By Matt Bittle

DOVER — Legislation that would eliminate a fairly new statute allowing employers to pay youth and new workers less than minimum wage was released from committee Tuesday.

House Bill 88 would remove from state law an authorization enabling employees in their first 90 days on the job and individuals younger than 18 to be paid up to 50 cents less than the state minimum wage, which is currently $9.25. The proposal was approved by the House Economic Development/Banking/Insurance & Commerce Committee and sent to the chamber floor after about an hour of discussion.

“It corrects what I believe was a serious mistake by the General Assembly in creating a second class of workers,” main sponsor Rep. Kim Williams, D-Newport, said.

The youth and training wages were established in 2018 as part of a compromise between Democrats and Republicans on the final day of the 149th General Assembly. After the House narrowly approved a bill to raise the minimum wage by $1 at 3:50 a.m. on July 1, House Republicans refused to vote for the capital bond bill.

After two hours of closed-door negotiations, legislators reached an agreement on the wage. In return for GOP support for the critical bond bill, Democrats pledged to back the creation of a lower youth and training wage.

The repeal bill is one of several proposals dealing with minimum wage lawmakers are set to consider this year, with legislation increasing the wage floor from $9.25 to $15 in several increments set to be heard in the same House committee next month after passing the Senate on party lines last week. Rep. Williams also has a bill to raise the tipped minimum wage from $2.23 an hour.

While 50 cents an hour may not seem like much, that sum adds up and can matter greatly to many, Rep. Williams said. Someone making the youth or training wage and working 40 hours a week pulls in $20 less than they would at the normal wage floor.

“For many of the people we are elected to represent, $20 can be the difference between a child who goes to school hungry and one who starts the day with food in his or her stomach,” Rep. Williams told colleagues.

But, echoing arguments heard during the debate over lifting the minimum wage itself last week, others said it will drive up costs and reduce employment. Several members of the public urged the committee not to release the bill, noting restrictions from the pandemic are still in place and other proposals in the legislature could raise labor costs.

Carrie Leishman, president and CEO of the Delaware Restaurant Association, said the restaurant industry in Delaware has lost $1.2 billion in sales and has 10,000 fewer employees compared to this time last year because of COVID. The industry employs many teenagers just getting their first experience in the workplace, she said: “We are the training ground for youth and the training ground for many people.”

A lower wage helps businesses bear the burden of training new workers, opponents of the bill testified Tuesday. If eliminated, some businesses or nonprofits could be forced to close their doors, while more minors will be unable to find work and thus miss out on valuable life skills gained on the job, people said.

It’s not clear how many Delawareans currently make less than $9.25 an hour through the youth and training wages.

Though several individuals described the House Bill 88 as well-intended but likely to bring serious unintended consequences, Democrats were resolute in their support.

Rep. Larry Lambert, D-Claymont, explained he was responsible for supporting his younger sister by the time he was 20 years old due to deaths in the family.

“As a sophomore in high school, every penny she earned went to sustaining her life. Every penny she earned went to keeping a roof over her head,” he said, calling the youth and training wages state-approved discrimination.