Dunkin' Donuts CEO Nigel Travis is not so keen on the $15 minimum wage increase recently recommended by the New York wage board that could mean a 71 percent jump from the current wage benchmark.
Travis said in an interview with CNN's Poppy Harlow that a more reasonable increase should be imposed, as the $15 per hour could bring the downfall of small businesses especially franchises, according to CNN.
"The increase is outrageous," Travis told the publication.
He said the minimum wage increase would prevent him from opening new shops and even lead to lay-offs.
Labor groups are pushing for a $15 new standard minimum wage per hour across the U.S., which is almost double the current $7.25 an hour imposed since 2009.
Anti-poverty advocates see the $15 minimum as a means to uplift the standard of living in most states, according to the Associated Press.
This call follows a successful labor agreement reached by the employees of the University of California, as announced by university president Janet Napolitano on Wednesday. UCLA would pay its employees the minimum of $15 an hour by late 2017.
In New York, which has about 150,000 fast-food workers, the wage board elevated the minimum wage of fast-food workers to $15 an hour.
Among the states that have already made such a move is Washington, in which the minimum wage increase in Seattle would be given in a phased-in approach that allows a $11-minimum wage this year and $15 in 2017 or 2018, according to CNBC News.
California cities San Francisco and Los Angeles have taken the same path in terms of imposing the minimum wage in tranches. The cities of Sacramento and Berkeley are still studying the issue.
