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Gov. Hochul Proposes Indexing the Minimum Wage to Inflation in State of the State Address

January 15, 2023

Gov. Hochul Proposes Indexing the Minimum Wage to Inflation in State of the State Address

Last week, NFIB released the following statement by NFIB State Director Ashley Ranslow in reaction to Governor Kathy Hochul’s State of the State address and her intention to index the state’s minimum wage to future inflation: “New York’s small businesses, from Long Island to Buffalo, are dealing with continuing financial hardships. Inflation, labor shortages, supply chain disruptions, stubbornly high fuel prices, spiking utility rates, and crushing Unemployment Insurance tax rates imposed by New York State that are dragging down Main Street. Small businesses struggle to raise prices to help absorb the losses, the costs are adding up too quickly and the future remains unpredictable. NFIB urges Governor Hochul and legislative leadership to move with deliberate caution when considering any new cost drivers on small businesses, including wage mandates that will only add instability and increase financial pressure on Main Streets across the Empire State.” Subsequently, State Director Ranslow has spoken with reporters at various news media outlets, including the Albany Times Union, the Press-Republican, and the Lockport Union-Sun & Journal, underscoring that “Linking New York’s minimum wage to inflation is bound to have unanticipated consequences, including forcing employers to cut workers’ hours and price increases for goods and services that all New Yorkers, including low-income workers, purchase.”

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Gov. Hochul Proposes Indexing the Minimum Wage to Inflation in State of the State Address

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