The plan to raise the minimum wage to $15 per hour in New Jersey continues to move forward. Another hurdle to raise the minimum wage in the Garden State was cleared on Monday, January 28, 2019, according to a report from WHYY. The bill, supported by Governor Phil Murphy and other top Democratic lawmakers, will head to the Senate and the Assembly for full votes later this week. The votes could be held as early as Thursday.
On Monday, the bill was passed by the Senate Budget and Appropriations Committee. The bill was sponsored by New Jersey State Senate President Steve Sweeney (Democrat from Gloucester). After the committee passed the measure, Sweeney had the following to say:
“There will be some people happy and some people unhappy. But at the end of the day, I think we created the best bill we could possibly create to move forward.”
The hearing on Monday featured businesses of all sizes pleading their case as to why the passage of the minimum wage bill will hurt them. The New Jersey Business and Industry Association laid claim that the increase to $15 an hour would put many small businesses out of business.
The overall plan is to raise the current minimum wage of $8.85 per hour for more than one million workers to $15 per hour by 2024. The increase would not take effect until 2026 for businesses with less than five employees and seasonal businesses.
Understanding wage and hour laws in New Jersey can be difficult, especially with all of the changes coming to the minimum wage law. It’s important to know the law and understand how much you rightfully deserve to be paid.
