NEW YORK STATE ASSEMBLY MEMORANDUM IN SUPPORT OF LEGISLATION submitted in accordance with Assembly Rule III, Sec 1(f)
BILL NUMBER: A8343A
SPONSOR: Heastie (MS) TITLE OF BILL: An act to amend the labor law and the municipal home
rule law, in relation to the minimum wage and repealing subdivision 6 of
section 652 of such law relating thereto
PURPOSE OR GENERAL IDEA OF BILL: The purpose of this bill is to
accelerate the increase of the statutory minimum wage and to increase
the cash wage for food service workers, to index these wages to
inflation, and to authorize localities to Increase their local minimum
wage up to thirty percent more than the state's minimum wage.
SUMMARY OF SPECIFIC PROVISIONS:
Sections 1 and 2 of the bill would amend § 651 of the Labor Law to
require that state and municipal governments and political subdivisions
thereof pay their employees the statutory minimum wage.
Section 3 of the bill would amend § 652 of the Labor Law to raise the
statutory minimum wage from $8.00 to $9.00 per hour on December 31,
2014, to $10.10 per hour on December 31, 2015, and index the rate to
inflation on December 31, 2016, and each year thereafter. Section 3
would also increase the cash wage for food service workers from $5 to
$5.50 immediately, to $6.20 on December 31, 2014, to $6.95 on December
31, 2015, and index the rate to inflation on December 31, 2016, and each
year thereafter.
Section 4 of the bill would repeal subdivision 6 of § 652 of the Labor
Law, which was enacted in the SFY 2013-14 budget, that provided that the
cash wage for food service workers would be modified through a wage
order.
Section 5 of the bill would amend § 653 of the Labor Law to clarify that
service employees paid in accordance with the hospitality wage order are
included in the wage board process that takes place upon a change to the
statutory minimum wage.
Section 6 of the bill would amend § 11 of the Municipal Home Rule Law to
allow counties and cities to adopt certain local wage laws that super-
sede labor laws.
Section 7 of the bill would amend § 654 of the Labor Law to authorize
counties and cities to raise their local minimum wage up to thirty
percent higher than the state's minimum wage.
Section 8 of the bill would amend § 662 of the Labor Law to provide that
employers would be liable for penalties associated with failure to pay
the local minimum wage.
Section 9 of the bill provides for an immediate effective date.
EFFECTS OF PRESENT LAW WHICH THIS BILL WOULD ALTER: Present law
provides that the minimum wage shall be increased to $8.75 on December
31, 2014 and $9.00 on December 31, 2015. This bill accelerates the
increase to require a minimum wage of $9.00 on December 31, 2014,
provides for another minimum wage increase to $10.10 on December 31,
2015, and indexes the wage to inflation. Current law does not provide
for statutory increases to the cash wage paid to food service workers
and service employees under the hospitality wage order. Current law does
not authorize localities to establish higher minimum wages.
JUSTIFICATION: When Congress enacted the Fair Labor Standards Act
(FLSA) in 1938 and prescribed a minimum wage, it was intended to ensure
that low-wage workers would earn, at the very least, a liveable wage.
Over the years, data has shown that the federal government's actions to
preserve this standard against the erosive power of inflation have fall-
en decades behind. If the 1968 minimum wage of $1.50 had been indexed to
inflation, it would have the purchasing power of over $10.00 today.
While the recent increase to the minimum wage to $8.00 is a start, more
can be done to help families meet the rising costs of food and shelter,
health care, transportation, child care and other necessities.
This bill ensures that the state's minimum wage will keep pace with
inflation and also recognizes that the state is diverse, with the cost
of living varying by region. Permitting localities to increase the mini-
mum wage will enable localities to establish adequate wages for working
families.
PRIOR LEGISLATIVE HISTORY: New Bill.
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS FOR STATE AND LOCAL GOVERNMENTS: None known.
EFFECTIVE DATE: Immediately.
