NYC LIVING WAGE LEGISLATION
SUMMARY AND COSTS

The NYC Living Wage Legislation will have a significant impact on the lives of more than 75,000 low-wage service workers who perform vital publicly subsidized services in New York City.

The Living Wage Legislation Will Set Minimum Pay Standards for:
§ 50,000 home healthcare attendants working for City contracted agencies under the federal Medicaid program.
§ 8,500 day care and Head Start workers, and workers providing services to persons with cerebral palsy, all employed by City contracted agencies.
§ Over 15,000 low-wage workers, such as contracted cafeteria workers, providing on-site services at companies that receive major City tax incentives or subsidies to create or retain jobs in the City.
§ Building service employees and other low-wage workers such as retail employees working in buildings constructed or renovated with funds provided through City tax incentive or subsidy programs.
§ Building service workers in offices or buildings leased by City agencies.
§ Security guards and street cleaners employed by business improvement districts.

The Legislation Also Extends Prevailing Wage Standards to covered building service and food service workers, requiring that they be paid the prevailing industry wage or the living wage, whichever is greater.

The Living Wage Minimum Standards Will be Phased-In:
§ The living wage will start at $8.10 per hour for fiscal year 2003 for employees who are covered by a health plan.
§ Employees who are not covered by a health plan will receive an additional $1.50 per hour premium so that they can purchase their own health insurance.
§ The living wage will increase incrementally over the next few years, and will then be indexed to inflation.

The Living Wage Legislation Will Have Little Impact on the City Budget and Bring Substantial Money Into the Local Economy:
§ The homecare worker component will cost the City budget approximately $10 million in fiscal year 2003. The City's $10 million contribution will leverage $90 million in matching State and Federal Medicaid funds to cover the total cost.
§ The day care, Head Start, and cerebral palsy services components will have virtually no impact on the City budget because pay levels in these programs are already approximately at the living wage level. Extending the living wage to them will ensure that after fiscal year 2005, wages in these programs continue to keep pace with inflation.
§ Living wage and prevailing wage standards for businesses utilizing City subsidies, or landlords leasing property to the City will have no impact on the City budget, but will ensure that companies receiving taxpayer subsidies do their part to create decent jobs for all New Yorkers.
§ Living wage and prevailing wage standards for business improvement districts will also have no impact on the City budget and will ensure that as these agencies expand, they too do their part to ensure decent jobs for the working poor.
§ At little cost to the City, these pay increases will help keep thousands of families out of poverty.
§ They will also provide a badly needed stimulus to the local economy because the vast majority of these low-wage workers live in New York City and spend their paychecks at local businesses.

Information provided by the New York City Living Wage Coalition, c/o Working Families Party, 88 Third Avenue, Brooklyn, NY 11217, 718/ 222-3796 or (fax) 718/ 246-3718.