As we previously posted here, New York legislators sought in 2013 to accelerate the increase to the state's minimum wage to nine dollars an hour and to allow municipalities to raise wages even higher on their own. In February of 2014, New York Governor Andrew Cuomo signaled that he would not support that legislation. Now, Governor Cuomo has reversed course and has indicated that he would support an increase to the state's minimum wage immediately. Further, although he would not support a bill that allows local governments to raise minimum wages without limitation, he would support a bill that capped local raises at a certain percentage above the state's minimum wage.
If passed, New York would join a growing list of states and
municipalities to do so. New York City was already
seeking to raise its minimum wage to fifteen dollars an hour
even before Governor Cuomo changed his stance on allowing
localities to do so.
New Jersey's minimum wage
increased $8.25 per hour in January of 2014 with future
increases tied to the Consumer Price Index to follow. Most
recently, Seattle increased its minimum wage to fifteen dollars an
hour, as we posted
here.
Originally published on the Employer's Law Blog
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