[Popman]

Typically, you can add 25 % PAC (payroll added cost) to every dollar you pay someone...

Employer portion of Social Security tax
Employer portion of Medicare tax
State unemployment tax
Federal unemployment tax
Worker compensation insurance

$15.00 an hour would actually be $ 18.75 an hour

[Dilbert San Diego]

Good points about cascading increases in things like payroll taxes. As pay increases, those taxes increase also.

These businesses, if they want to survive, will have to redo their business models, and see if they can survive. The dispassionate review by a CPA would be very helpful to some businesses. Just closing up rather than trying to struggle to survive over a period of years might make more sense, dollars and sense, to these small business owners.