ALBANY, N.Y. — On Friday, New York Governor Kathy Hochul announced registered nurses within state goverment agencies will be getting a pay increase.
She says registered nurses in upstate will get up to $90,000 as a starting salary, while registered nurses downstate will get up to $108,000.
"After more than two years on the frontlines in the battle against COVID-19, New York nurses deserve more than our gratitude - they deserve fair and competitive pay," Hochul said. "These wage increases reflect our state's commitment to supporting our healthcare workers and will help us retain and recruit the next generation of nurses to keep New Yorkers safe."
It'll affect about 6,500 New York State employees across 15 agencies.
Nurses in SUNY, the Office of Mental Health, Office for People with Developmental Disabilities, Department of Corrections and Community Supervision, Department of Health, and the Office of Addiction Services and Supports will see the bump in starting salaries.
New York State Department of Civil Service Commissioner Timothy Hogues said, "New York State employs thousands of nurses, who provide critical services across our state agencies to protect the health and wellbeing of New Yorkers. By offering our nurses with these well-deserved pay increases, our partner agencies will be better positioned to retain these talented and dedicated employees. Under the leadership of Governor Hochul, the Department of Civil Service is working hard to implement changes to best support and retain our current public workforce and to ensure our compensation is competitive to attract the next generation of talent to public service careers."
Hochul says it's about a 4.5 percent pay increase for nurses.
