A00038 Summary:

BILL NOA00038A
 
SAME ASNo same as
 
SPONSORWright (MS)
 
COSPNSRSilver, Heastie, Morelle, Farrell, Hooper, Rivera, Peoples-Stokes, Jacobs, Markey, Miller, Abinanti, Skartados, Sepulveda
 
MLTSPNSRAbbate, Arroyo, Aubry, Benedetto, Braunstein, Brennan, Bronson, Brook-Krasny, Buchwald, Cahill, Camara, Clark, Colton, Cook, Crespo, Cymbrowitz, DenDekker, Dinowitz, Englebright, Fahy, Galef, Gantt, Glick, Gottfried, Hennessey, Hikind, Jaffee, Kavanagh, Kim, Lavine, Lentol, Lifton, Magnarelli, McDonald, Millman, Mosley, Moya, Nolan, Ortiz, Otis, Paulin, Perry, Pretlow, Ramos, Roberts, Robinson, Rodriguez, Rosenthal, Rozic, Russell, Ryan, Santabarbara, Scarborough, Schimel, Simotas, Skoufis, Solages, Steck, Stirpe, Sweeney, Thiele, Titone, Titus, Weinstein, Weisenberg, Weprin
 
Amd SS651 & 652, Lab L
 
Relates to the minimum wage and makes technical changes to the labor law relating thereto.
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A00038 Memo:

NEW YORK STATE ASSEMBLY
MEMORANDUM IN SUPPORT OF LEGISLATION
submitted in accordance with Assembly Rule III, Sec 1(f)
 
BILL NUMBER: A38A
 
SPONSOR: Wright (MS)
  TITLE OF BILL: An act to amend the labor law, in relation to the minimum wage and making technical corrections relating thereto   PURPOSE OR GENERAL IDEA OF BILL: Would raise the statutory minimum wage from $7.25 to $9.00 per hour on and after January 1, 2014 and provide that on each January 1st thereaft- er, the rate shall be indexed to inflation.   SUMMARY OF SPECIFIC PROVISIONS: Section 1 would amend § 651 of the Labor Law to require the state, local governments or political subdivisions thereof, to pay their employees the statutory minimum wage under article nineteen of the Labor Law. Section 2 makes a conforming change to the definition of "employer" in § 651 to include a state or municipal government or a political subdivi- sion thereof. Section 3 would amend subdivisions 1, 4 and 5 of § 652 of the Labor Law to provide that effective January 1, 2014 the statutory minimum wage shall be $9.00 per hour, and for food service workers receiving a mini- mum cash wage, including those for which employers are authorized to make wage deductions for meals and lodging, $6.21 per hour. It would also require that beginning on January 1, 2015 and annually thereafter on such date, the minimum wage shall be indexed to inflation by the commissioner of the Department of Labor. Section 4 is the effective date.   JUSTIFICATION: When Congress enacted the 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 fallen decades behind. According to the United States Bureau of Labor Statistics, the nation's minimum wage peaked in 1968 at the 2010 equivalent of $9.60. Additionally, if the 1968 minimum wage of $1.50 had been indexed to inflation, it would have had the purchasing power of $10.03 today. By this comparison, it is clear that the current minimum wage of $7.25 is not nearly sufficient to meet the rising costs of food and shelter, let alone provide for healthcare, transportation, child care and other necessities for New Yorkers and their families. The annual income for a NYS full-time minimum wage worker has not exceeded the federal poverty threshold since 1979 and even more daunting, is the fact that the annual gap between the two continues to grow steadily. In 2010, there were over 264,000 people in NYS earning at or below the minimum wage, many of which reside within the New York City metropolitan area, the area ranked as having the highest cost of living in the nation. Historically, the highest proportion (14%) of workers that earn at or below the federal minimum wage was in service occupations, with nearly half of that number being employed in the leisure and hospitality industry, primarily in restaurants and other food services. With a rela- tive cost of living that far exceeds the national average it is imper- ative that the wage standards in NYS be reflective of these facts. The guarantee of a livable wage not only benefits workers and their families, it is also a direct benefit for the State's overall economy as it is widely proven in consumer trends that lower wage earners are more likely to reinvest any disposable income into their local businesses. Currently, there are ten states whose minimum wages are statutorily required adjusted annually, to reflect changes in the consumer price index, and three with proposals pending to do so. This safeguard ensures that despite delays in Congressional action to increase the minimum wage under the FLSA, the wage laws in NYS will continue to provide for its residents.   PRIOR LEGISLATIVE HISTORY: 2012: A.9148 (Wright)- Passed Assembly   FISCAL IMPLICATIONS FOR STATE AND LOCAL GOVERNMENTS: Undetermined.   EFFECTIVE DATE: Immediate.
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A00038 Text:



 
                STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                          38--A
 
                               2013-2014 Regular Sessions
 
                   IN ASSEMBLY
 
                                       (Prefiled)
 
                                     January 9, 2013
                                       ___________
 
        Introduced  by M. of A. WRIGHT, SILVER, HEASTIE, MORELLE, FARRELL, HOOP-
          ER, RIVERA, PEOPLES-STOKES, JACOBS, MARKEY, GIBSON,  MILLER,  ABINANTI
          -- Multi-Sponsored by -- M. of A. ABBATE, ARROYO, AUBRY, BARRON, BENE-
          DETTO,  BOYLAND, BRAUNSTEIN, BRENNAN, BRONSON, BROOK-KRASNY, BUCHWALD,

          CAHILL, CAMARA,  CASTRO,  CLARK,  COLTON,  COOK,  CRESPO,  CYMBROWITZ,
          DenDEKKER,  DINOWITZ, ENGLEBRIGHT, ESPINAL, FAHY, GALEF, GANTT, GLICK,
          GOTTFRIED, HENNESSEY, HIKIND, JAFFEE, KAVANAGH, KIM,  LAVINE,  LENTOL,
          LIFTON, V. LOPEZ, MAGNARELLI, MAISEL, McDONALD, MILLMAN, MOSLEY, MOYA,
          NOLAN,  ORTIZ, OTIS, PAULIN, PERRY, PRETLOW, RAMOS, ROBERTS, ROBINSON,
          RODRIGUEZ, ROSA, ROSENTHAL, ROZIC, RUSSELL, RYAN, SANTABARBARA,  SCAR-
          BOROUGH,  SCHIMEL,  SEPULVEDA,  SIMANOWITZ, SIMOTAS, SKOUFIS, SOLAGES,
          STECK, STEVENSON, STIRPE, SWEENEY, THIELE, TITONE,  TITUS,  WEINSTEIN,
          WEISENBERG, WEPRIN -- read once and referred to the Committee on Labor
          --  committee  discharged,  bill amended, ordered reprinted as amended
          and recommitted to said committee
 
        AN ACT to amend the labor law, in  relation  to  the  minimum  wage  and
          making technical corrections relating thereto
 

          The  People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-
        bly, do enact as follows:
 
     1    Section 1. Paragraph (n) of subdivision 5 of section 651 of the  labor
     2  law,  as  amended by chapter 481 of the laws of 2010, is amended to read
     3  as follows:
     4    (n) by [a] the federal[, state or municipal] government [or  political
     5  subdivision  thereof]. The exclusions from the term "employee" contained
     6  in this subdivision shall be as defined by regulations  of  the  commis-
     7  sioner; or
     8    §  2.  Subdivision  6  of  section 651 of the labor law, as amended by
     9  chapter 281 of the laws of 2002, is amended to read as follows:
    10    6.  "Employer"  includes  any  individual,  partnership,  association,
    11  corporation,  limited liability company, business trust, legal represen-
 

         EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
        A                                                          LBD00728-02-3

        A. 38--A                            2
 
     1  tative, state or municipal government or political subdivision  thereof,
     2  or any organized group of persons acting as employer.
     3    §  3.  Subdivisions  1,  4  and  5 of section 652 of the labor law, as
     4  amended by chapter 747 of the laws of  2004,  are  amended  to  read  as
     5  follows:
     6    1.  Statutory.  Every  employer shall pay to each of its employees for
     7  each hour worked a wage of not less than:
     8    $4.25 on and after April 1, 1991,
     9    $5.15 on and after March 31, 2000,
    10    $6.00 on and after January 1, 2005,

    11    $6.75 on and after January 1, 2006,
    12    $7.15 on and after January 1, 2007,
    13    $9.00 on and after January 1, 2014,
    14    and on and after January 1, 2015 and on each following January  first,
    15  the  commissioner shall calculate and establish an adjusted minimum wage
    16  rate by increasing the then current minimum wage rate  by  the  rate  of
    17  inflation  for  the  most  recent twelve month period available prior to
    18  each January first using the consumer price index-all  urban  consumers,
    19  CPI-U,  or  a successor index as calculated by the United States depart-
    20  ment of labor, if such rate of inflation is greater than  zero  percent,
    21  or,  if  greater,  such  other wage as may be established by federal law
    22  pursuant to 29 U.S.C. section 206 or its successors or such  other  wage

    23  as may be established in accordance with the provisions of this article.
    24    4.  Notwithstanding subdivisions one and two of this section, the wage
    25  for an employee who is a food service worker receiving tips shall  be  a
    26  cash  wage  of  at  least  three dollars and thirty cents per hour on or
    27  after March thirty-first, two thousand; three  dollars  and  eighty-five
    28  cents  on  or  after  January  first,  two  thousand five; at least four
    29  dollars and thirty-five cents on or after January  first,  two  thousand
    30  six;  [and]  at  least  four dollars and sixty cents on or after January
    31  first, two thousand seven; and at least six dollars and twenty-one cents
    32  on or after January first, two thousand fourteen; and on or after  Janu-
    33  ary first, two thousand fifteen and on each following January first, the

    34  commissioner shall calculate and establish an adjusted minimum wage rate
    35  by  increasing  the  then  current  minimum  wage  rate  by  the rate of
    36  inflation for the most recent twelve month  period  available  prior  to
    37  each  January  first using the consumer price index-all urban consumers,
    38  CPI-U, or a successor index as calculated by the United  States  depart-
    39  ment  of  labor, if such rate of inflation is greater than zero percent,
    40  provided that the tips of such an employee,  when  added  to  such  cash
    41  wage,  are  equal  to  or  exceed the minimum wage in effect pursuant to
    42  subdivision one of this section and provided further that no other  cash
    43  wage  is established pursuant to section six hundred fifty-three of this
    44  article. In the event the cash wage payable under the Fair Labor  Stand-

    45  ards  Act (29 United States Code Sec. 203 (m), as amended), is increased
    46  after enactment of this subdivision, the cash wage  payable  under  this
    47  subdivision  shall  automatically  be  increased  by  the  proportionate
    48  increase in the cash wage payable under such federal law,  and  will  be
    49  immediately enforceable as the cash wage payable to food service workers
    50  under this article.
    51    5.  Notwithstanding subdivisions one and two of this section, meal and
    52  lodging allowances for a food  service  worker  receiving  a  cash  wage
    53  amounting  to  three dollars and thirty cents per hour on or after March
    54  thirty-first, two thousand; three dollars and eighty-five  cents  on  or
    55  after  January  first,  two  thousand five; four dollars and thirty-five
    56  cents on or after January first, two thousand six;  [and]  four  dollars


        A. 38--A                            3
 
     1  and  sixty  cents  on  or  after  January first, two thousand seven; six
     2  dollars and twenty-one cents on or after  January  first,  two  thousand
     3  fourteen;  and  on  or  after January first, two thousand fifteen and on
     4  each  following  January  first,  the  commissioner  shall calculate and
     5  establish an adjusted minimum wage rate by increasing the  then  current
     6  minimum  wage  rate  by the rate of inflation for the most recent twelve
     7  month period available  prior  to  each  March  thirty-first  using  the
     8  consumer price index-all urban consumers, CPI-U, or a successor index as
     9  calculated  by  the  United  States department of labor, if such rate of
    10  inflation is greater than zero percent, shall  not  increase  more  than

    11  two-thirds  of  the increase required by subdivision two of this section
    12  as applied to state wage orders in effect pursuant to subdivision one of
    13  this section.
    14    § 4. This act shall take effect immediately.
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