Minimum wage bill passes out of committee, heads to the House floor for consideration
One of the most exciting events of the week was the passage of Senate Bill 160 out of the House Commerce and Labor Committee. This bill, which proposes to increase the state minimum wage for the first time since 1988, will now head to the House floor for full consideration.
The committee did make two amendments to the original bill. One amendment allows newly hired employees who are less than 20 years of age to be paid $4.25 an hour during the first 90 days of employment. However, employers may not take action to displace an employee
for the purpose of hiring another individual at the wage authorized.
The second amendment gives the Secretary of Labor the authority to adopt rules and regulations consistent with and not less than the minimum wage established by the Federal Fair Labor Standards Act, effective January 1, 2010.
The amended bill allows the state to be more consistent with the Federal Labor Standards Act. Moving the authority to adjust minimum wage from the Legislature to the Secretary of Labor assists the state in its goal to follow with federal law.