Gov. Andrew Cuomo is raising the minimum wage for about 10,000 state workers to $15 an hour over the next six years.
Cuomo's office says that will initially affect about 1,000 office assistants, custodial workers and lifeguards in New York City, whose hourly wage will reach $15 by the end of 2018.
Another 9,000 employees upstate will see wages rise to that level three years later.
New York's basic minimum wage is now $8.75 and is set to rise to $9 at year's end.
The Democratic governor has called for a $15 basic minimum, which state Senate Republicans oppose.
A state wage board recently agreed to increase the minimum wage for chain fast-food workers in annual increments to $15 by the end of 2018 in New York City and for others by July 1, 2021.
Copyright The Associated Press