Metro

NY increasing minimum wage to $8 an hour in 2014

New York’s minimum wage will increase to $8 an hour at the end of this year, 75 cents above the federal minimum and the old state rate.

It’s the first of three incremental boosts that were approved by the Legislature and Gov. Cuomo when they passed the state budget in March. The minimum for most workers will increase at the end of 2014 to $8.75 an hour and to $9 an hour a year after that.

The minimums for workers in the restaurant industry who get tips may remain $5 an hour, with employers able to raise the maximum tip credits to $3 an hour the first year, $3.75 the second and $4 after that.

Advocates for New York’s working poor want the Legislature to revisit the issue this year, saying the minimum should be $10 to $15 an hour and include workers who get tips.

Hunger Action Network called $8 “a sub-poverty wage” and noted recent US Conference of Mayors surveys from 25 cities show 43 percent of households using emergency food programs had someone employed.

“Historically, the minimum wage was for a single worker with two dependents at the poverty level,” said Mark Dunlea, the network’s executive director.