Small business says wage increase forced layoffs

NEW YORK - The new $11-per-hour minimum wage in New York is having a negative impact on small businesses.  Eli Amsel is the owner of Lagmitz Paper & Plastics, in Brooklyn.

Amsel says he has been forced to lay off two employees as a result of this new law.

"Gov.Cuomo does not understand that the way for an employee to get a raise, is not by putting a gun to the employer's head," Amsel said.

He compared the law to Communism and says it will blow up in small businesses faces.

For workers in New York City employed by large businesses (those with at least 11 employees), the minimum wage would rise to $11 at the end of 2016, then another $2 each year after, reaching $15 on 12/31/2018.