The State Senate voted to abolish a youth and training wage that was part of a previous compromise on a higher minimum wage.
The measure allows employers to temporarily pay 50 cents an hour less than the minimum wage to teens and those being trained.
The measure passed the Senate on a largely party-line 13 to eight vote. State Sen. Bruce Ennis, D-Smyrna, was the lone Democrat to vote against the measure.
The bill now goes to the governor’s desk.
The wage has long stuck in the craw of Democrats after the compromise was reached when Republicans halted the passage of the state budget and insisted on the lower wage.
It has remained unclear as to how many employers use the training and teen wages.
Also, many employers, including some in fast food now pay more than the minimum wage.
The Senate has already passed a bill that would put Delaware on a path similar to the ones in Maryland and New Jersey in moving toward a $15 an hour minimum wage by 2025.
The current minimum wage is $9.25 an hour.
Click here for a copy of the bill.
