The state’s minimum wage went up starting Thursday for employees of various industries, particularly those working in fast food establishments.
New York’s new minimum wage rate is now $9 an hour for all workers, a 25-cent raise from the previous rate. As part of a recommendation from the state’s wage board, fast food workers in New York City will have a $10.50 an hour rate. Tipped hospitality employees, such as those who work in restaurants, hotels and other services, will have a minimum wage of $7.50 an hour, which in some cases is nearly a $3 increase from their previous rate.
Gov. Andrew Cuomo, who has been advocating for a $15 an hour minimum wage statewide, said the changes will make a “fundamental difference” for thousands of New Yorkers and the state’s economy as a whole.
“No one who works full time should ever be condemned to a life of poverty,” he said in a statement.
The increases for fast food workers are part of an annual rise in the minimum wage that will result in a $15 an hour rate on Dec. 31, 2018.
The minimum wage rate has been a hot topic around the country as elected officials and workers’ rights groups protest for better working conditions and salaries.
