Leaving the state’s minimum-wage rate alone would be the best course of action
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Suzanne Budge, Idaho State Director, [email protected]
or Tony Malandra, Senior Media Manager, [email protected]
BOISE, Idaho, Feb. 13, 2020—Results from a poll released today by Idaho’s largest and leading small-business association showed almost no support for state legislators in any way tinkering with one of the hottest small-business economies in the nation’s history.
As it does every year, NFIB polls its members on state and federal issues affecting their right to own, operate, and grow their businesses. Results from the annual poll center NFIB’s lobbying positions in Boise and in Washington, D.C. The 2020 Idaho state member ballot asked four questions.
Should NFIB support a proposal to raise the state general minimum wage and minimum wage of tipped employees?
Yes—18%
No—72%
Und.—10%
Should Idaho establish a state-run retirement plan for small businesses?
Yes—9%
No—80%
Und.—11%
Should employers be prohibited from considering an applicant’s criminal history until after the interview process has concluded?
Yes—4%
No—92%
Und.—4%
Should employers use the ABC test to determine if workers classify as independent contractors?
Yes—14%
No—59%
Und.—27%
“We are living through one of the hottest small-business economies ever,” said Suzanne Budge, NFIB’s Idaho state director. “Employee compensation is at record highs, according to NFIB’s monthly Small Business Economic Trends reports. But even before those record highs, only 2 percent of all hourly paid workers nationally were earning the minimum wage, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, and as economist Jeffrey Dorfman points out, ‘minimum wage earners are not a uniformly poor and struggling group; many are teenagers from middle-class families and many more are sharing the burden of providing for their families, not carrying the load all by themselves.’ One reason the Idaho economy is doing well is that labor costs are steady and predictable. The Legislature should not retreat from its wise decision to have the state’s minimum-wage rate the same as the federal government’s and disallow local governments from setting their own rates.”
Keep up with the latest on Idaho small business at www.nfib.com/idaho or by following NFIB on Twitter @NFIB_ID
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For more than 75 years, NFIB has been advocating on behalf of America’s small and independent business owners, both in Washington, D.C., and in all 50 state capitals. NFIB is a nonprofit, nonpartisan, and member-driven association. Since our founding in 1943, NFIB has been exclusively dedicated to small and independent businesses and remains so today. For more information, please visit nfib.com.
National Federation of Independent Business/Idaho
802 W. Bannock, Ste. 301
Boise, ID 83702
208-345-6632
www.nfib.com/idaho
Twitter: NFIB_ID
