On May 25, 2012, the Assembly passed a bill (A2162) to increase the state minimum wage rate to $8.50 per hour, effective July 1, 2012. The bill was previously introduced in the Assembly in January 2012 (and discussed in the February 2012 issue of the New Jersey eAuthority). The bill also proposes annual minimum wage adjustments to take effect every July 1st thereafter, to be proportional to any increases that occur during the preceding calendar year in the Consumer Price Index. The bill will now head to the Senate, where a similar bill (S3) has been pending since January.
