New Jersey minimum wage climbs to $12 an hour

NEW JERSEY - New Jersey’s minimum hourly wage climbed to $12 per hour on Jan. 1. 

Pasquale Passariello has weathered many economic turns, he has three successful restaurants in South Jersey, and starting Friday, his minimum wage earners will get a boost in their paycheck from $11 to $12 an hour, while tip employees will get $4.13 an hour.

"I strongly believe if we take care of our people they’re gonna take care of us. If we give them extra dollars in their pocket they’re going to have more money to feed their families to spend and build the economy too," business owner Passariello said.

In a year of pandemic related economic uncertainty, this fast-casual business has survived, with no layoffs and no cutbacks. Passariello calls his employees assets, not expenses, so paying them a little more is fine by him.

"We pay them they go shopping. If they got no money they’re not going shopping. I strongly believe that’s good that that happens," he said.

Connor Judge is just one beneficiary of the wage increase. He’s a college student working over winter break.

"Looking around so many businesses I see closing and that little bit of extra money we can spend it goes to help keep those businesses open in 2021," Judge said.
 

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