New York state government passed minimum wage legislation during the 2016 budget process. The law mandated a schedule of annual increases, heading toward $15 per hour, that differed somewhat between New York City, Long Island and West Chester, the remainder of upstate New York. The City reached $15 fully at the end of 2019, Long Island and West Chester arrived there at the end of this year. Upstate’s last scheduled increase, to $12.50, occurred on December 31, 2020. It was somewhat unclear to many if or how much upstate’s minimum wage would increase, but the law did indicate that upstate would also reach $15 at some time. Now we know that upstate’s minimum wage will be $13.20 for 2022.
The NYS Department of Labor (NYSDOL) announced the 70 cent increase in a September 27, 2021 press release. NYSDOL justified the increase with the fact that employers are already increasing wages on their own in response to worker shortages in the current, extremely tight labor market. The minimum wage increase decisions was based on a report from the state’s Division of the Budget which recommended the increase based on growth in the consumer price index and estimates of increased labor productivity. Employers should prepare to adjust wages on December 31, 2021 at the latest to be sure that no employee earns less than $13.20 per hour.
By Richard Stup, Cornell University. Permission granted to repost, quote, and reprint with author attribution. The post New York Minimum Wage to Increase at Yearend appeared first in The Ag Workforce Journal.
