Former Senate President Steve Sweeney today lauded the upcoming increase in New Jersey’s minimum wage to $15.13 per hour, triggered by legislation and a constitutional amendment he sponsored.

“Raising the minimum wage was one of my top goals as Senate President,” said Sweeney. “I was proud to sponsor the $15 minimum wage law in 2019 and equally proud to sponsor the constitutional amendment that required annual increases beginning in 2014 to keep up with inflation as measured by the Consumer Price Index. We have seen how important that is in this period of high inflation.

“Increasing the minimum wage not only provides an immediate pay raise for low-wage workers struggling to make ends meet, but ends up raising the pay for all workers as employers have to adjust their pay scales for higher-level jobs too,” Sweeney noted.

Sweeney’s 2019 bill made New Jersey the second state in the nation after California to commit to a $15 minimum wage schedule. Enactment of the $15.13 wage on January 1, 2024, will give New Jersey the third-highest minimum wage in the nation after Washington State and California.