Thanks to some behind-the-scenes compromising, the Labor Code Recodification Task Force ended its work on a high note and will recommend an increase in the state's minimum wage.
When it appears before the Legislature's Business and Labor Committee on Nov. 8, the panel will also make recommendations on setting standards for employment of minors.Sen. W. Rex Black, D-Salt Lake, and Rep. Franklin W. Knowlton, R-Layton, task force co-chairmen, encouraged task force members to attend the meeting at 9 a.m. in room 403 of the State Capitol to lend support for the recommendations.
During Wednesday's final task force meeting, several members said they had contacted other members and gained a compromise on the minimum wage bill dealing with the wage paid to learners and trainees. At the meeting a week ago, some task force members said they would bring the issue up again because, as written, the bill would give employers a chance to pay sub-minimum wages for long periods of time, claiming the person was still being trained.
That issue was the last hurdle the task force had to face. Once that was completed, they beat back several attempts to amend other sections of the bills.
In the end, the task force settled on language that would allow the State Industrial Commission to establish a wage for learners at less than the minimum wage for a maximum of 160 hours. Management and labor officials on the task force considered this a compromise.
Task force members also voted to merge the minimum wage bill and the minor standards bill, believing they will have a better chance for passage next January. They also feel strongly that because so much time has been spent on the effort, and because labor and management have compromised, that if many amendments are made the bills will lose the task force's support.
Several attempts to amend the draft bills were beaten down because task force members felt the issues had been considered and voted on before. They also felt the late effort to amend the bills would erode many hours of work that went into the labor code recodification.
The proposed minimum wage bill would increase the state minimum wage from $2.70 per hour to $3.35, which is paid under the Fair Labor Standards Act. If passed, the new state minimum wage would affect 8,710 Utah workers, the figure not covered by the federal act.
Some task force members noted that Congress has reached a compromise with President Bush that would increase the federal minimum wage to $3.80 per hour on April 1, 1990, and $4.25 per hour on April 1, 1991. The $3.35 per hour was adopted in January 1981.
Although the federal minimum wage hasn't become law, task force members agreed that if it does, the federal figures will be inserted in the proposed draft for the state minimum wage. The task force believes the state minimum wage should be the same as the federal rate.
If the increased state minimum wage becomes law in January, the law mandates the commission to establish the wage by rule prior to July 1, 1990. However, the state minimum wage may not exceed the federal standard.
The law also allows the commission to review the minimum wage at any time, and commissioners must review the rate at least every three years. Also, the commission must review the minimum wage whenever the federal standard is changed.
Several groups of people are exempted from the proposed state law, which also covers the wages paid to people who receive tips, mainly restaurant workers.