Last week Governor Murphy of New Jersey and the legislature agreed to raise the minimum wage to $15 by the year 2024. This places New Jersey alongside of California, New York and Massachusetts as other states which raised the minimum wage to double the Federal minimum of $7.25.
Currently, New Jersey’s minimum wage is $8.85. The impact across the state of New Jersey is estimated to raise the incomes of more than 1 million people. The bill that was passed would increase the minimum wage in New Jersey by July 1st, 2019 to $10 an hour. Then on January 2020 the increase would go to $11 an hour. Then the $15 plateau would not go into effect until 2024.
There are some exceptions to the increase in the minimum wage. Some of those exceptions are seasonal workers and employees of small businesses. Businesses that employ five workers or fewer would only be entitled to the $15 base minimum by 2026.
Farm workers, on the other hand, will increase only to $12.50 an hour by January 1st, 2024. According to Stephen Sweeney, president of the New Jersey legislature, the $12.50 minimum wage for farm workers is the highest wage for farm workers in the Northeast.
There is a debate as to whether the increase in the minimum wage is going to have an impact on total employment, by triggering the introduction of robotics service and artificial intelligence, and thus replacing actual employees.