For example, an employee earning minimum wage and working a full 40 hours per week currently takes home a gross pay of $290 per week. In theory, a $1.75 minimum-wage hike would increase that employee’s gross pay to $360 per week. However, that’s only if that employee continues to work 40 hours per week, a scenario that will become increasingly less realistic under Obamacare, which gives employers a huge incentive to cut worker hours.