Minimum wage law stifles NYC jobs

New York City’s higher minimum wage is hurting some of those it was meant to help. Small businesses suffering from having to pay employees $15 an hour, which went into effect Dec. 31, are cutting work shifts and limiting overtime to compensate. Susannah Koteen, owner of Lido Restaurant in Harlem, told The Wall Street Journal, “You can only cut back so many people before the service starts to suffer.”

Haven’t we seen this before? Yes, in Emeryville, Calif., minimum wage soared to $16.30 an hour and the job market is shrinking. The smallest New York businesses (with fewer than 10 employees) pay a $13.50 an hour wage, but that will jump to $15 at the end of this year. The rest of the state plans to follow suit by raising the minimum wage every year until it reaches the $15 mark.