Already hearing some good stuff; Youth minimum wage measure dropped in the hopper

I just had the opportunity to chat with State Senator David Novstrup who informed me of a measure he’s got coming that should be numbered and assigned to committee today from being dropped in the hopper last Friday.

The Youth Minimum Wage Act is designed to find a happy medium for kids who are working, and allow them to be put back on the job.

The act covers youths who are working aged 14-18, and allows them to be paid at $7.50 an hour versus the current $8.50 mandated state minimum wage.

He’ll be more fully fleshing out the why’s in the weeks to come, but it makes a lot of sense.

It separates the kids from the adults in the minimum wage argument, as not many 14 year olds are out supporting a family. It allows employers to hire more of them for “kid” types of jobs, as they’re typically taking very part time employment that working adults avoid.

It sounds to be a win/win for kids looking for a part time job, as well as employers. Agree or disagree?

37 thoughts on “Already hearing some good stuff; Youth minimum wage measure dropped in the hopper”

  1. that was the chief problem with south dakota’s initiated measure. proponents pointed to australia’s mandated national minimum wage, but they conveniently ignored the fact that it was a multi-tier structure with different hourly rates for full-time adults, part-time adults/seniors, and part time teens. good bill to bring forth.

    1. You have “conveniently ignored” the will of the voters. Many of them Republican. The minimum wage measure did not get 55% in a Republican wave election without the support of roughly 30% of GOP voters.

      We just cannot help ourselves. We can’t resist irritating the majority of voters for the sake of taking a buck away from teenagers. Are we really this dense?

        1. Fix whose bill? That’s right. The voters did this. You might want to rethink that move.

          Arrogant.

          1. the voters said no to marijuana legalization a few years back, yet a lot of people smoke marijuana in this state anyway. and i bet all of them voted yes on 18 if they voted. there’s part of your ‘will of the public.’

            the legislature is required to ensure that laws are implemented, but must it be blind implementation, and damn common sense?

  2. Just who does our party represent now? Is it the majority of voters or the Chamber of Commerce?

    I find this effort offensive.

  3. I voted for the minimum wage hoping the legislature would correct some problems like the inflation clause. So I suppose the party represents me.. This particular proposal also seems wise, I would also like the exception for part time elderly workers. I also wouldn’t mind if it was based on the size and income of a particular company. This one size fits all approach that we have now is asinine…

    1. But you voted for it. I don’t know if that is the right course of action-putting into effect defective laws with the idea of correcting them after they become law. It sounds a bit like Nancy Pelosi’s “We have to pass it to know what’s in it” statement.

      1. i made the first post in here calling this bill a good idea. i stand by that, chiefly because of the australian tiered system i mentioned. the legislature owes it to the business community of this state to try and evolve to a proven and sane administration of the peoples wishes. measure 18 locked in and put upon businesses a higher basic wage, a higher wage for tipped employees, and on the public’s desire for THAT, wove in the annual upward CPI adjustment with an undefined index factor. you’re saying that people voted for what amounts to an unfair and uncontrollable cost increase on business owners, and that they voted for an economic climate where businesses may be forced to lay off people or close to cut their losses. people voted for that and lawmakers shouldn’t be concerned. a big court case on the concept of “takings” and who are allowed the right of takings in this state needs to happen NOW.

        1. wow, if only schools put forth an initiative that increased classroom dollars in the state a little, and on the publics desire for THAT, also wove in a higher annual funding formula based on the cpi that would hit peoples property taxes directly. what? a mil levy increase tied to inflation for schools? how fast that would die die die. we’re all in when some evil other person pays the bill.

        2. If you like Australia’s laws, you should take a look at their gun control and socialized medicine. They’re the bomb!

          1. countries with a tradition of socialism know more about balancing the benefits and responsibilities of it all. here in this country great-sounding public freebies are presented by one party for pure political gain first of all, and some kind of public benefit maybe as a side effect. the party that argues for common sense or a responsible implementation is demonized for further political effect. yes, i love the way the australians and canadians do things for the most part. we have no hope of appropriating the attitudes we would need in order to actually implement these things properly. we’ll always use them for the crazy warfare that is rife on this site today. but go ahead and think yourself above it all if you can. you’re not.

    2. “This particular proposal seems wise”? Nope. Not in the least.

      It reminds me of an end zone antic I saw the other night watching the Superbowl.

  4. The whiners get beat at the polls, by the people and now you want to over turn.it .One party rule and you think you know whats best for its people after they voted to pass the wage.Nice great morals you have.

  5. I doubt that most people even knew of the inflation clause in the minimum wage increase. That needs to be addressed next.

      1. Unbelievable. Not one but two changes to a law just passed by the people themselves. Go ahead and give the supporters of the minimum wage increase ammunition like that. The Argus and TV stations will be glad to cover your outrageous behavior. And they will be justified in doing so.

        You may think that you are clever and unbeatable but you are always one stupid maneuver away from electing the next Tom Daschle. Go ahead, make their day.

          1. I don’t know whether or not the Democrats will beat our brains in on this issue. What I do know is that this is exactly the kind of issue that gives them that opportunity. They know it too. Its you that doesn’t recognize the peril.

            The public easily identifies with this issue. It is an issue that makes us out to be the stereotypical Republican hacks looking out for the rich and not caring about the poor. But hey, why let that stop you.

          1. If you want to defy the voters and then run back to them for their votes, have at it. I can’t stop you.

  6. If the point of wages is to compensate somebody for labor, then the age of the laborer and his financial responsibilities should have nothing to do with it.
    If you are going to pay somebody more because he’s older, or needs the money more, then you really aren’t paying for the labor, are you? Then you could go back to paying women less for doing the same job.

    Actually the affordable care act takes care of some of this. Workers under 26 don’t need health insurance, they get to stay on their parents’ plans. So they cost less to employ.

  7. Love Sen. Novstrup, but this bill jumps the gun. Let the predictable effects of the new law play out first — fewer jobs for the least experienced workers, along with restaurant closings — then consider a remedy. May take five years. For now, it’s what the voters wanted.

    1. there. you are right. it’s just too soon. and further, i still think a court case on the matter of proper ‘takings’ is called for.

      1. “takings” in the initial constitutional definition dealt strictly with the government seizure of one’s property via eminent domain. around 1920 the supreme court expanded the definition of takings to include government regulation that curtailed property rights, even with no seizure. does a public initiated law that arbitrarily seizes an increased share of a business’s cash flow, in the way measure 18 does, and lays claim to increased portions of future cash flow, amount to a large-scale ‘taking’ beyond the federal requirement of minimum wage law? at what point of passing laws that seize a business’s cash flow do we stop? 3 percent? 10 percent? 50 percent? logically someone could write a bill to seize 70 percent of the cash flow of payday lenders as a ruse to drive them out of business, or write a bill to seize 80 percent of the cash flow of abortion clinics. where is the line?

  8. It isn’t enough that we are trying to change an initiative that passed just months ago, we have another Senator trying to make the initiative process itself more difficult.

    That’s pompous, even for politicians.

  9. Before anyone passes any laws that appear to go against the will of the people, they should have a compelling reason to do so. Perhaps the first step should be to find out just how many working adults received some sort of a raise. I doubt is is very many, but that would be a start. Then find out how many teenagers who are going to school received a raise. I bet it is quite a few. I also have listened to some of my students talk about their hours being cut. As for the automatic adjustment for inflation, there was someone saying that might be unconstitutional. Has anyone explored this any further? Or are we going to wait until a business owner sues when the inflation factor goes into effect?

  10. If the wording in this bill was seniors rather than youth, there would be more outrage. Allowing employers to pay a certain age group less using the poor argument of less life experience is age discrimination pure and simple. It opens the door to paying people with only a HS diploma less than the minimum wage because they lack education.

    David Novstrup probably has no idea what the job market is like for people in their 20s and teenagers. He has traded on his name and father’s position in Aberdeen to get jobs, including his current part time one in the SD State Senate. Maybe he can get paid less because of his youth.

    1. yeah, about what the job market is like. i guess a higher minimum wage will somewhat soothe the pain of only getting 20 hours a week of work because of ahca.

  11. It’s unfortunate that the voters did not get all the “fine print” before voting. While many saw an increase in minimum wage a benefit to working families, never took in account the entire effect. By increasing minimum wage of minors, many of which are working in retail, will have a great affect on consumer goods. One retail sector that will take great affect is grocery. By increasing wages this far and to put potential future wage increases based on cost of living factors, will have great affect on your grocery bill. In a state that has a large amount on food stamps this in turn may cost tax payers more also. My question, “Why are minors being payed the same as adults, while they have hour restrictions and job task restrictions set forth by department of labor?” Once again uninformed voters prevailed and we will all pay the price if it is not fixed!

  12. I’d like to thank you for the efforts you have put in writing this blog.

    I am hoping to view the same high-grade
    content from you later on as well. In fact, your creative writing abilities
    has motivated me to get my very own website now 😉

  13. Very nice post. I just stumbled upon your weblog and wished to
    mention that I have really enjoyed surfing around your blog posts.

    In any case I will be subscribing to your feed and I hope you write again very
    soon!

  14. New study warns of unhealthy indoor air pollution at the gym November 20, 2014.

    Environmental consultants with expertise in industrial
    hygiene can help you anticipate, recognize, and control environmental factors in the workplace that affect health and well-being.
    In such places, safety becomes the matter of concern.

Comments are closed.