One piece of out-of-state Election Day news that received a bit of chatter in New York happened in Florida.
It had nothing to do with the presidential election. Instead, it had to do with minimum wage.
Over 61% of voters on Election Day approved legislation that would raise Florida’s minimum wage to $15 an hour over the next six years. Minimum wage is currently $8.56, and will jump to $10 in September 2021. Then each year after that it will increase by $1 until reaching $15.
There are 29 states that pay more than the federal minimum wage, which is $7.25. There have been widespread calls to increase it. However, the political will hasn’t existed in the last several years.
Given the Coronavirus Pandemic, though, some have wondered how that might impact minimum wage increases in New York. At the end of the year minimum wage is scheduled to jump to $12.50 in Upstate New York. Fast food workers will see their wages jump to $14.50 at the end of the year.
However, News10NBC spoke with the state’s Department of Labor, who says its in the midst of a review.
“Per the statute, the state is in the process of reviewing regional economic indicators and potential impacts,” a spokesperson told News10NBC about the minimum wage boost.
There were no planned increases after this year, since a plan to increase minimum wage in New York was approved in 2016.
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