University of Rochester pledges $15 minimum wage for all employees Rochester Democrat and Chronicle The University of Rochester, the largest employer in the region, pledged Wednesday to raise its minimum wage to $15 by the end of 2022. UR has about 27,000 full-time equivalent employees, making it the largest private employer in upstate New York. The majority of those employees are at the University of Rochester Medical Center, including not only well paid doctors and nurses but also the myriad low-wage workers who assist them. The university has faced pressure from both students and union leaders to raise wages for its employees among other social justice measures. It cast the decision as a means of addressing both concentrated poverty and racial disparities in the wider community.