After a heated debate, SB
39, a bill raising Delaware’s minimum
wage to $10.25 by 2020 was passed by the Senate on Wednesday January 27 by an
11-8 vote. An amendment that would have raised the minimum wage to $15 was
stripped from the bill, and automatic COLA (cost of living) increases were
also removed.
The bill then was heard in the House Economic Development, Banking, Insurance, and
Commerce Committee on Wednesday, March 23, where it failed to receive a vote. While this is good news, the bill could still be passed at anytime and we encourage members to keep an eye on your inbox for updates on this and other business related legislation. Should the bill fail to move out of the committee by June 30, it will be considered dead and will need to be reintroduced during next year’s legislative session. Thank you to everyone who took action, your voice was heard!
Background:
Proposed by Senator Robert Marshall, SB 39 would increase the Delaware minimum wage
incrementally until it reaches $10.25 by 2020. This radical wage increase would
crush small business in Delaware as many of them are still adjusting to
the most recent minimum wage hike to $8.25 which took
effect June 1, 2015. NFIB believes it is premature to mandate an additional
wage increase. Delaware small businesses are still adjusting to the higher
labor costs implemented this past summer. The volatile nature of these
ever-increasing wage hikes is concerning to job creators and portrays the
message that Delaware is not business friendly.
Not
only will this or any additional minimum wage hike in Delaware, damage
small business owners, but it will also hurt the very people it’s aimed
at helping. Examples of the detrimental effects of minimum wage hikes
are
abundant. Three West Coast cities that raised their minimum wage are now
paying
the price in job losses. Within the past year, about 2,500 restaurant jobs
were lost in the San Francisco metro area along with 2,200 hotel jobs
in the LA area. Between January and June, Seattle
lost about 1,300 restaurant jobs.
Investor’s Business Daily
recently reported that job gains at restaurants, hotels, and other and
hospitality venues have fallen to multiyear lows in cities that passed
wage hikes of $10 or more. This is because businesses with narrow profit
margins and non-profits can’t absorb these major labor cost increases.
They have to find a way to make up the difference by raising prices or
scaling back their staff. If that doesn’t work they simply are forced to
close their doors.
TAKE ACTION NOW! CLICK HERE
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Learn more about minimum wage increases and how they impact small businesses:
