Assemblyman Lentol Pushes Legislation to Increase Minimum Wage to $9 per Hour

Change mirrors President Obama’s proposal to increase the minimum wage and index it to inflation

February 27, 2013

Assemblyman Joseph R. Lentol (D-North Brooklyn) is advocating for legislation to increase the minimum wage throughout the state for all workers to $9 per hour. Over a year ago, the Assembly Majority introduced legislation to raise the state’s minimum wage from $7.25 per hour to $8.50 per hour and index it to the rate of inflation in order to help hardworking North Brooklyn families get ahead. In his State of the Union address on Feb. 12, President Obama announced a proposal to increase the federal minimum wage to $9.00 per hour and, like the Assembly Majority’s plan, index it to inflation. In light of this development, the Assembly amended its legislation (A.38-A) to match the president’s proposal.

The amended bill calls for the minimum wage to increase to $9.00 per hour in January 2014. The measure also sets wages for food service workers who receive tips at $6.21 per hour.

“People throughout the state are fighting to make a living wage and this legislation will definitely help many families who are struggling to put food on their tables,” Lentol said. “New York often leads the way in legislation, but when it comes to minimum wage this is definitely somewhere where we are lacking.”

Lentol went on to explain that currently, the District of Columbia, Massachusetts, Connecticut, Vermont and 16 other states have higher minimum wages than New York State and 10 other states have already passed legislation indexing the minimum wage to inflation. The minimum wage in New York has increased just 10 cents per hour in the last six years and was raised with the most recent federal minimum wage increase from $7.15 to $7.25 an hour in 2009.

“It’s time to get this done for hardworking North Brooklyn families so they may have a better quality of life. By increasing the minimum wage, working families will see a rise in their purchasing power and are likely to spend the money from their hard-earned paychecks at local businesses, helping strengthen our local economy. I urge my colleagues in the Legislature to work to pass a strong minimum wage increase as soon as possible,” concluded Lentol.

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