On Thursday, Governor Andrew Cuomo demanded a $15 hourly minimum wage for the state, to be phased in by 2018 in New York City and 2021 statewide, according to The Atlantic.

Fast-food workers will see the increase immediately.

Cuomo can declare the increase without consulting the state legislature, as he created a wage board to circumvent the legislature from stopping the increase. Once the wage board and labor commissioner approve it, it becomes the standard.

The Cuomo announcement wasn’t unexpected, as the Fast Food Wage Board recommended the wage hike back in July.

Though the delayed implementation will make the effect less stark, due to inflation and presumably increasing wages, the jump will be the boldest step in the recent fight over the minimum wage.

When large cities have passed minimum-wage increases, the effects can be focused and analyzed to compare with similar cities who didn’t institute the increase. For the state of New York, however, the increase will affect New York City differently from upstate.

Whether the cost of living will impact employment will be seen in a few years.