evening that a $15 minimum wage provision in the rescue package did not clear the strict guidelines of the reconciliation process. The move blocks the measure from moving ahead under the process Democrats are using, which needs 51 votes in the Senate to bypass Republicans.