Recently, the Assembly Labor
Committee released A3912
which allows municipalities or counties to set their own minimum wage standards.
NFIB/New Jersey opposed this bill which would allow for an onerous patchwork of
local wage ordinance, while NFIB members continue to be challenged by the
significant increase in the state minimum wage enacted in 2013. The proposal to
allow each municipality to act as a separate state is very bad public policy
and the fact that that New Jersey is even considering this anti-business approach
can damage the state’s economic future. New Jersey is already known as a high
tax, highly regulated, anti-business state. Increasing local regulation is
dangerous public policy.
Reasons
we oppose this bill:
-
By explicitly authorizing 21 counties and 500+
municipalities to have their own wage rates employers could be literally forced
to follow hundreds of different standards. -
Under this legislation employers with multiple locations may need to pay their
employees different wages for doing the exact same job. -
The legislation could create confusion for business owners. Businesses located
on the same street could fall under two different wage requirements depending
on which municipality they called home. -
The bill could adversely affect the very people it intends to help. A business
struggling to make ends meet may decide to move to a lower wage area to keep
its doors open. As a result, workers could be forced to commute larger distances
to earn a paycheck.
We encourage you to reach out to your legislators and ask them to oppose this legislation.
