Long Island Minimum Wage Workers Poised For Pay Raise

LONG ISLAND, NY — A new calendar year means a boost in the paychecks of minimum-wage American workers in more than 20 states, including New York, where new minimum wage standards take effect New Year's Eve.

In New York, the minimum wage will increase to different amounts depending on where you live and possibly what industry you're employed in. On Long Island and in Westchester, the minimum wage will increase from $12 an hour to $13 an hour as part of a long term plan to hike it up to $15 an hour in 2021.

For New York City workers at small companies, the hourly minimum wage will increase from $13.50 to $15, matching the wage for large employers.

In the rest of New York, the hourly minimum wage will increase from $11.10 to $11.80, though the state does have certain rules when it comes to tipped wages.

The federal minimum wage rate has remained unchanged at $7.25 an hour since 2009, but state legislatures — and, in some cases, voters themselves through ballot measures — have approved minimum wage increases. In some cases, counties and cities have set minimum wage floors.

The pay bumps come after Democratic Gov. Andrew Cuomo signed legislation as part of the 2016-17 state budget to enact a statewide $15 minimum wage plan across all industries. Rates vary by region and industry because the increases are calculated to give businesses enough time to adjust.

The 20 other states have also enacted minimum wage hikes:

Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Florida, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Montana, New Jersey, New Mexico, Ohio, South Dakota, Vermont and Washington. The information was compiled by govdocs.com, a website that curates government documents on employment law for companies worldwide.

The highest of the new rates is in Washington State, where a 2016 voter-approved ballot initiative called for a $13.50 minimum wage floor in 2020, nearly twice the federal minimum wage. The Washington rate is up from $12 an hour in 2019. There is no provision in the law for tipped employees.

Several other states boosted minimum wage to $12 an hour, and several also increased the floor only modestly. For example, Florida’s minimum wage goes up less than 25 cents per hour, to $8.46, from $8.25 an hour in 2019.

The analysis showed widespread disparity in how minimum wage workers who are tipped are treated. In New Mexico, for example, the 2020 minimum wage for tipped employees is $2.35 an hour, compared with $9 and $8.98 an hour, respectively, in neighboring states Arizona and Colorado.

Patch national staffer Beth Dalbey contributed to this report.