Passage of a bill allowing employers to pay young people less than the state's minimum wage would make Emma Haar's dreams more difficult to attain, the Grand Island teen told lawmakers Monday.
At age 15, she told members of the Business and Labor Committee, she balances two minimum-wage jobs with high school classes, which include Advanced Placement classes, and extracurricular activities.
Haar's earnings help her family pay bills and cover the cost for her to participate in speech, One Act competition and the high school musical. She also needs the paychecks to save for the cost of college.
By limiting her potential pay, LB15 would make it harder to save and harder for her family, she said.
"This bill treats me like a child when I have the responsibilities of an adult," she said.
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The bill, introduced by Sen. Tom Briese of Albion, drew impassioned arguments from both sides Monday. The measure would create two exceptions to the state's minimum wage, which is currently $10.50 an hour. Under a ballot measure passed last year, the minimum wage is set to increase each year until reaching $15 an hour by 2026, after which it would grow with inflation.
Briese's proposal would allow employers to pay a youth minimum wage to employees aged 14 through 17 years old. As introduced, the youth wage would start at $9 an hour this year, then increase over three years to $10 an hour by 2026.
Employers could pay a training wage rate to employees ages 18 and 19. The training wage would start at $9.25 an hour this year, increasing to $10 an hour by 2026, then continue at 75% of the regular minimum wage.
Proponents said the lower wages would help small businesses survive, particularly in rural parts of Nebraska, and provide job opportunities for teenagers.
Briese said he was not trying to undermine the ballot measure but rather trying to "iron out the details." He said employers may not hire young people with little job experience if they have to pay them the same as older workers.
"We shouldn't be making it harder for employers to hire young folks," he said.
Organizations representing Nebraska grocers, restaurants and bars, retail stores and other businesses testified in support of the bill. Shannon McCord, a grocer from Superior, said labor costs are a struggle for grocers and could force them to either raise costs or cut jobs.
"It is a Main Street killer," he said, of the $15 minimum wage.
But opponents, including several of the groups that pushed for the ballot initiative, argued that the proposal would contradict the will of Nebraska voters. They said lower wages would make it harder for youth who have to work to support themselves and their families and discriminated against workers based on their age.
The committee took no immediate action on the bill Monday.
Lawmakers considered a similar proposal in 2015, following voter approval of an earlier measure to increase the minimum wage. The bill failed on final reading.
It needed 33 votes to pass because it sought to amend a law proposed by initiative petition and approved by voters. The Nebraska Constitution sets a higher-than-usual bar for changing laws proposed by initiative petition. Instead, 29 senators voted for the bill and 17 against it.