New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio has signed an executive order expanding the City's Fair Wages for New Yorkers Act, expanding it to commercial tenants at economic-development projects that receive $1 million or more in city subsidies. Due to certain exclusions in the original law, such as retailers, initially this only applied to approximately 1,200 employees. Now, however, approximately 18,000 workers will be covered; or, in other words, approximately 70 percent of jobs at businesses that receive economic development financing from the City's Economic Development Corporation.
Specifically, for those workers not receiving benefits such as
health insurance, their living wage will rise from $11.90/hour to
$13.13/hour; and for those receiving such benefits, their living
wage will rise from $10.30/hour to $11.50/hour. These increases are
effective immediately, although manufacturers, businesses with
gross income under $3 million, housing developments with high
levels of affordability, and the Hudson Yards development remain
exempt.
This also sets the stage for an impending legislative debate in
Albany. Mayor de Blasio previously has sought the authority for
municipalities in New York State to establish their own minimum
wages for all hourly employees, as was recently seen in Seattle.
Governor Andrew Cuomo originally opposed this plan, but amidst his
re-election campaign, has reversed course. He now endorses a
statewide increase of the minimum wage to $10.10/hour, along with a
grant of authority to municipalities to locally raise this minimum
wage by as much as 30 percent, or to $13.13/hour.
Wage and hour compliance is a significant issue faced by employers
on a daily basis, and this area of the law increasingly is becoming
more complex. Employers with questions or doubts about compliance
with federal, state, or local wage, hour, and/or labor laws should
communicate with inside or outside counsel.
The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances.