New Jersey Minimum wage increase receives final legislative approval

New Jersey will increase its minimum wage from by $2 _ from $5.15 to $7.15 _ over the next two years under legislation approved Monday by the Assembly. The Senate approved the measure a month ago. It now goes to the governor's office for review. Acting Gov. Richard J. Codey has supported the legislation, noting in his State of the State address in January that 12 other states already require that their workers be paid more, even though none matches New Jersey's high cost of living. "The measure is about helping the state's working poor to attain self-sufficiency," said Sen. Stephen Sweeney, D-Gloucester, Cumberland and Salem, who sponsored the bill. "These people are working long hours and barely earning enough to provide the basic necessities for themselves and their families." The initial increase will take effect in October, when the rate will jump from $5.15 to $6.15 per hour. In October 2006, it will reach $7.15. New Jersey last increased its minimum wage in 1999, when it went from up just 10 cents, from $5.05 to $5.15 an hour. About 241,000 workers earn between $5.15 and $7.15 per hour. [more]

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