NEW YORK STATE ASSEMBLY MEMORANDUM IN SUPPORT OF LEGISLATION submitted in accordance with Assembly Rule III, Sec 1(f)
BILL NUMBER: A9148
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 $8.50 per hour on
and after January 1, 2013 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, 2013 the statutory minimum wage
shall be $8.50 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, $5.86 per hour. It would
also require that beginning on January 1, 2014 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:
This is new legislation.
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS FOR STATE AND LOCAL GOVERNMENTS:
Undetermined.
EFFECTIVE DATE:
Immediate.
STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________
9148
IN ASSEMBLY
January 30, 2012
___________
Introduced by M. of A. WRIGHT, SILVER, CANESTRARI, FARRELL, HOOPER,
J. RIVERA -- Multi-Sponsored by -- M. of A. ABBATE, ABINANTI, ARROYO,
AUBRY, BARRON, BENEDETTO, BOYLAND, BRAUNSTEIN, BRENNAN, BRONSON,
BROOK-KRASNY, CAHILL, CAMARA, CASTRO, CLARK, COLTON, COOK, CRESPO,
CYMBROWITZ, DenDEKKER, DINOWITZ, ENGLEBRIGHT, ESPINAL, GALEF, GANTT,
GIBSON, GLICK, GOTTFRIED, HEASTIE, HIKIND, JACOBS, JAFFEE, JEFFRIES,
KAVANAGH, LANCMAN, LAVINE, LENTOL, LIFTON, LINARES, V. LOPEZ, MAGNAR-
ELLI, MAISEL, MARKEY, McENENY, MENG, M. MILLER, MILLMAN, MOYA, NOLAN,
PAULIN, PEOPLES-STOKES, PERRY, PRETLOW, RAMOS, REILLY, N. RIVERA,
P. RIVERA, ROBERTS, ROBINSON, RODRIGUEZ, ROSENTHAL, RUSSELL, RYAN,
SCARBOROUGH, SCHIMEL, SIMANOWITZ, SIMOTAS, STEVENSON, SWEENEY, THIELE,
TITONE, TITUS, WEINSTEIN, WEISENBERG, WEPRIN -- read once and referred
to the Committee on Labor
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-
12 tative, state or municipal government or political subdivision thereof,
13 or any organized group of persons acting as employer.
14 § 3. Subdivisions 1, 4 and 5 of section 652 of the labor law, as
15 amended by chapter 747 of the laws of 2004, are amended to read as
16 follows:
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD11388-05-2
A. 9148 2
1 1. Statutory. Every employer shall pay to each of its employees for
2 each hour worked a wage of not less than:
3 $4.25 on and after April 1, 1991,
4 $5.15 on and after March 31, 2000,
5 $6.00 on and after January 1, 2005,
6 $6.75 on and after January 1, 2006,
7 $7.15 on and after January 1, 2007,
8 $8.50 on and after January 1, 2013
9 and on and after January 1, 2014 and on each following January first,
10 the commissioner shall calculate and establish an adjusted minimum wage
11 rate by increasing the then current minimum wage rate by the rate of
12 inflation for the most recent twelve month period available prior to
13 each January first using the consumer price index-all urban consumers,
14 CPI-U, or a successor index as calculated by the United States depart-
15 ment of labor, if such rate of inflation is greater than zero percent,
16 or, if greater, such other wage as may be established by federal law
17 pursuant to 29 U.S.C. section 206 or its successors or such other wage
18 as may be established in accordance with the provisions of this article.
19 4. Notwithstanding subdivisions one and two of this section, the wage
20 for an employee who is a food service worker receiving tips shall be a
21 cash wage of at least three dollars and thirty cents per hour on or
22 after March thirty-first, two thousand; three dollars and eighty-five
23 cents on or after January first, two thousand five; at least four
24 dollars and thirty-five cents on or after January first, two thousand
25 six; [and] at least four dollars and sixty cents on or after January
26 first, two thousand seven; and at least five dollars and eighty-six
27 cents on or after January first, two thousand thirteen; and on or after
28 January first, two thousand fourteen and on each following January
29 first, the commissioner shall calculate and establish an adjusted mini-
30 mum wage rate by increasing the then current minimum wage rate by the
31 rate of inflation for the most recent twelve month period available
32 prior to each January first using the consumer price index-all urban
33 consumers, CPI-U, or a successor index as calculated by the United
34 States department of labor, if such rate of inflation is greater than
35 zero percent, provided that the tips of such an employee, when added to
36 such cash wage, are equal to or exceed the minimum wage in effect pursu-
37 ant to subdivision one of this section and provided further that no
38 other cash wage is established pursuant to section six hundred fifty-
39 three of this article. In the event the cash wage payable under the Fair
40 Labor Standards Act (29 United States Code Sec. 203 (m), as amended), is
41 increased after enactment of this subdivision, the cash wage payable
42 under this subdivision shall automatically be increased by the propor-
43 tionate increase in the cash wage payable under such federal law, and
44 will be immediately enforceable as the cash wage payable to food service
45 workers under this article.
46 5. Notwithstanding subdivisions one and two of this section, meal and
47 lodging allowances for a food service worker receiving a cash wage
48 amounting to three dollars and thirty cents per hour on or after March
49 thirty-first, two thousand; three dollars and eighty-five cents on or
50 after January first, two thousand five; four dollars and thirty-five
51 cents on or after January first, two thousand six; [and] four dollars
52 and sixty cents on or after January first, two thousand seven; five
53 dollars and eighty-six cents on or after March thirty-first, two thou-
54 sand thirteen; and on or after March thirty-first, two thousand fourteen
55 and on each following March thirty-first, the commissioner shall calcu-
56 late and establish an adjusted minimum wage rate by increasing the then
A. 9148 3
1 current minimum wage rate by the rate of inflation for the most recent
2 twelve month period available prior to each March thirty-first using the
3 consumer price index-all urban consumers, CPI-U, or a successor index as
4 calculated by the United States department of labor, if such rate of
5 inflation is greater than zero percent, shall not increase more than
6 two-thirds of the increase required by subdivision two of this section
7 as applied to state wage orders in effect pursuant to subdivision one of
8 this section.
9 § 4. This act shall take effect immediately.
