Tipped workers working in the restaurant, hotel and other service-based industries will receive a $2.50 minimum wage increase at the end of the year, the Department of Labor on Tuesday announced.
The wage for tipped workers will grow from $5 to $7.50 based on the Department of Labor’s order issued this morning.
Gov. Andrew Cuomo is touting the wage increase at a rally of the politically influential Hotel and Motel Trades Council in New York City this morning.
But the move was blasted by business groups that will be impacted by the wage hike.
“It’s troubling that the Acting Commissioner ignored legislative precedent and the pleas of nearly 1,000 hospitality industry representatives who asked him for a moderate increase phased in over time,” said Melissa Fleischut, President and CEO of the NYS Restaurant Association. “By rubberstamping an extreme, unprecedented 50 percent increase it becomes hard to believe New York is really ‘Open for Business.’”
State law requires tipped workers who earn less than the current $8.75 minimum wage be made essentially whole by their employers.
The state’s minimum wage is due to increase again to $9 by the end of the year.