Seattle's approval of $15 minimum wage is cause for major concern in N.J.

The Seattle City Council voted to raise the city's minimum wage to $15 on Monday, the latest step in a series of increases that will give it the highest such rate in the nation.

Last week, a council committee voted in favor of the increase, and the body as a whole backed it Monday, according to the Seattle Times.

“I wonder if this shifts the debate to Washington, D.C.,” said Michael Egenton, senior vice president, Government Relations, for the New Jersey State Chamber of Commerce.

“You know $15 an hour is a huge jump that would be very close to almost doubling what our current minimum wage is right now,” he said. “That’s something I don’t think a business operation could manage if something were to be done similar to that on a federal level.”

The Seattle wage increase ordinance would be phased in over the next three to seven years, according to the Associated Press, starting next April.