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	Franklin County, Kansas, USA

2009-11-07

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2009-11-05

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Lifestyles

Wednesday, July 01, 2009 11:52 AM

Ottawans eye benefits of new minimum wage standards

By JENALEA MYERS, Herald Staff Writer

Increasing Kansas’ minimum wage means extra cash for Jena Richardson, Ottawa.

“It is going to help me save up money for college,” Richardson, who works at Dairy Queen, 1444 S. Main St., said.

Richardson, 17, is just one of many across Kansas who may experience a boost in their paychecks within the next year. A law passed by the Legislature this year bumps the hourly minimum wage from $2.65 to $7.25.

The wage increase and new restrictions on teen drivers take effect Jan. 1, while most other new laws passed this year take effect today.

The minimum wage increase comes after more than two decades of the state having the nation’s lowest wage and will mirror the federal minimum wage, which takes effect July 24.

Tom Weigand, Ottawa Area Chamber of Commerce president, said he foresees the increase having little impact on businesses in Ottawa and Franklin County, but more money could go to first-time job holders.

“I am not aware of too many that work for the current minimum wage except restaurants, which depend on tips to compensate their help,” he said.

Despite what Kansas’ minimum wage is, Bill Allegre, owner of Allegre Pharmacy, 304 S. Main St., and Briscoe Pharmacy, 847 S. Main St., said his businesses always have paid the federal minimum wage, which now is $6.55 per hour.

“I’m for the increase, simply because I can’t imagine trying to make ends meet in today’s economy with a minimum-wage job as a second income,” Allegre said. “In our businesses, we have high school employees who may see a slight raise when the new law goes into effect, but for the most part, they’re worth it.”

The increase will mean a raise for about 20,000 Kansas residents earning wages between the state and federal minimum, Secretary of Labor Jim Garner said.

The move comes with the state’s unemployment rate at 6.9 percent in May, the highest this decade — and up from 6.2 percent in April and 4.1 percent last May.

Republicans, who control the Legislature, agreed this year to increase the wage that’s been unchanged since 1988. Kansas’ first minimum wage law was enacted in 1977 at $1.60 and was not raised until 1988. The federal minimum started in 1938 at 25 cents and now is $6.55.

The state law applies only to companies not covered by the federal law — those with less than $500,000 a year in annual sales and not engaged in interstate commerce, including credit cards. Garner said that could include those working in food service or providing home care.

Critics have said the increase wasn’t needed because no one in Kansas works for $2.65 an hour. But Garner said the new law applies to anyone making less than the federal minimum.

“What has been overlooked is that what we’re dealing with is a lot of people making more than the state minimum but less than the federal minimum,” he said. “This is to catch those people who might fall through the cracks so they will at least have the federal minimum.”

Other opponents of the increase say it will raise employer costs.

“There will be drawbacks for certain employers in town,” Allegre said. “But those extra costs will just have to be passed on to consumers.”

Richardson said her employer, Dairy Queen, already has taken steps to offset the extra costs of raising the minimum wage.

“We have raised our prices a little bit to get ahead of the game since the beginning of the year,” she said. “For the future, I don’t really see anything out of the ordinary happening.”

While she’s happy about the increase, Richardson does understand the potential negative impact it might have on businesses.

“Businesses have to fork out more money, and still have to make sure at the same time that they have enough money to pay for their bills,” she said.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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Ottawans eye benefits of new minimum wage standards

By JENALEA MYERS, Herald Staff Writer

E-mail this story to a friend | Print this article | Enjoy the convenience of home delivery of The Ottawa Herald.

E-mail this story to a friend | Print this article |
Enjoy the convenience of home delivery of The Ottawa Herald.