Gov. Phil Murphy signed legislation this week raising New Jersey’s minimum wage to $15 per hour by 2024.
The bill (A-15), sponsored by Senate President Steve Sweeney and Assembly Speaker Craig Coughlin, raises wages for more than 1 million New Jersey workers.
The current minimum wage in New Jersey is $8.85 per hour. Under the new law, the base minimum wage for New Jersey workers will increase to $10 per hour on July 1, 2019. By Jan. 1, 2020, the statewide minimum wage will increase to $11 per hour, and then will increase by $1 per hour every Jan. 1st until it reaches $15 per hour Jan. 1, 2024.
“For far too long, too many of our fellow New Jerseyans have been struggling to survive on wages that have not kept up with the cost of living,” said Murphy. “I am incredibly proud to sign legislation that raises the minimum wage to $15 per hour, ensuring that the most vulnerable among us will have the means to put food on the table, while growing our economy and addressing priorities of the small business community.”
For seasonal workers and employees at small businesses with five or fewer workers, the base minimum wage will reach $15 per hour by Jan. 1, 2026. By Jan.1, 2028, workers in these groups will receive the minimum wage inclusive of inflation adjustments that take place from 2024 to 2028, equalizing the minimum wage with the main cohort of New Jersey workers.
For agricultural workers, the base minimum wage will increase to $12.50 per hour by Jan. 1, 2024. No later than March 31, 2024, the New Jersey Labor Commissioner and Secretary of Agriculture will jointly decide whether to recommend that the minimum wage for agricultural workers increase to $15 per hour by Jan. 1, 2027, as specified in the bill.
If they cannot come to an agreement, a third member, appointed by the governor with the advice and consent of the Senate, will break the tie. If there is a recommendation to disapprove of the scheduled increases or suggest an alternative pathway, the legislature will have the ability to implement that recommendation by passage of a concurrent resolution.
“Here in New Jersey, we are setting an example for the rest of the nation by raising the minimum wage and lifting many fellow New Jerseyans out of poverty,” said Sen. Cory Booker, co-sponsor of the federal Raise the Wage Act (S.150). “It is time that we build on New Jersey’s successful effort and pass a $15 minimum wage on the federal level and provide all workers with a living wage.”
Although the raise in minimum wage is good news to many workers, advocates say tipped employees in the Garden State are not included. Officials from the New Jersey chapter of Restaurant Opportunities Centers United say that tipped workers will only be able to receive $8.04 an hour by 2030.
