A $15 minimum wage is officially coming to California and New York after governors in both states signed legislation April 4, according to a USA Today report.
Here are 10 things to know about the minimum wage legislation signed into law in both states.
California
1. The legislation signed into law by California Gov. Jerry Brown (D) commits the state to raising the minimum wage to $15 by the end of 2022.
2. Under the legislation, the state minimum wage — currently $10 an hour — will rise to $10.50 on Jan. 1, 2017, for businesses with 26 or more employees, according to the report. Minimum wage will then increase annually until it reaches $15 an hour in January 2022.
3. Smaller businesses would have until the end of 2022 to raise minimum wage to $15, according to the report.
4. California Labor Federation Executive Secretary-Treasurer Art Pulaski applauded the legislation. "The statement California made today will echo throughout the country. By boosting 6 million workers across the state, we're saying that all work is valued and all working people have value," he said in a prepared statement. "By lifting those at the bottom of the economic ladder, we level the playing field for everyone. California is setting all workers on a path out of poverty and restoring the American Dream."
5. But Tom Scott, California's state leader of the National Federation of Independent Business, contends a $15 minimum wage could be devastating for thousands of small businesses, according to USA Today.
New York
6. New York's plan will raise the minimum wage in New York City to $15 by the end of 2018, and implement a softer phase-in period in other areas of the state.
7. New York City businesses with at least 11 employees, would raise minimum wage — currently $9 an hour — to $11 at the end of 2016, then another $2 each of the next two years, according to the report.
8. For New York City companies with 10 or fewer employees, the minimum wage would rise to $10.50 by the end of 2016, then another $1.50 each year for three years.
9. A softer phase-in period would occur in other areas of the state. In areas north of Westchester County, the minimum wage would rise by 70 cents annually over the next five years, eventually reaching $12.50 by the end of 2020. Long Island and Westchester County will not reach a $15 wage for nearly six years.
10. New York Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo applauded the legislation on Twitter. "Proud to sign into law $15 statewide minimum wage," Gov. Cuomo tweeted after signing the bill at a labor rally in New York City.
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