Senator Marc Panepinto Praises Minimum Wage Increase for Tipped Workers to One of the Highest in Nation

ALBANY, N.Y. – Senator Marc Panepinto released the following statement on the Department of Labor’s action to raise the minimum wage for tipped workers to $7.50 per hour starting December 31, 2015:

“As someone who has traveled the country organizing on behalf of hardworking Americans, today’s announcement regarding the increase in the minimum wage for tipped workers has a special meaning for me. Finally, over 229,000 New Yorkers and their families will be delivered the financial relief that has so long been overdue and deserved. Finally, our state is taking the necessary steps to ensure that nobody who works a full-time job is forced to live in and out of poverty. With that said, there is still much work to be done this session as the fight goes on to raise the overall minimum wage to a living wage. In the spirit of today’s historic announcement for all tipped workers in this great state, we legislators have an obligation to pledge that same relief to all New Yorkers so that our middle-class has a fighting chance.”