Employment Policies Institute Findings Quantify Small Business Position on Minimum Wage Increase

EMPLOYMENT POLICIES INSTITUTE FINDINGS QUANTIFY SMALL BUSINESS POSITION ON MINIMUM WAGE INCREASE

ALBANY (June 4, 2015): Today the National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB) is cautioning members of the Wage Board, who will meet tomorrow in Buffalo, to heed the warnings that were released this week by the Employment Policies Institute (EPI) regarding the ramifications of forcing small businesses to pay $15 an hour to employees. 

“First and foremost, wage board members must take into consideration that their broad definition of “fast food” captures businesses completely unrelated to corporate America, therefore their findings will directly, and no doubt adversely, impact small business owners throughout the state of New York.” Said NFIB New York State Director Michael Durant, “Everyone from your local pizza parlor to your children’s favorite ice cream shop is swept into their definition of fast food and will be facing insurmountable wage hikes if the board passes what we believe to be the predetermined conclusion to increase minimum wage to $15 an hour.”

According to the EPI’s findings, small business owners often face low, single-digit profit margins. This explains the overwhelming response that 70 percent of those polled are “very likely” to raise prices on consumers in response to a $15 wage requirement. However, their attempts offset the increase in employee cost will not stop there. 

“In order to offset the increase on their bottom line, not only will small businesses be forced to raise prices on consumers, but as the survey indicates, many are very likely to reduce the number of hours they use employees or the amount of people they employee altogether.” Durant continued, “As disconcerting as that news is for the employment rate in New York, it pales in comparison to the fact that one out of every five people surveyed indicated that would most likely close their doors than face the wage increase. For a  Governor that claims to care about business in this state, he is certainly doing a good job pricing hard working New Yorkers out of the market and forcing them to board up their shops.”