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As of Friday, Dec. 31, minimum wage workers in Westchester, Suffolk, and Nassau counties will see a bump in their paychecks as their hourly wages will rise to a minimum of $15, putting them on par with employees at large firms in New York City, which has been at that benchmark for three years.
Minimum wage employees in those counties had previously been getting $14 an hour.
Fast-food workers across New York also make $15 an hour, regardless of location, while workers in the rest of the state will receive a 70-cent increase in their hourly wage, to $13.20 an hour.
Tipped service employees will receive a $10.40 cash wage and $2.10 tip credit, while tipped food service workers will receive a $8.35 minimum wage and $4.15 tip credit.
The move comes as part of a five-year plan to improve New York's minimum wage package that was passed in 2016 by the state Legislature and former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo.
Following 2021, the rest of the state will have their minimum wages increased on a percentage determined by the Director of the Division of Budget.
“The average worker who would benefit from a $15 an hour minimum wage is more than 35 years old,” Sen. Bernie Sanders previously posted on social media. “The majority of low-wage workers are women – over 20 million of whom would get a raise by increasing the federal minimum wage to $15 an hour.”
The pay hike comes a year after many lawmakers in New York derided the decision to continue increasing wages amidst the economic turmoil caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, which forced countless businesses to close or adapt on the fly.
State officials noted that 1 million jobs, or 57 percent of the private sector losses, were impacted in the three industries where minimum wage workers are most concentrated: retail, health care and hospitality.
"It makes sense to raise the wage floor now and continue supporting New York’s families while providing a predictable path forward for businesses,” Labor Commissioner Roberta Reardon said in a statement in the fall. “With today’s action we are continuing the work of building back with equity and justice.”
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