California, New York poised to raise minimum wage to $15

Supporters of a bill to raise California's minimum wage, celebrate the state Senate Gallery after the measure was approved by the Senate Thursday, March 31, 2016, in Sacramento, Calif. The bill, SB3, that will gradually raise California's minimum wage to a nation leading $15 an hour by 2022, was approved by both houses of the Legislature and sent to Gov. Jerry Brown who said he will sign it. (AP Photo/Rich Pedroncelli) Supporters of a bill to raise California's minimum wage, celebrate the state Senate Gallery after the measure was approved by the Senate Thursday, March 31, 2016, in Sacramento, Calif. The bill, SB3, that will gradually raise California's minimum wage to a nation leading $15 an hour by 2022, was approved by both houses of the Legislature and sent to Gov. Jerry Brown who said he will sign it. (AP Photo/Rich Pedroncelli)

By Associated Press April 1, 2016 1 min read

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) – California and New York are poised to become the highest-paid minimum-wage states in the nation after governors for both reached deals with lawmakers to raise the lowest amount a worker can be paid to a record-shattering $15 an hour.

Gov. Jerry Brown says he’ll sign California’s new minimum-wage bill Monday in Los Angeles. It was adopted Thursday by the state Legislature.

In New York, Gov. Andrew Cuomo reached a tentative deal late Thursday with his state’s top lawmakers that would also raise his state’s minimum wage to $15.

The increases would be phased in over several years in both states.

The actions in two of the nation’s most labor-friendly states come as the income divide has become a key issue across the U.S. in this presidential election year.