Proposed Increases To The New Jersey State Minimum Wage

In December 2007, the State’s Minimum Wage Advisory Commission issued its First Annual Report.  In the report, the Commission recommended that New Jersey immediately increase its minimum wage to $8.25 per hour (from the present rate of $7.15 per hour).  The Commission also recommended that New Jersey enact a law providing an automatic annual adjustment in the minimum wage rate based upon the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers in the Northeast Metropolitan Region.  In 2008, several bills have been introduced to implement certain of these recommendations (including a minimum wage hike to $7.40 or $8.50 per hour).  However, as of press date, none of these bills have been discussed in the Assembly or Senate Labor Committees.

Note: This article was published in the May 2008 issue of the New Jersey eAuthority.