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History
- Print number 5602b
- Amend (t) and recommit to labor
- Print number 5602a
- Amend (t) and recommit to labor
- Referred to labor
- Referred to labor
Companion bill
The same bill in the other chamber. A bill becomes law when one version passes both houses and the governor signs it, so either number can carry it.
Relates to the minimum wage
Assembly Floor Calendar · Sponsor Michele Titus
Full text
The text isn't available here yet. Check nysenate.gov.
Sponsor's memo
Title of bill
An act to amend the labor law, the education law and the general municipal law, in relation to the minimum wage; to amend the public health law, in relation to home care worker wage parity; and to amend part H of chapter 59 of the laws of 2011, amending the public health law and other laws relating to known and projected department of health state fund medicaid expenditures, in relation to medicaid disbursements
Summary of provisions
Sections 1 and 2 of the bill would amend § 651 of the Labor Law to require that state and municipal governments and political subdivisions thereof pay their employees the statutory minimum wage.
Section 3 of the bill would amend § 652 of the Labor Law to raise the statutory minimum wage to $10.50 in New York City and Nassau, Suffolk, and Westchester counties and $9.75 in the rest of the State on July 1, 2016; to $12.00 in New York City and Nassau, Suffolk, and Westchester counties and $10.75 in the rest of the state on December 31, 2016; to $13.50 in New York City and Nassau, Suffolk, and Westchester counties and $11.75 in the rest of the state on December 31, 2017; to $15.00 in New York City and Nassau, Suffolk, and Westchester counties and $12.75 in the rest of the state on December 31, 2018; to $13.75 in in the rest of the state on December 31, 2019; to $14.50 in the rest of the state by December 31, 2020; and to $15.00 in the rest of the state by December 31, 2021. On and after December 31, 2018 in New York City and Nassau, Suffolk and Westchester counties and December 31, 2021 in the rest of the state the minimum wage would be indexed to the rate of inflation. Section 2 would also provide that the lower minimum wage set for upstate New York would apply to the entire state for purposes of eligibility for unemployment.
Read the full memo (883 words)
Sections 4 and 5 of the bill would exempt any minimum wage increase attributable to § 652 of the labor law from the calculation of real property tax caps for schools and municipalities.
Section 6 of the bill would exempt any minimum wage increases attributable to § 652 of the labor law from the global cap on Medicaid.
Section 7 of the bill would provide that the cash portion of the wage for home health aides in New York City, Nassau, Suffolk, and Westchester must be increased in response to a minimum wage increase.
Section 8 of the bill would require that any increase attributable to the increase in the minimum wage be excluded from the calculation of any policy of the state regarding spending limitations in the enacted budget relating to the state's financial plans and capital improvement program. It would also require that programs or services, including those provided through not-for-profits, funded by New York State through certain enumerated agencies be adjusted to reflect the increase in labor costs related to the minimum wage.
Section 9 is a severability provision.
Section 10 is the effective date.
Justification
When Congress enacted the Fair Labor Standards Act 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. If the 1968 minimum wage of $1.50 had been indexed to inflation, it would have the purchasing power of over $12.00 today.
While the recent increase to the minimum wage to $9.00 is a start, more can be done to help families meet the rising costs of food and shelter, health care, transportation, child care and other necessities.
This bill ensures that the state's minimum wage will keep pace with inflation and also recognizes that the state is diverse, with the cost of living varying by region. Providing for a higher minimum wage in areas of the state with a higher cost of living will enable residents in all regions of the State to make a livable wage that is commensurate with their needs.
Health care workers and other human services providers cannot be left behind. To ensure that there are sufficient resources available for the Medicaid program to support these wage increases without impacting services, the bill would exempt any costs attributable to the increase in the minimum wage from the annual global growth cap on the State's share of Department of Health Medicaid expenditures. Additionally, there are many vital human services functions performed by not-for-profit organizations that contract with the State. In order for such nonprofits to continue to provide high-quality services, the Assembly anticipates that the wage increases under the bill will be funded in the Enacted Budget. Finally, an exclusion from the real property tax cap and any State spending limitation of any expenditures attributable to the increase in the minimum wage would enable school districts, municipalities, and the State to effectively address any cost increases and ensure the provision of necessary educational, community, and human services.
Legislative history
New legislation.
Fiscal implications
None to the State.
Effective date
This act would take effect immediately.
Summaries, headlines and scores are AI-generated from the official bill text. How we score bills. Source: NYS Open Legislation.