Suport Wages for Workers
New York's essential health and human services workers have seen us through a once-in-a-century public health crisis and turned our state into a model for battling — and beating — COVID-19. But many of these workers are still earning a wage far below what they need to sustain a household and a fair quality of life.
To grow New York's healthcare workforce by 20 percent over the next 5 years, Governor Hochul will make a $10 billion, multi-year investment in healthcare, including more than $4 billion to support wages and bonuses for healthcare workers.
Key components of this multi-year investment include:
- $2 billion to support healthcare wages
- $2 billion to support healthcare and mental hygiene worker retention bonuses, with up to $3,000 bonuses going to full-time workers who remain in their positions for one year, and pro-rated bonuses for those working fewer hours
- $500 million for Cost of Living Adjustments (COLAs) to help raise wages for human services workers
- $2 billion for healthcare capital infrastructure and improved lab capacity
- Other investments in workforce and healthcare access and delivery
The growing demand for our essential healthcare workforce requires also swift and strong action. Governor Hochul will rebuild and grow the healthcare workforce with a program designed to improve the career pipeline, expand access to healthcare training and education, recruit care workers to underserved areas, and strengthen home care.
These efforts include: