Topeka — Several House members Thursday questioned whether any Kansan earned as little as the state minimum wage of $2.65 per hour.
During a hearing on a bill to increase the state minimum wage, state Rep. Scott Schwab, R-Olathe, noted no one getting paid that amount testified to the committee.
Schwab said he would pay anyone making the state minimum wage their lost wages and mileage to take time off from work and talk to the House Commerce and Labor Committee.
State Rep. Louis Ruiz, D-Kansas City, however, said people earning that amount don’t have the time to testify to a legislative committee.
According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, 20,000 Kansans make less than the federal minimum wage. Businesses that don’t engage in interstate commerce are exempt from the federal minimum.
Jake Lowen, with the Raise the Wage campaign, said the statistics that focus on who earns below the federal minimum wage should be trusted because they come from the same federal data that reports unemployment rates.
Senate Bill 160 would increase the $2.65 per hour state minimum to $7.25 per hour on Jan. 1, 2010, which will be the federal minimum as of July 24.
Last month, the Senate approved SB 160, 33-7.
But before the House committee, the proposal was met with skepticism by several lawmakers.
Chairman Steven Brunk, R-Belaire, asked Kansas Department of Labor Secretary Jim Garner to return to the committee with more salary data.
“There are such differing opinions on this,” Brunk said.
Business groups have opposed the measure, saying the state should abolish the state minimum wage and let the market determine pay.
Earlier, Secretary Garner said the state’s $2.65 per hour minimum was “an embarrassing stigma.”
It is the lowest among the 45 states that have a state minimum wage, and it hasn’t been increased since 1988.
At a rally before the hearing, advocates for workers and several legislators urged passage of the bill.
“It’s time for the House to see this through to the finish line,” said House Democratic Leader Paul Davis of Lawrence.
Rep. Stan Frownfelter, D-Kansas City, Kan., said, as he choked up with emotion, “It’s time these proud and hard-working people of Kansas get their just due.”
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just_another_bozo_on_this_bus (anonymous) says…
In other news, it's been proven conclusively that up is down--
newsforthegullible.com
Raider (anonymous) says…
If they raise the minimum wage for servers and bartenders then we should all start tipping about half as much as we are now. The standard tip should go down to 10%.
madameX (anonymous) says…
I don't think this bill has anything to do with servers and bartenders, I think it has to do with folks who don't have jobs where tips are practically a given but make less that $3.00 an hour anyway.
madameX (anonymous) says…
Stereotypical sorority girls rival them, I think.
I used to barista and there's nothing like watching a tan, blonde girl in a Juicy Couture velour sweatsuit, while talking on her cell phone and jingling the keys to her Land Rover, pull her daddy's credit card out of the Gucci wallet she carries in her Coach purse to pay for her $3.95 skinny french vanilla latte with whip "but I don't like coffee, so don't make it taste like coffee" and then not even round up the nickel for a tip.
Reading over the scenario it sound made up, but it happened all the damn time.
Raider (anonymous) says…
madame please tell me why you should be given a tip for this? I could understand if you were waiting tables, but cash register work is different. And I'm sure you were'nt paid $2.65 an hour.
beawolf (anonymous) says…
Of course Kansas would have the lowest min. wage in the country. This fine body of Republican legislatures should be proud.
BTW, for those who earn tips, they have to declare that as income. It's used to average out the wages. i.e Jane Server earned $2.65/hr, tips were $10.00 during that hr., it goes into the books as 12.65/hr earned wages.
tolawdjk (anonymous) says…
"Several House members Thursday questioned whether any Kansan earned as little as the state minimum wage of $2.65 per hour."
If there aren't any Kansans earning only $2.65 an hour, then there shouldn't be a problem in raising the wage. Why not triple it then?
You then look like a legislator that cares for the plight of the "poor" and know you haven't hurt your businesses one penny.
madameX (anonymous) says…
I don't necessarily think I was entitled to tips, although barista-ing is more than just working a cash register and I made excellent drinks, my point was more that it seems to be the people who have the most (and in this case, do nothing to earn what they have) who tip the least. Anecdotal, yes, but my husband noticed the same thing when he tended bar.
persevering_gal (anonymous) says…
Well, I won't even be making minimum wage in a couple of months. I was just told that KU is probably going to have to let me go at the end of the semester. You know the economy is in crappy condition when KU can't even afford a part-time student who works 10 hrs/week.
jackdaniels (anonymous) says…
Anybody wanna' bet which party traditionally opposes any sort of minimum wage? (Hint: the same party that opposed the civil rights movement, de-segregation, open lunch counters, equal rights for blacks in the military, gay rights, etc.)