Speaker Heastie Statement on Minimum Wage Increase

No one who works full time should be living in poverty or struggling to put food on the table for their families. This past year in the budget, we fought to give New Yorkers a raise- increasing the minimum wage and ensuring that they won’t be left behind by inflation in the future. On January 1, the minimum wage increases to $16 per hour in New York City and Nassau, Suffolk and Westchester Counties and to $15 per hour in the rest of the state – the first of three scheduled increases before the minimum wage becomes indexed to inflation. Raising the minimum wage is an investment that benefits all our hardworking men and women, while further stimulating the economy. We will continue to work to make our state a more affordable place to live and raise a family.