Good news for fast-food workers in New York City. On Wednesday, a state oversight board voted to uphold Governor Andrew Cuomo's decision to the minimum wage to $15 by the year 2018 reports ABC.
The board rejected the National Restaurant Association's claims that the wage increase was 'unconstitutional, arbitrary, unsupported by the evidence and focused improperly on fast-food chains with more than 30 locations.'
"We find nothing in the statute to prohibit (the labor commissioner) from issuing a minimum wage order that classifies employees based on the number of locations their employers are affiliated with," Read the board's decision.
With the ruling upheld, New York City's minimum wage will rise to $9 an hour once the New Year begins. It will continue to rise in annual increments until the $15 mark is hit in 2018. Elsewhere in New York State, the wage will rise slower, and will hit $15 in 2021.
"If you work full time, you shouldn't have to live in poverty - plain and simple," Said Cuomo during the announcement of the wage hike this past September. Raising the minimum wage to $15 an hour will add fairness to our economy and bring dignity and respect to 2.2 million people, many of whom have been forced to live in poverty for too long. My father's words about helping those left behind in the shining city are not just a dream - they were true when he spoke them, and they still ring true today. We will overcome the skeptics and demonstrate to the American people that we can make this a better place because New York is the state of possibility. We can restore hope and opportunity, and we will do it with a $15 minimum wage that ensures economic justice for all."
