Las Cruces prepares for another minimum wage hike New Year’s Day

Businesses in Las Cruces are bracing for the city’s next mandated minimum wage hike.

City councilors agreed in 2014 to phase in a higher minimum wage, starting at $8.40 in 2015. That will go up to $9.20 on Jan. 1 and then $10.10 in 2019.

Richard Aguilar is the vice president of Tresco Inc., a company that provides services to developmentally disabled people, including job placement.

He tells the Las Cruces Sun-News he’s worried about some of the disabled clients who have been placed in jobs because a higher minimum wage has translated into fewer hours for the clients.

City officials acknowledge the challenges local businesses face with the increased labor costs, but they say the reductions in worker hours and increased prices at the register aren’t as damaging as some had predicted.