Governor Mary Fallin has just signed a bill that prohibits cities from establishing mandatory minimum wage, vacation and sick days and employee benefits.

Supporters of this new law - state that the increase of minimum wage could potentially harm local businesses.

"This bill provides a level playing field for all municipalities in Oklahoma," state Rep. Randy Grau said to the Associated Press. "An artificial raise in the minimum wage could derail local economies in a matter of months. This is a fair measure for consumers, workers and small business owners."

Opponents of the bill state that the government should not need to dictate a ban of an increase of minimum wage or other benefits and state that those decisions should be left to the individual communities.

Other opponents have claimed that this measure is to show retaliation towards the initiative to increase minimum wage in Oklahoma City proposed by David Slain, the attorney who authored the petition for the increase.

Slain states that it disappoints him that the state legislature "would vote in such a way to take the right of the people to decide minimum wage."

Fallin defended her position on signing the bill by stating in a press release that "most minimum-wage workers are young, single people working part-time or entry-level jobs."

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