A major Charlotte employer plans to boost pay for thousands of its workers

Atrium Health announced Thursday an increase in its minimum wage to $12.50 per hour, up from $11.50, a change the Charlotte-based hospital system said will impact more than 7,500 employees in the metro area.

Those affected by the nearly 9 percent increase include workers at Atrium-owned hospitals, nearly all of which are in the Charlotte region, the system said. Also affected by the July 22 raise are support staff who aren't inside hospitals, such as call centers employees and accounting and human resources personnel.

The increase does not affect employees at some of the hospitals Atrium manages across the Carolinas, the nonprofit said.

Atrium also announced Thursday that employees already earning around $12.50 an hour will receive an increase to maintain differences in pay. Those workers will receive a 2 percent raise.

Thursday's move is designed to ensure Atrium's pay is competitive among large employers in the Charlotte region, the system said. Atrium, Charlotte's largest hospital system, is also one of the biggest employers in the metro area, with 35,000 workers.

"This increase represents our ongoing commitment to our team and supports the incredible work they do every single day," CEO Gene Woods said in a statement.

Atrium said it last raised its minimum pay a year ago, taking it from $10 an hour to $11.50.

The system said it has pushed over the past seven years to increase the minimum wage well beyond the federal level of $7.25 an hour. Atrium has increased minimum pay every year since 2012, when it was $7.25, it said. The latest raise represents a more than 72 percent increase over that period, Atrium said.

Other large employers in Charlotte have boosted pay for their lowest-paid workers in recent years, including Bank of America and Wells Fargo.

Last year, Atrium's biggest rival, Novant Health, said it was raising the lowest hourly pay for North Carolina workers to $11, up from the state minimum of $7.25. That change was expected to benefit about 2,000 employees.

This story was originally published June 28, 2018 at 3:00 PM.