Although non-student employees at Georgetown have so far been unaffected by this summer’s minimum wage increase from $8.25 to $9.50 in Washington D.C., as they currently earn more than the new wage rate, some Georgetown employees still fear the potential threat of lay-offs and reduced hours as the minimum approaches $11.50 in 2016.

Tiffany McGriff, a cashier at O’Donovan Hall, currently earns a salary exceeding the $11.50 minimum wage. However, she expressed her fear that the future hikes could cause budget cuts that might limit her hours, which currently stand at 37.

“It’ll probably affect me but it hasn’t affected me now. Probably next year it might affect me but I hope it doesn’t,” McGriff said. “Because right now I’m not looking forward to budget cuts; I can’t afford budget cuts. But my hours have been good.”

McGriff particularly pointed to higher-salaried workers, who she believed would see their hours furloughed to offset the increased costs.

“I think they’re going to furlough the ones that are actually making more money,” she said. “Now for the ones that are making minimum wage, they’re going to give them roughly no more than 35 hours. They’re not going to get 40.”

However, despite her fears, she supported the minimum wage increase as a basic necessity. She gave the example of her daughter, a 2010 Strayer University graduate with a degree in business administration, currently working at a job in security and a second job at Safeway.

“You can’t make a living off $9.50. Especially if you’re working five, six hours, sometimes you might get seven or eight hours. So it’s not livable. You can’t live off that,” she said. “My daughter was like, ‘I went to college for nothing, because I can’t find anything in my field.’”

Fernandez McPherson, a utility worker at Leo’s, saw an increase in his wages when he came to Georgetown and was pleased that other workers in the District will see a similar increase.

“I started off, it was $5.25, then it was $7.25, $7.55, then $8.25. Then I came here and it was $11.60,” McPherson said. “So that had a major impact on me … I get a raise every six months.”

Aramark, which operates the dining hall, could not be reached for comment.

Since many Georgetown employees already earn more than $11.50, some employees hope that they will see proportionate raises in their salary as the District’s minimum wage increases.

“When I first started they started us off at $12, so that feels like our minimum wage. So if they increase it, it would be nice for them to increase ours as well,” said an AlliedBarton dormitory security guard, who wished to remain anonymous. “Since we’re already above what they’re increasing it to, I don’t think they would. But it would be nice for them to at least push it up a notch.”

Those opposed to raising the minimum wage argue that prices of goods will automatically skyrocket to offset the cost of paying workers more, forcing the D.C. wage to be indexed to local inflation.

However, Georgetown University Bookstore Director Janet Uzzell said that the bookstore would not likely raise prices as bookstore prices would not be affected by a higher wage.

“Prices for goods that we sell are predetermined,” Uzzell said. “I think in some cases there would be a need [to raise prices], but I think the associates appreciate that they’re making a better wage. Wages aren’t always tied into better associates, but I think it does contribute.”

While Uzzell said that the Follett Corporation, the management provider for the bookstore, would have to raise wages for some of their associates, she maintained that the added pay would not significantly affect the bookstore’s budget.

“Does it eat into the budget?” she said.”Yes. But I think we have a better associate working, so a better associate means a better customer experience. And that means better sales, so it offsets each other. But it doesn’t mean that we automatically raise prices to cover wages.”

The increase will affect student employees, who do earn minimum wage in many jobs.