Proposal will hurt those employees it's intended to help
TRENTON (Sept. 6, 2018) — NFIB, the leading small business association in New Jersey with thousands of members in the state, responded today to the news conference about the state minimum wage held by Gov. Phil Murphy and Assembly Speaker Craig Coughlin. The following comments can be attributed to Laurie Ehlbeck, NFIB’s state director in New Jersey:
“Any move to further increase New Jersey’s minimum wage must consider small businesses. There are many smaller companies, especially in the restaurant and hospitality sectors, that operate on a very thin profit margin and a quick jump in wages could wipe those businesses out.
“When a small business simply cannot afford the additional labor costs of a minimum wage increase they are forced to seek alternatives to stay solvent, such as eliminating jobs, reducing employee benefits, cutting hours and raising prices. Consumers also may not be willing to pay more than the market allows.
“The victims of a minimum wage increase above what the market will bear are those who are just entering the workforce or people without skills because the opportunities dry up and they can’t find that first job.
“This proposal on minimum wage is misguided and will hurt the people who it is meant to help. New Jersey recently ranked at rock bottom in a national survey for the cost of doing business, and our policymakers should be devising ways to counter that.”
