In light of the this afternoons announcement calling for a collaborative effort between federal and state lawmakers to enact a $15 an hour mandate for minimum wage employees, the following remarks may be attributed to National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB) New Jersey state director, Laurie Ehlbeck:

“Law makers are playing Russian roulette with New Jersey’s economy and it is only a matter of time before their ridiculous mandates deal a final blow to the small business sector that simply cannot afford to absorb the cost of $15 an hour required for minimum wage employees. Small businesses employ the vast majority of people in our state and forcing them to face this kind of salary increase will force them to reduce hours and worse yet, lay people off.

“The minimum wage was never intended to drive people out of poverty, it is used in most cases as an entry level or even training wage and for lawmakers to discuss minimum wage as if it should be substantial enough to feed a family is preposterous. There will certainly be an impact on employees if wages are mandated as high as $15 an hour but it will not be empowering low income families, it will be sending them to the unemployment line when their employer can no longer afford to pay them.”