Relates to the minimum wage and makes technical changes to the labor law relating thereto.

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S6413-2011 Actions

• Feb 6, 2012: REFERRED TO LABOR

S6413-2011 Memo

BILL NUMBER:S6413

TITLE OF BILL:

An act
to amend the labor law, in relation to the
minimum wage and making technical corrections relating thereto

PURPOSE OR GENERAL IDEA OF BILL:

This bill proposes to raise the statutory minimum wage from $7.25 to
$8.50 per hour on January 1, 2013 and thereafter. Further, on each
January 1st thereafter, the wage rate shall be indexed to reflect the
rate of inflation.

SUMMARY OF SPECIFIC PROVISIONS:

Section 1: Amends Labor Law section 651 to require the state,. local
governments or political subdivisions thereof, to pay their employees
the statutory minimum wage under article nineteen of the Labor Law.

Section 2: This provision makes a conforming change to the definition
of "employer" in section 651 to include a state or municipal
government or a political subdivision thereof.

Section 3: Amends subdivisions 1, 4 and 5 of Labor Law section 652 to
provide that effective January 1, 2013 the statutory minimum wage
shall be $8.50 per hour, and for food service workers receiving a
minimum cash wage, including those for which employers are authorized
to make wage deductions for meals and lodging, $5.86 per hour. It
would also require that beginning on January 1, 2014 and annually
thereafter on such date, the minimum wage shall be indexed to
inflation by the commissioner of the Department of Labor.

Section 4 is the effective date.

JUSTIFICATION:

When Congress enacted the Federal Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) 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.
However, 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.

According to the United States Bureau of Labor Statistics, the
nation's effective minimum wage peaked in 1968 at the 2010
dollar equivalent of $9.60.
Additionally, if the 1968 minimum wage of $1.50 had been indexed to
inflation, it would have had the purchasing power of $10.03 today. By
this comparison, it is clear that the current minimum wage of $7.25
is not nearly sufficient to meet the rising costs of food and
shelter, let alone provide for healthcare, transportation, child care
and other necessities for New Yorkers and their families. The annual
income for a NYS full-time minimum wage worker has not exceeded the
federal poverty threshold since 1979.


Further, the annual gap between the stated minimum wage and the
effective minimum continues to grow steadily.

In 2010, there were over 264,000 people in NYS earning at or below the
minimum wage, many of whom reside within the New York City
metropolitan area, the area ranked as having the highest cost of
living in the nation. Historically, the highest proportion (14%) of
workers that earn at or below the federal minimum wage was in service
occupations, with nearly half of that number being employed in the
leisure and hospitality industry, primarily in restaurants and other
food services. With a relative cost of living that far exceeds the
national average it is important that the minimum wage standards in
this State be reflective of these facts.

The guarantee of a livable wage not only benefits workers and their
families, it is also a direct benefit for the State's overall economy
as it is widely proven in consumer trends that lower wage earners are
more likely to reinvest any disposable income into their local
businesses.
Currently, there are ten states whose minimum wages are statutorily
required to be adjusted annually, to reflect changes in the consumer
price index, and three with proposals pending to do so. This
safeguard ensures that despite delays in Congressional action to
increase the minimum wage under the FLSA, the wage laws in NYS will
continue to provide for its residents.

PRIOR LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:
New bill.

FISCAL IMPLICATIONS FOR STATE AND LOCAL GOVERNMENTS:
To be determined.

EFFECTIVE DATE:
Immediate.

S6413-2011 Text

                      S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
  ________________________________________________________________________

                                    6413

                              I N  SENATE

                              February 6, 2012
                                 ___________

  Introduced  by  Sen.  KLEIN  -- read twice and ordered printed, and when
    printed to be committed to the Committee on Labor

  AN ACT to amend the labor law, in  relation  to  the  minimum  wage  and
    making technical corrections relating thereto

    THE  PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND ASSEM-
  BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:


    Section 1. Paragraph (n) of subdivision 5 of section 651 of the  labor
  law,  as  amended by chapter 481 of the laws of 2010, is amended to read
  as follows:

    (n) by [a] THE federal[, state or municipal] government [or  political
  subdivision  thereof]. The exclusions from the term "employee" contained
  in this subdivision shall be as defined by regulations  of  the  commis-
  sioner; or
    S  2.  Subdivision  6  of  section 651 of the labor law, as amended by
  chapter 281 of the laws of 2002, is amended to read as follows:

    6.  "Employer"  includes  any  individual,  partnership,  association,
  corporation,  limited liability company, business trust, legal represen-
  tative, STATE OR MUNICIPAL GOVERNMENT OR POLITICAL SUBDIVISION  THEREOF,
  or any organized group of persons acting as employer.
    S  3.  Subdivisions  1,  4  and  5 of section 652 of the labor law, as
  amended by chapter 747 of the laws of  2004,  are  amended  to  read  as
  follows:

    1.  Statutory.  Every  employer shall pay to each of its employees for
  each hour worked a wage of not less than:

    $4.25 on and after April 1, 1991,
    $5.15 on and after March 31, 2000,
    $6.00 on and after January 1, 2005,
    $6.75 on and after January 1, 2006,
    $7.15 on and after January 1, 2007,
    $8.50 ON AND AFTER JANUARY 1, 2013
    AND ON AND AFTER JANUARY 1, 2014 AND ON EACH FOLLOWING JANUARY  FIRST,
  THE  COMMISSIONER SHALL CALCULATE AND ESTABLISH AN ADJUSTED MINIMUM WAGE
  RATE BY INCREASING THE THEN CURRENT MINIMUM WAGE RATE  BY  THE  RATE  OF
  INFLATION  FOR  THE  MOST  RECENT TWELVE MONTH PERIOD AVAILABLE PRIOR TO

   EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                        [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                             LBD11388-05-2

 S. 6413                             2

  EACH JANUARY FIRST USING THE CONSUMER PRICE INDEX-ALL  URBAN  CONSUMERS,
  CPI-U,  OR  A SUCCESSOR INDEX AS CALCULATED BY THE UNITED STATES DEPART-
  MENT OF LABOR, IF SUCH RATE OF INFLATION IS GREATER THAN  ZERO  PERCENT,
  or,  if  greater,  such  other wage as may be established by federal law
  pursuant to 29 U.S.C. section 206 or its successors or such  other  wage
  as may be established in accordance with the provisions of this article.
    4.  Notwithstanding subdivisions one and two of this section, the wage
  for an employee who is a food service worker receiving tips shall  be  a
  cash  wage  of  at  least  three dollars and thirty cents per hour on or
  after March thirty-first, two thousand; three  dollars  and  eighty-five
  cents  on  or  after  January  first,  two  thousand five; at least four
  dollars and thirty-five cents on or after January  first,  two  thousand
  six;  [and]  at  least  four dollars and sixty cents on or after January
  first, two thousand seven; AND AT  LEAST  FIVE  DOLLARS  AND  EIGHTY-SIX
  CENTS  ON OR AFTER JANUARY FIRST, TWO THOUSAND THIRTEEN; AND ON OR AFTER
  JANUARY FIRST, TWO THOUSAND  FOURTEEN  AND  ON  EACH  FOLLOWING  JANUARY
  FIRST,  THE COMMISSIONER SHALL CALCULATE AND ESTABLISH AN ADJUSTED MINI-
  MUM WAGE RATE BY INCREASING THE THEN CURRENT MINIMUM WAGE  RATE  BY  THE
  RATE  OF  INFLATION  FOR  THE  MOST RECENT TWELVE MONTH PERIOD AVAILABLE
  PRIOR TO EACH JANUARY FIRST USING THE  CONSUMER  PRICE  INDEX-ALL  URBAN
  CONSUMERS,  CPI-U,  OR  A  SUCCESSOR  INDEX  AS CALCULATED BY THE UNITED
  STATES DEPARTMENT OF LABOR, IF SUCH RATE OF INFLATION  IS  GREATER  THAN
  ZERO  PERCENT, provided that the tips of such an employee, when added to
  such cash wage, are equal to or exceed the minimum wage in effect pursu-
  ant to subdivision one of this section  and  provided  further  that  no
  other  cash  wage  is established pursuant to section six hundred fifty-
  three of this article. In the event the cash wage payable under the Fair
  Labor Standards Act (29 United States Code Sec. 203 (m), as amended), is
  increased after enactment of this subdivision,  the  cash  wage  payable
  under  this  subdivision shall automatically be increased by the propor-
  tionate increase in the cash wage payable under such  federal  law,  and
  will be immediately enforceable as the cash wage payable to food service
  workers under this article.
    5.  Notwithstanding subdivisions one and two of this section, meal and
  lodging allowances for a food  service  worker  receiving  a  cash  wage
  amounting  to  three dollars and thirty cents per hour on or after March
  thirty-first, two thousand; three dollars and eighty-five  cents  on  or
  after  January  first,  two  thousand five; four dollars and thirty-five
  cents on or after January first, two thousand six;  [and]  four  dollars
  and  sixty  cents  on  or  after January first, two thousand seven; FIVE
  DOLLARS AND EIGHTY-SIX CENTS ON OR AFTER MARCH THIRTY-FIRST,  TWO  THOU-
  SAND THIRTEEN; AND ON OR AFTER MARCH THIRTY-FIRST, TWO THOUSAND FOURTEEN
  AND  ON EACH FOLLOWING MARCH THIRTY-FIRST, THE COMMISSIONER SHALL CALCU-
  LATE AND ESTABLISH AN ADJUSTED MINIMUM WAGE RATE BY INCREASING THE  THEN
  CURRENT  MINIMUM  WAGE RATE BY THE RATE OF INFLATION FOR THE MOST RECENT
  TWELVE MONTH PERIOD AVAILABLE PRIOR TO EACH MARCH THIRTY-FIRST USING THE
  CONSUMER PRICE INDEX-ALL URBAN CONSUMERS, CPI-U, OR A SUCCESSOR INDEX AS
  CALCULATED BY THE UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF LABOR,  IF  SUCH  RATE  OF
  INFLATION  IS  GREATER  THAN  ZERO PERCENT, shall not increase more than
  two-thirds of the increase required by subdivision two of  this  section
  as applied to state wage orders in effect pursuant to subdivision one of
  this section.
    S 4. This act shall take effect immediately.