The corporate lobbying group fighting a New York state effort to raise the minimum wage has publicly argued that an increase will throw more than a hundred thousand people out of work. But behind closed doors last week, the lobbying group claimed many of its members are already paying their lowest-paid workers more than the state minimum wage.

“I think the message that a lot of small businesses have been trying to send is that . . . a lot of businesses are paying well above the minimum wage because of the labor shortage right now,” said Ashley Ranslow, the New York state director of the National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB), the lobbying group hosting the call.

The real problem, Ranslow said, is that “everyone wants a raise when the minimum wage goes up,” which creates “a spiraling and compounding effect for small businesses.”