Assembly Speaker Sheila Oliver will reportedly propose a minimum wage increase from $7.25 to $8.50 in her reorganization speech Tuesday.

“We all know that you can’t make ends meet in New Jersey if you’re only making about $15,000 a year. Yet that’s all a full-time worker who makes the minimum wage earns. We’re pleased to see legislators’ efforts to raise the minimum wage, and hope that the bill will pass and be signed into law. It will help put thousands of low-wage workers on the path towards earning a decent living, and will also boost our state’s sluggish economy by putting money into the pockets of workers, who have little choice but to spend that money immediately on goods and services.” – NJPP president Deborah Howlett