New York Reaches Deal to Raise Minimum Wage to $15

The New York State Senate passed the measure with a 61-1 vote

SPONSORED 9:09AM • 04/04/16

New York is the latest state to increase its minimum wage.

On April 1, the New York State Senate passed an agreed-upon budget measure to raise the state’s minimum wage to $15 an hour. The increase was approved in a 61-1 vote and larger companies in New York City could be paying their workers $15 an hour by 2019. The new minimum wage follows a budget agreement between legislative leaders and Governor Andrew Cuomo, as reported by Nation's Restaurant News.

“Nobody will ever have to choose between what their heart tells them to do and what their bank account tells them to do,” New York State Senate Independent Democratic caucus leader Jeffrey Klein said in a statement.

The debate over a minimum wage increase has been going on for some time and many Americans are in favor of it. A survey conducted by the Public Religion Research Institute showed that 59 percent of Americans support a $15 minimum wage.

In New York, the wage increase would start in New York City and slowly spread out to the rest of the state. Larger employers would have their wages increase to $15 on Dec. 21, 2018 and small businesses with 10 workers or fewer would see their wages increase to $15 an hour the following year.

California recently increased its minimum wage in March.

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