Minimum Wage Hike to $15/Hr. Could Hurt Shore Businesses

According to a report in The Press of Atlantic City, the proposed increase in the state’s minimum wage to $15 an hour would hurt businesses on the Atlantic City Boardwalk.

The paper quotes the manager of Ripley’s Believe It or Not as saying that most of their employees, who make $10 an hour, are high school students who live with their parents and, if the wage is hiked, they will have to raise the price of a ticket.

Some of the businesses on the boardwalk won’t be affected because the owners are the only employees.

In Cape May County, the president of the Chamber of Commerce, Vicki Clark, says she expects businesses to “cut back hours, automate positions, and eliminate jobs” if the minimum wage is hiked. Her organization represents 800 businesses and 20,000 seasonal employees. The chamber wants exemptions for seasonal workers and student employees in order to save small businesses the increased labor costs.

Senate President Steve Sweeney has supported such carve outs, while Governor Murphy has not.