New York Governor announces plans to move ahead with plans to raise minimum wage. 

Last week, accompanied by Vice President Joe Biden, Gov. Cuomo of New York announced that, by 2018, minimum wage will be increased to $15 per hour in New York City. Cuomo added that the increase would be implemented upstate as well by 2021.

According to a report by The New York Post, Cuomo’s announcement has the Empire Center for Public Policy reporting the impact that this across-the-board wage increase will have. The increase will cost more than $25 million extra in personnel costs, along with nearly $40 million for New York City, but that is only taking current part-time and seasonal employees into account.

Those numbers climb to hundreds of millions of dollars when full-time employees who are making less than $15 per hour and government contractors who provide public services to citizens are taken into account.

Legislative approval is likely to be needed for the proposed increase to be implemented.

The current state minimum wage is $8.75 per hour, and it is set to increase to $9 on Dec. 31. However, the state labor commission has approved a $15 wage for workers in the fast-food industry.