New York Minimum Wage to Increase to $15

Governor Andrew Cuomo has signed a law permitting the New York minimum wage to increase to $15 per hour over the next several years. The timing for compliance with the new law is based on location within the state. Household employers need to begin preparing to accommodate these changes based on the timeline provided by www.governor.ny.gov:

• For workers in New York City employed by small businesses (those with 10 employees or fewer), the minimum wage would rise to $10.50 by the end of 2016, then another $1.50 each year after, reaching $15 on 12/31/2019.
• For workers in Nassau, Suffolk and Westchester Counties, the minimum wage would increase to $10 at the end of 2016, then $1 each year after, reaching $15 on 12/31/2021.
• For workers in the rest of the state, the minimum wage would increase to $9.70 at the end of 2016, then another .70 each year after until reaching $12.50 on 12/31/2020 – after which will continue to increase to $15 on an indexed schedule to be set by the Director of the Division of Budget in consultation with the Department of Labor.

Beginning in 2019, an annual analysis of the economy in each region will be conducted regarding the effect of the minimum wage increases statewide to determine whether any temporary suspension of the increases is necessary.

More than 2.3 million people are estimated to be affected by these minimum wage increases.

For more information on tax and labor laws for household employers, contact us at (800) 929-9213.