This big change for New Jersey has been a topic of discussion for months and now it looks like its finally happening.

Governor Phil Murphy, Senate President Steve Sweeney, and Assembly Speaker Craig Coughlin just announced that a legislation has been agreed upon to raise the minimum wage to $15.00/hour.

"Today, we are taking a historic step to provide more than 1 million New Jersey workers a stronger foothold in the middle class," Murphy said. "No one working a full-time job should ever live in poverty."

But the biggest thing to keep in mind is that this change is going to happen over the next few years and not immediately

Here is how it will work: on July 1st, 2019 the minimum wage will increase to $10.00/hour, by January 1st, 2020, the statewide minimum wage will raise to $11.00/hour, and then the minimum wage will raise one dollar on the first of every year until the wage reaches $15.00/hour on January 1st, 2024.

It is unclear if this legislation will apply to waiters and waitresses whose main income is tips but for seasonal workers, employees of small businesses or employees in various industries will be put in an inflation schedule that will be slightly adjusted.

"Putting the minimum wage on a clear and responsible path to $15 an hour is good for workers, good for our businesses, and good for our economy," Murphy said. "A higher minimum wage strengthens all of New Jersey."

Take a look at the original article for additional information at Patch.com.

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