New York Governor Andrew Cuomo announced plans direct the labor commission to determine whether fast food workers are paid enough to support health and life, and if the answer is "no" to recommend companies raise those wages, a move for which he does not require legislative approval, according to an op-ed in the New York Times. The governor noted that fast food workers are twice as likely to be on public assistance than other working families, and said that two thirds of them are raising a child and are the primary wage earners in their family. And so, Cuomo said that the labor commission will spend three months investigating fast food worker wages. If they determine that the wages are too low, they will empower a wage commission to figure out what the wages should be and make a recommendation. The governor said that this effort was a continuation of a campaign to close the income gap after a proposed minimum wage increase to $11.50 in New York City and $10.50 elsewhere in the state failed to gain legislative traction.