(Click here for a copy of the report)
A majority of panel studying issues facing low-wage workers is recommending an increase in the minimum wage to as much as $15 an hour.
“We made some progress last year, when we raised the minimum wage, but we knew we still had work to do,” said Sen. Robert I. Marshall, D-Wilmington, co-chairman. “We think this plan has practical recommendations that will help, not just people at the bottom of the economic ladder, but all Delawareans.”
The report calls for increasing the state’s minimum wage to $10.25 per hour by 2017. That wage would be indexed to the cost of living. The task force said the state should move toward a minimum wage in the $15 per hour range.
Experts testified could save the state money in Medicaid and other social programs. Advocates of a higher minimum wage claim government programs effectively subsidize lower-wage employers.
The General Assembly earlier approved raising the minimum wage to $8.25 an hour, a dollar above the national minimum wage. Seattle has approved moving the minimum wage to $15 in steps.
A group representing fast food workers that has staged demonstrations in northern Delaware has also pushed for $15-an-hour minimum wage.
“We wanted to find practical solutions that could be enacted,” said Rep. Michael Mulrooney, D-Pennwood, the panel’s other co-chairman. “Our goal was to recommend steps that will make the lives of Delaware’s working poor better and I think we’ve done that job.”
The findings are likely to be controversial. Studies on whether the minimum wage aids or hinders workers have been inconclusive, with those on both sides citing their studies. The panel was also comprised of Democratic legislators and state officials.
Sen. Colin Bonini, R-Dover, and Rep. Michael Ramone, R-Pike Creek, along with the panel’s representatives from the business community, supported the panel’s calls for studying increasing the Earned Income Tax Credit and increasing funding for training programs. But it cautioned against increasing minimum wages and indexing the wage to inflation
The Delaware Restaurant Association, a long-time foe of minimum wage increases, protested what it described as as a deliberate exclusion from the panel and also claimed business representation was limited. A letter outlining the association’s objections was included in the final report of the panel.
Findings included;
– Increasing and indexing the minimum wage paid to tipped workers.
– Increasing the state’s Earned Income Tax Credit and possibly making the credit refundable.
– Giving the state’s Labor Department clear authority in cases of unpaid overtime and shielding employees who report violations of wage and hour laws.
– Increasing investment in training programs for unemployed workers.
– Developing a program to pay for infrastructure work.
The panel held hearings last summer and fall, taking testimony from advocates on both sides of the issue and people struggling in the current economy.
