What's happening
This bill allows employers to pay youths without prior job experience a training wage below minimum wage with specific limits and requirements.
Why it matters
Could increase youth employment opportunities. by making it less expensive for employers to hire teenagers without previous job experience, potentially giving more young people a first entry into the workforce.
Includes protections against abuse. by capping the training wage period at 180 days per youth, limiting the number of training wage employees per business location, and ensuring young workers aren’t used to replace current minimum wage employees.
Mandates gradual wage increases for long-term youth employees. , requiring annual raises for eligible young workers until they reach the state minimum wage or age 18, which could help prevent long-term wage suppression.
Defines key terms to prevent loopholes. , specifying what counts as prior job experience and who qualifies as a “youth,” aiming to ensure the lower wage only applies to intended first-time workers and not to experienced or older employees.
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Who cares
Headline styles
Lower Minimum Wage for Trainees
Plain English, a few words. Used as the page title.
Sponsors
No co-sponsors yet.
History
- Referred to labor
- Referred to labor
Companion bill
The same bill in the other chamber. A bill becomes law when one version passes both houses and the governor signs it, so either number can carry it.
Set Lower Youth Training Wage
In Assembly Committee · Labor · Sponsor Brian Kolb
Full text
1 pageUnderlined is new[Struck] is removedOfficial text on nysenate.gov ↗
STATE OF NEW YORK
450
2019-2020 Regular Sessions
IN SENATE (Prefiled)
January 9, 2019
Introduced by Sen. HELMING -- read twice and ordered printed, and when printed to be committed to the Committee on Labor
AN ACT to amend the labor law, in relation to establishing a training wage
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assembly, do enact as follows:
Section 1. Section 652 of the labor law is amended by adding a new subdivision 7 to read as follows:
7. Training wage. (a) A training wage equal to eighty-five percent of the state minimum wage or one hundred percent of the federal minimum wage, whichever is less, may be paid to a youth who has no prior job experience.
(b) Any youth who receives a training wage pursuant to paragraph (a) of this subdivision and who did not work more than one hundred eighty days in the preceding calendar year, shall receive, at a minimum, an annual increase in wages equal to twenty-five percent of the difference between the training wage pursuant to paragraph (a) of this subdivision and the state minimum wage until such youth reaches the age of eighteen.
(c) For the purpose of this subdivision, youth is defined as a person who has not yet reached the age of eighteen, and prior job experience is defined as employment where an employee would have been accounted for on an employer's payroll records. No youth will be paid a training wage for more than one hundred eighty days. Employers are limited to twenty percent of their workforce, or no more than six employees receiving a training wage at any one particular location. At no time will a youth receiving a training wage be used to displace an employee who is receiving a wage equal to or greater than the state minimum wage.
§ 2. This act shall take effect immediately.
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[ ] is old law to be omitted.
LBD04094-01-9
Reflowed for reading: line numbers and page breaks removed. Cite the official text.
Sponsor's memo
Title of bill
An act to amend the labor law, in relation to estab- lishing a training wage
Purpose
This bill allows a training wage for youths and allows them to work in a temporary capacity to receive annual increases until reaching the age of 18.
Summary of provisions
Section 1 amends section 652 of the Labor Law to provide for a training wage for persons under the age of eighteen who does not have prior job experience. This wage may be eighty-five percent of the State minimum wage or one hundred percent of the federal minimum wage, whichever is less.
The legislation provides that any youth who receives a training wage in their first year of employment, and who works less than 180 days in the previous calendar year will receive, at a minimum, an annual increase in wages equal to 25 percent of the difference between the training wage and the state minimum wage until reaching the age of 18. The legislation further provides that no youth shall receive a training wage for more than 180 days.
The legislation also provides that employers will be limited to paying no more than 20 percent of their workforce, or no more than six youth training wages, whichever is more at any one employment location. And lastly, at no time will a youth receiving a training wage be used to displace an employee making at least the state minimum wage.
Section 2 contains an immediate effective date.
Justification
A training wage will provide employers with the ability to hire addi- tional teenagers for summer jobs giving them the needed job experience to acquire better paying jobs with more responsibilities.
The bill also acknowledges the high payroll cost of employment for busi- nesses who hire teenagers who have no prior job experience. Teenagers who have no prior job experience are unable to show a potential employer that they demonstrate the responsible characteristics needed by business owners.
The bill also recognizes that some businesses operate in a seasonal capacity, and often re-hire youths who worked in the previous year to work during their season of operation. By allowing any youth who received a training wage, and who worked less than 180 days in the previous calendar year, to be rehired by the same business at a rate of 25 percent of the difference between the training wage and the state minimum wage annually, the seasonal business will be able to maintain operations, while still increasing the wages of the youth worker.
Legislative history
2018: S.7269/A.4339 referred to Labor 2017: A.4339 referred to Labor 2015-16: A.4384-A referred to Labor 2013-14: A.5359 referred to Labor 2011-12: A.6528 referred to Labor 2009-10: A.2863 referred to Labor
Fiscal implications
Undetermined.
Effective date
This act shall take effect immediately.
Summaries, headlines and scores are AI-generated from the official bill text. How we score bills. Source: NYS Open Legislation.