Latest news with #LegislativeBill258
Yahoo
21-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Lawmakers will try again Thursday to pass bill slowing Nebraska minimum wage increases
State Sen. Jane Raybould of Lincoln talks with State Sen. Tony Sorrentino of the Elkhorn area on May 14, 2025, after the defeat of a Raybould-led bill to slow down annual voter-approved increases to the state's minimum wage because Sorrentino missed the final vote. (Zach Wendling/Nebraska Examiner) LINCOLN — A week after the procedural failure of a proposal to slow down voter-approved minimum wage increases, Nebraska lawmakers on Thursday will reconsider the final vote. If the bill's previous supporters hold, the measure would have enough support to pass. State Sen. Tony Sorrentino of the Elkhorn area, a freshman lawmaker, missed the final vote to pass Legislative Bill 258, from State Sen. Jane Raybould of Lincoln. That's because the vote came up about two hours earlier than expected after lead opponent State Sen. Danielle Conrad of Lincoln realized Sorrentino's absence and changed tactics. The bill failed 31-17. Amending a law that voters enact requires at least 33 votes. LB 258 would make annual bumps to the minimum wage smaller and more predictable, supporters say, and create carveouts to pay teen workers less. One listed 'no' vote, State Sen. Beau Ballard of Lincoln, supported the bill originally but tried to sit out the vote to let lawmakers reconsider the vote. He was marked as a 'no' vote under a rule change in January. A reconsideration motion requires a senator on the 'prevailing' side to want to change a vote, or the requesting senator must have missed the vote. Sorrentino missed last Wednesday's vote, because he was escorting colleagues he met through business to a meeting across the street. Of opponents who consider the issue decided, Sorrentino said, 'We all have to learn the rules of the Legislature.' Multiple senators said such a reconsideration motion on a bill from final reading, while likely allowed under the legislative rules, hadn't been used since 1984. The effort could ignite a rules fight over whether the reconsideration should be allowed. Speaker John Arch of La Vista confirmed this week that a reconsideration motion would come Thursday, though he said he couldn't say when. The Legislature will take up either Ballard's motion or a new reconsideration motion Sorrentino filed Tuesday, the final day he could do so under the Legislature's rules. At least 30 senators must agree to reconsider. Asked to comment on the reconsideration, Raybould said, 'No.' She said a reporter should ask Conrad for comment, who Raybould said was already discussing the motion. Last week, she said she thought Democratic-aligned lawmakers were acting in 'goodwill,' because they knew Raybould had the votes. The fight has been personal for Raybould, a longtime grocery store executive, who views the legislation as creating a 'balance' that progressives, including Conrad, have rejected. 'I have never seen such a blatant, bald-faced, self-serving, self-dealing, selfish, unethical example of self-dealing as this bill in the Legislature,' State Sen. Megan Hunt of Omaha said during an April 1 debate. Sorrentino, a former business owner, said he's personally not in favor of a legislated minimum wage, describing himself as a 'true fan of supply and demand.' He said the market is a better indicator. Sorrentino said it's not a vote about 'putting people in poverty, because frankly, I've seen cases where minimum wage is never going to fly, it's way too low.' LB 258 is Raybould's 2025 priority bill. She is the lone Democrat in favor of LB 258 as well as a separate LB 415 to weaken a voter-approved paid sick leave framework that takes effect Oct. 1, after 2024 passage. Republican State Sen. Dave Wordekemper of Fremont opposes LB 258 and the current version of LB 415. There are 33 Republicans in the officially nonpartisan body. There were some initial conversations about attaching LB 258 to LB 415. That approach heightens the risk that voters could repeal the legislative changes and go back to the voter-approved language, which some advocates have discussed as a response to LB 415. Legislative Bill 258, related to the state minimum wage, would remove inflationary bumps after the base wage rises to $15 on Jan. 1, which voters approved in 2022. Future increases would be fixed at a 1.75% annual rate beginning in 2026. That was a deal struck between State Sens. Jane Raybould of Lincoln, the sponsor, and Stan Clouse of Kearney to provide 'certainty.' Average inflation, as calculated by the ballot measure's current language, was 2.6% last year and 4.18% for the past five years. Over the past 10 years, inflation was 2.63%. And over the past 25 years, it was 2.39%, according to data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics for the Midwest. LB 258 would also create a 'youth minimum wage' for workers aged 14 or 15. Beginning next year, those young workers could be paid $13.50 (the current minimum wage), which would increase by 1.5% every five years, beginning in 2030. The youth minimum wage would stay below $15 — the floor that voters created for all workers beginning Jan. 1 — until 2065 under LB 258, according to a Nebraska Examiner analysis. Teen workers aged 16 to 19 could still be paid a 'training wage,' which would no longer apply to 14 or 15 year olds with the creation of the 'youth minimum wage.' The training wage allows employers to pay teen workers a lower rate for up to the first 90 days of employment. Current law allows the training wage to be 75% of the federal minimum wage, so as low as $5.44. LB 258 would increase the training wage to $13.50 beginning in September. The amended training wage would rise by 1.5% annually beginning in 2027. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX
Yahoo
30-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Bill advances to slow annual increases to Nebraska minimum wage
State Sen. Jane Raybould of Lincoln. March 31, 2025. (Zach Wendling/Nebraska Examiner) LINCOLN — State lawmakers advanced an amended proposal Wednesday to slow annual increases to Nebraska's minimum wage down to a fixed rate, rather than using the inflationary bumps that voters approved in 2022. Legislative Bill 258, from State Sen. Jane Raybould of Lincoln, advanced 33-16 with a 'compromise' from State Sen. Stan Clouse of Kearney setting annual increases to the state minimum wage at 1.75%. Voters in 2022 approved permanent cost-of-living increases each Jan. 1, starting in 2027, based on a calculation of inflation for the Midwest region from the prior August. Nebraska's minimum wage will rise to $15 on Jan. 1 regardless of LB 258. LB 258 would increase the state's training wage for teen workers and limit it to workers aged 16 to 19 at 75% of the state minimum wage this September, rather than 75% of the federal wage (which is $7.25 and hasn't changed since 2009). That wage can be paid for up to the first 90 days of employment. As a result, workers aged 14 or 15 would get a new youth minimum wage beginning at $13.50 next January and increasing every five years by 1.5%. The training wage would rise by 1.5% each year. Under LB 258, the new youth wage would not get above $15 until 2065, according to a Nebraska Examiner analysis. LB 258 heads to a third and final round of debate. It advanced again with Raybould, a Democrat, joining 32 of 33 Republicans to advance the bill. State Sen. Dave Wordekemper of Fremont, a Republican, again opposed the measure. Raybould said her bill provides predictability and that Clouse's suggestion was a 'reasonable compromise.' Average inflation for the past five years, as provided under the voter-approved language, was 4.18%, according to data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics for the Midwest. Over the past 10 years, it was 2.63%. And over the past 25 years, it was 2.39%. Of those 25 years, inflation was less than 1.75% a total of 11 times. The Midwest region faced deflation twice, in 2009 and 2015. Clouse said the amended LB 258 would give wage earners and businesses 'certainty,' rather than 'rolling the dice' on whether there would be a wage adjustment. State Sen. Danielle Conrad of Lincoln again led opposition to the measure she said would 'undercut the will of the people' and prevent hard working Nebraskans, particularly those who would be subject to the new 'youth minimum wage,' from fully realizing the 'intent' of voters just a few years ago. Conrad said the 'heart' of the debate is economic justice and that senators needed to 'see the poor' who help keep the economy abuzz and 'not look down our nose at them.' 'This isn't a few kids working for bubble gum,' Conrad said. 'These are our neighbors who deserve us to hear them and see them, to provide them with an opportunity to keep their head above water.' State Sen. Paul Strommen of Sidney, who supported Raybould's measure, said lawmakers and workers faced a 'never-ending chase' between mandated cost increases on businesses and increased prices on consumers. He predicted more lost jobs and automation. Strommen also is lead sponsor of a bill amended into LB 415, from State Sen. Beau Ballard of Lincoln, to weaken paid sick leave protections that voters approved just last fall. 'We're never going to be satisfied,' Strommen said of the minimum wage cycle. 'We have to come up with a better way to handle this.' State Sens. Mike Moser of Columbus and Kathleen Kauth of the Millard area said that if workers wanted a higher wage, they needed to work for it. Moser said the debate surrounded 'class warfare' when he said the minimum wage was not a 'living' wage. Kauth said it was a 'safeguard against people being abused too much.' 'If you're struggling in your family, do your best to get a different job, get an education,' Moser said. 'See what you can do to improve your outlook.' Kauth agreed, adding: 'Change yourself rather than asking the government to do it for you.' State Sens. Dan Quick of Grand Island and Ashlei Spivey of Omaha said that inflation affected all Nebraskans and that the best way to support youths is to invest in them and their families. State Sen. John Fredrickson of Omaha said Raybould's bill was a 'setback,' not a 'stepping stone' to getting more young workers hired, as Raybould has suggested. Fredrickson said young people aren't working just for a 'slush fund' or 'extra cash' but instead work to help with household expenses, college savings, gas, food and to 'make ends meet.' 'We cannot tell them that their efforts are less valuable or that fairness and equality of wages can wait another year until they're a year older,' said Fredrickson, asking if industry-specific wages were next. State Sen. Victor Rountree of Bellevue said that when he was young, and before he went into the U.S. Air Force, he saved wages he earned as a teen to help his mother, including from a low-wage construction job. 'I put a lot of money up in the left back corner of my top drawer in the dresser,' Rountree said, telling his mom that if she ever needed it, it was there. Federal minimum wage: Created in 1938, now $7.25. Nebraska minimum wage: Created in 1967, now $13.50. Nebraska tipped employees minimum wage: Created in 1970, now $2.13. Wages plus gratuities must equal or exceed the Nebraska minimum wage under state law. Nebraska training wage: Created in 1991, now $5.44 (75% of the federal minimum wage) for up to the first 90 days of employment for a worker younger than 20 years old. Nebraska student-learners minimum wage: Created in 1987, now $11.25 (75% of the Nebraska minimum wage) for workers who are part of a vocational training program. Nebraska youth minimum wage: Does not currently exist. Much of the debate surrounded the 'will of the voters' that opponents said Raybould and supporters of the changes were undercutting. 'If we pass this bill, we are telling Nebraskans that their vote only counts when it's convenient for us,' said State Sen. Megan Hunt of Omaha. 'That's not a democracy. It's not a public service, and it's not the role of a citizen's Legislature.' State Sen. Bob Hallstrom of Syracuse said that was flat wrong and that supporters were 'free and well within our authority' to amend the language, so long as they had at least 33 votes under the Nebraska Constitution. 'I guess if you say things long enough, you might begin to believe it yourself,' Hallstrom said. 'Maybe some other people will believe you, but that doesn't make it any more true.' This round of debate was less personal than the first for Raybould, a longtime grocery store executive whose family owns and operates Super Saver and Russ's Market. Raybould continues to serve as vice chair of the company's board. She filed a conflict of interest statement on LB 258. The change came in part because Raybould urged lawmakers Wednesday to move away from 'personal attacks.' 'Even when it's couched with words like 'my dear friend,' it gives permission for others to direct their anger and their hatred toward that person, and that can have very unfortunate consequences,' Raybould said, citing recent political violence in Pennsylvania. During the debate, Raybould and Hallstrom walked through LB 31 of 2007, from Conrad during her first year as a lawmaker. As introduced, Conrad's bill, her first in 11 years of legislative service so far, would have increased the minimum wage over time for all workers 17 years old or older, while younger workers would have been subject to the federal minimum wage. Hallstrom, as a paid lobbyist 18 years ago, opposed LB 31. Raybould asked Hallstrom if the Conrad of 2025 would have supported LB 31 of 2007, which Raybould and Hallstrom said seemed an odd position. 'I don't think I'm qualified to speculate or define as to what now Senator Conrad, formerly Senator Nantkes, might have done differently,' Hallstrom said. 'What I do know is that I do not criticize her for having a change of heart or a change of mind on the issue.' A version of Conrad's bill passed later in 2007, in line with federal minimum wage bumps. Conrad helped lead the successful 2014 ballot initiative that raised the state wage. State Sen. John Cavanaugh of Omaha called out the 'tone deafness' of LB 258's debate, such as the exchange on the floor of the Legislature between Raybould and Hallstrom, a former paid lobbyist, being used as justification for the measure's necessity. Conrad said the heart of her work has always been to put more money in people's pockets. 'If you'd like to ask me about my intentions,' Conrad responded, 'I'm happy to yield for questions so that other senators don't have to guess as to my intentions from 15 years ago.' The federal minimum wage did not apply to most workers until 1978: In October 1938, the wage went into effect for employees engaged in interstate commerce or in producing goods for interstate commerce. Beginning September 1961, at a slightly lower rate than interstate commerce employees, the wage extended to workers of large retail or service enterprises, as well as those in local transit, construction or gas stations. By February 1967, state or local government employees in hospitals, nursing homes and schools, as well as workers in laundries, dry cleaners and large hotels, motels, restaurants or farms were covered. Between 1970 and 1978, farm workers were paid at a lower rate. Beginning January 1978, the federal minimum wage extended to most nonexempt workers at one minimum wage, $2.65 at the time. Nebraska created a state minimum wage in 1967, applying in that case to workers not covered by the federal minimum wage until 1978. The Nebraska minimum wage has now surpassed the federal minimum wage and must be paid to all workers in businesses employing four or more employees. For smaller businesses, the federal minimum wage must be paid. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX
Yahoo
21-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Nebraska minimum wage would see fixed annual increases under new ‘compromise' amendment
State Sen. Jane Raybould of Lincoln talks with State Sen. Rick Holdcroft of Bellevue during debate on her priority bill to alter voter-approved annual increases to the state's minimum wage. March 31, 2025. (Zach Wendling/Nebraska Examiner) LINCOLN — State lawmakers seeking to slow down annual minimum wage increases that Nebraska voters approved in 2022 have reached a new deal to avoid the law's inflationary increases. State Sens. Jane Raybould of Lincoln and Stan Clouse of Kearney said they have found a 'compromise' for Raybould's Legislative Bill 258 that would completely remove permanent annual cost-of-living increases to the state minimum wage, beginning in 2027. Under the Clouse amendment, the wage would increase instead by 1.75% annually in perpetuity. Under the current law, workers could see much larger increases. Average inflation for the past five years was 4.18%. Over the past 10 years, it was 2.63%. And over the past 25 years, it was 2.39%, according to data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics for the Midwest. 'It's certainty, and I like certainty, and I like minimizing the risk,' Clouse said at the beginning of April, when he pitched a fixed annual increase rather than a sliding scale tied to inflation. Raybould said her motivation and why she keeps pushing 'passionately' for her measure is to help small businesses and others who might not be able to absorb the cost of rising wages that she said could pass on costs to consumers. 'I know that this is the right thing to do, to create a balance,' Raybould said this week. 'You have to always balance it out to make sure that we maintain the economic vitality and vibrancy and economic growth in our state without falling off and creating a cycle of cost increases that are so much harder for Nebraska families to be able to afford.' Clouse has said that unless his amendment has been attached to LB 258 before the end of the next four-hour debate on LB 258, he will not vote for the measure. His vote matters because overcoming a filibuster requires 33 votes, and Clouse is likely Raybould's 33rd vote. State Sen. Danielle Conrad of Lincoln has filed multiple motions and amendments to try to prevent his amendment from being attached, one of the opponents who say Raybould's bill goes against voters. Federal minimum wage: Created in 1938, now $7.25. Nebraska minimum wage: Created in 1967, now $13.50. Nebraska tipped employees minimum wage: Created in 1970, now $2.13. Wages plus gratuities must equal or exceed the Nebraska minimum wage under state law. Nebraska training wage: Created in 1991, now $5.44 (75% of the federal minimum wage) for up to the first 90 days of employment for a worker younger than 20 years old. Nebraska student-learners minimum wage: Created in 1987, now $11.25 (75% of the Nebraska minimum wage) for workers who are part of a vocational training program. Nebraska youth minimum wage: Does not currently exist. Nebraska first enacted a state minimum wage of $1 in October 1967, 29 years after Congress passed a federal minimum wage, first at 25 cents for select workers. The federal minimum wage sets a floor for workers' pay when state wages don't keep up. The Nebraska minimum wage did not overtake the federal minimum wage until voters acted in 2014, increasing it to $9 by January 2016. In 2022, voters acted again and decided to permanently go around the Legislature, opting for annual $1.50 increases through 2026, up to $15, before shifting to annual cost-of-living adjustments. Raybould, a longtime grocery store executive who was elected to the Legislature in 2022, first proposed capping annual minimum wage increases to up to 1.5% in 2023. Former State Sen. Tom Briese of Albion, now the state treasurer, had a separate measure seeking to amend the state training wage for teen workers, while also seeking to create a 'youth minimum wage' for 14 or 15 year olds. The training wage was first established in July 1991, allowing employers to pay workers younger than 20 a lower wage for up to the first 90 days of employment. The wage expired after March 1993 but returned in September 1997. LB 258 would exempt 14 or 15 year olds from the training wage but create a subminimum wage for the youngest workers that could stay in place until they age out. Raybould's version of the original Briese proposal, in LB 258, includes the following: The training wage would be limited to teen workers ages 16 to 19. It would rise to $13.50 this September and, beginning in 2027, increase by 1.5% each year. The training wage in Nebraska has been tied to 75% of the federal minimum wage since 2007. With the $7.25 federal wage not increasing since 2009, the training wage has been locked at $5.44. The youth minimum wage would be created for 14 or 15 year olds, exempting them from the training wage. It would start at $13.50 in January 2026 and increase every fifth year by 1.5%. The state minimum wage for adults and older teens would rise by 2065 to $29.51 under Clouse's amendment. That's the same point at which the new youth minimum wage would finally catch up to the $15 baseline wage that voters approved for all Nebraska workers in 2022, starting next year, based on an analysis by the Nebraska Examiner of the impact of the Clouse and Raybould language. The disparity between the state minimum wage and the youth wage would grow over time, from about 90% of the state wage in 2026 to about half of the Nebraska rate by 2065. That's young workers born after 2050. The training wage would be $24.13 in 2065, or about 82% of the state minimum wage. Raybould said it's critical to correct an 'oversight' from past legislation and ballot measures that left out increases to the training wage and sever that wage from the stagnant federal rate. Emancipated minors would be paid the full state minimum wage as older workers, which Raybould and supporters have said would help some young parents or youths who need the most support. Minimum wage increase projections History of the Nebraska, federal minimum wages Minimum wage voting results by legislative district However, very few minors are granted emancipation, according to court data that Conrad requested and shared with the Examiner. In the report, 143 emancipation cases were filed with the judicial system, dating back to 2019 and including the early part of 2025. Over that period, the court system granted 65 youths emancipation, and eight more cases were pending. It's unclear how many of those minors were 14 or 15 years old. Local businesses sought to employ 2,874 teens aged 14 or 15 in 2022, according to a March 2023 Nebraska Department of Labor report. Raybould said she continues pushing for the youth minimum wage partly because of child labor laws that the Occupational Safety and Health Administration helps enforce. Under the requirements, a 14- or 15-year-old can only perform certain non-hazardous or non-manufacturing duties or work certain hours. Businesses face severe penalties for noncompliance. These teen workers can't work more than three hours on a school day or more than 18 hours during a school week. Work hours are restricted between 7 a.m. and 7 p.m., except around the summer when night hours are extended to 9 p.m. Raybould said she's heard from many business leaders who say they would hire 14- or 15-year-old workers but that the same minimum wage coupled with OSHA restrictions is a disincentive for doing so. She said her family, which operates B&R Stores, Inc., the parent company of Super Saver, Russ's Market and other local grocery stores, hasn't hired those youngest workers for about 20 years 'for the very reason of the equipment and things they are not permitted to do.' If the youth wage were established, she said some businesses might reconsider hiring young workers. However, she said her grocery stores wouldn't because of 'too many restrictions.' Raybould retired as vice president of her family company, founded in 1964, at the end of March. She continues to serve as vice chair of the company board and has filed a conflict of interest statement on her measure. LB 258 would not be the final say on minimum wage, Raybould added, as future lawmakers or voters could still act. She noted employers also would not be prohibited from paying more than the minimum wage or from not adopting training or youth wages. She said she realizes workers, during a workforce shortage, are looking for competitive wages, benefits and hours. Raybould's bill would not change the $2.13 minimum hourly wage paid to workers earning tips or gratuities, which hasn't changed since 1991. Conrad, who helped run the 2014 ballot measure that brought the state minimum wage above the federal rate, and State Sen. Terrell McKinney of North Omaha, who helped lead the 2022 measure, have led opposition to Raybould this spring. All three are Democrats, with Raybould standing alone among her progressive colleagues in the officially nonpartisan Legislature. Much of the opposition cites the 'will of the voters' in 2022, when the McKinney-backed measure secured about 59% support statewide and majority support in 38 of 49 legislative districts. Conrad blasted the creation of a youth wage as viewing young workers as 'subhuman' and urged Raybould to show where in her campaign she said she would 'stick it to low-income working families.' 'The frustration is that you shouldn't have to explain basic civics to adult state senators,' Conrad said during the earlier debate. As a freshman lawmaker in 2007, Conrad helped keep the state minimum wage on track with the federal minimum wage after a last-minute emergency congressional spending bill, focused on disaster relief for Hurricane Katrina and funding for wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, passed with minimum wage increases. The first bill Conrad ever introduced, in 2007, sought to increase the state minimum wage and seek regular inflationary changes, while also increasing and narrowing the state training wage and tying the tipped-worker wage to 50% of the state minimum wage. One of the lobbyists opposing that bill is now a freshman senator, State Sen. Bob Hallstrom of Syracuse. He was representing the National Federation of Independent Business. A much-narrowed version of Conrad's bill came to fruition at the tail-end of the 2007 legislative session, which inadvertently led to a temporary 53-day decrease in the state training wage because of differences in the timing of the state and federal laws taking effect, a hiccup that was added when Conrad's bill was amended into a similar bill. Speaking with the Examiner this week, Conrad said the debate needs to remain focused on voters and low-income families or low-income working young people, who she said would be most hurt by LB 258. 'Anything that has caused us to lose sight of the true impacts of these harmful measures is a distraction, and if Senator Raybould wants to perpetuate some sort of personal attacks or can't defend her own position in financial conflict, that's on her,' Conrad said. 'Senator Raybould is not a victim.' Conrad said she and Raybould have been friends for a long time and agree on more than they disagree. While this 'sharp disagreement … is painful for both of us,' Conrad said she continues to consider Raybould a friend. McKinney has said a 'common theme' of the 2025 session so far has been to go against voters, whether it be weakening paid sick leave, medical cannabis or minimum wage measures. He called it 'sad, to say the least.' He unsuccessfully tried to raise the state minimum wage with legislation in 2021, before leading the 2022 ballot measure. 'When you have stagnant wages, you have people stuck in a cycle,' McKinney said during the previous debate. 'And then you have people telling people to pull yourselves up by your bootstraps, do all these things, but we have stagnant wages.' Raybould has described her bill as exercising the Legislature's referendum power to modify, amend or repeal voter-enacted laws. State Sen. Kathleen Kauth of the Millard area, who chairs the Business and Labor Committee that advanced Raybould's bill, said she was very much against the Raybould and Briese ideas when the youth minimum wage would have applied to 16 or 17 year olds. Once Raybould limited the youth minimum wage to 14 or 15 year olds, citing the federal restrictions, Kauth came on board. 'Raising the minimum wage does nothing more than a very temporary measure to make you feel good for a little bit,' Kauth said. She continued: 'If you have not improved your skills, you haven't taken on more responsibility, got more education, or done something to differentiate yourself and improve, then everybody's going to just kind of float at that same level and everything becomes more expensive.' Next year, Raybould will have a choice to make on whether she runs for reelection, but she said she has 'never cared, not ever' about whether she is reelected. Instead, she said she cares about 'doing the right thing every day for the right reasons that help the most Nebraskans.' She said she's heard from constituents who have thanked her for the measure, as well as others who have called her self-serving, self-centered and selfish. Of the hits, she said, 'I just have to take those.' Raybould said her constituents know her, that she is informed and does her 'homework,' and that her 2026 reelection decision is up to central Lincoln voters. She previously served four years as a Lancaster County commissioner and eight years as a member of the Lincoln City Council, and she was the Democratic candidate in 2018 against U.S. Sen. Deb Fischer, R-Neb. 'It's really up to them to make that decision if they want me to run again or if they want someone else,' Raybould said. 'And if they want someone else, I would support that too.' The federal minimum wage did not apply to most workers until 1978: In October 1938, the wage went into effect for employees engaged in interstate commerce or in producing goods for interstate commerce. Beginning September 1961, at a slightly lower rate than interstate commerce employees, the wage extended to workers of large retail or service enterprises, as well as those in local transit, construction or gas stations. By February 1967, state or local government employees in hospitals, nursing homes and schools, as well as workers in laundries, dry cleaners and large hotels, motels, restaurants or farms were covered. Between 1970 and 1978, farm workers were paid at a lower rate. Beginning January 1978, the federal minimum wage extended to most nonexempt workers at one minimum wage, $2.65 at the time. Nebraska created a state minimum wage in 1967, applying in that case to workers not covered by the federal minimum wage until 1978. The Nebraska minimum wage has now surpassed the federal minimum wage and must be paid to all workers in businesses employing four or more employees. For smaller businesses, the federal minimum wage must be paid. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX
Yahoo
02-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Conflict boils over as Legislature advances changes to voter-approved minimum wage increases
State Sen. Jane Raybould of Lincoln talks with State Sen. Stan Clouse of Kearney before debate on her priority bill to amend voter-approved annual increases to the state's minimum wage. March 31, 2025. (Zach Wendling/Nebraska Examiner) LINCOLN — Following a lengthy and contentious debate, the Legislature on Tuesday advanced an effort to weaken and add exceptions to the minimum wage increase Nebraska voters approved by ballot measure in 2022. In a 32-17 vote, state legislators pushed onto the next stage of lawmaking an amended Legislative Bill 258 championed by businesswoman and State Sen. Jane Raybould of Lincoln. At times, the debate got personal, with colleagues on the left pointing barbs at Raybould. Raybould's family owns B&R Stores, which owns Russ's Market, Super Saver and more in the state. Her last day as company vice president was Monday, the same day debate began on her bill. She had filed a conflict of interest statement after introducing LB 258, her 2025 priority bill, earlier this year. 'When my colleagues want to beat up on me, please do, I can take it,' Raybould said during debate. 'I am proud of my work and service to my community and my state over these years, and I will stand up for a balanced approach to creating good policy that keeps our Nebraska families safe, healthy and, most importantly, employed with benefits and competitive wages.' The coalition behind the successful 2022 campaign said Raybould's bill could lead to Nebraska wages falling behind increasing costs of living. 'We are very discouraged by the Nebraska Legislature, once again, standing in direct opposition to the will of the majority of Nebraska voters,' the Raise the Wage Nebraska coalition said in a statement. Rough waters may be ahead, though, for the effort as 33 votes are needed to get the bill over the finish line. Freshman State Sen. Stan Clouse, the former Kearney mayor, voted to cease debate but against advancing the bill. Raybould would need his vote, or another, for her bill to pass. Amending voter-approved laws requires at least 33 votes. Raybould said after the vote that she was not worried and already was working on a way to cinch the necessary support. She said she felt attacked and had never heard colleague State Sen. Danielle Conrad, a fellow Lincoln Democrat, 'beat up anybody as badly as she said terrible things about me.' I want the accountability. I want the record to show who you are. – State Sen. Danielle Conrad of Lincoln The current Legislature's most veteran lawmaker, with 11 years in the post, Conrad said she stood up for the will of the voters and did not view young workers as 'subhuman' subject to subminimum wages. Among Raybould's proposed changes is the creation of a new and lesser minimum wage for youths ages 14 and 15. Federal law sets many restrictions on these youth workers, such as requiring non-hazardous or non-manufacturing jobs and prohibitions on duties the workers can perform. 'When's it enough?' asked Conrad of voter support. Of 49 legislative districts, a majority of voters in 38 districts supported the ballot language Raybould's bill would change. Raybould's constituents were the fifth highest in support. 'I want the accountability,' Conrad said. 'I want the record to show who you are.' The ballot initiative voters handily approved in 2022 gradually increased the minimum wage by $1.50 a year until it reaches $15 an hour by Jan. 1, 2026. The minimum wage after that is to adjust annually based on the Consumer Price Index to account for cost of living increases. Raybould's amended LB 258 instead would: Increase the minimum wage annually by up to 1.5%, beginning in January 2027, based on the Midwest CPI. For youth workers ages 14 and 15, a $13.50 minimum wage would increase by 1.5% in January 2030 and every fifth year after. Emancipated minors are excluded. There is no such provision in state law currently. Adjust the optional 90-day training wage for new workers ages 16, 17, 18 and 19 to $13.50 an hour through the end of 2026 and, starting in January 2027, the wage would increase by 1.5% each year. Emancipated minors are excluded. (Currently, an employer may pay a new employee younger than 20, and who is not a seasonal or migrant worker, a training wage of at least 75% of the federal minimum wage for 90 days from the date of hire, or $5.44.) Those who opposed the changes argued that the Legislature should respect the nearly 6-to-4 vote for specific language for raising the minimum wage over time. They said carving out exceptions could hurt lower-income workers struggling to make ends meet. Those who backed the Raybould proposal said that finessing ballot actions is within the Legislature's purview and can help ensure laws are workable. They said the proposed changes protect small businesses and the jobs they provide. The fiery debate that stretched over a couple of days revealed deep frustration amidst factions in the Legislature. 'This has been on the books, and there has not been any need to walk it back,' State Sen. George Dungan of Lincoln said of the minimum wage law. 'There has not been any catastrophic effect.' I will stand up for a balanced approach to creating good policy that keeps our Nebraska families safe, healthy and, most importantly, employed with benefits and competitive wages. – State Sen. Jane Raybould of Lincoln State Sen. Terrell McKinney of North Omaha described the current year as his worst in the Legislature. 'We wonder why people don't get out and vote,' he said. 'We come in here and we work against them. That is sad. It's a sad state of affairs for the Nebraska Legislature.' Conrad said she has never seen morale as low as it has been this legislative session. 'The frustration,' she said, 'is that you shouldn't have to explain basic civics to adult state senators.' State Sen. Megan Hunt of Omaha said the minimum wage initiative did not see any organized opposition in 2022 because, she said, those interests knew they'd find 'stooges' in the Legislature to push their agenda. She took aim at lawmakers for looking out for 'personal business interests' and said voters did not vote to support a 'second-tier wage' for certain workers. Said Hunt: 'I have never seen such a blatant, bald-faced, self-serving, self-dealing, selfish, unethical example of self-dealing as this bill in the Legislature.' Conrad, questioning Raybould's transparency with constituents, asked if the lawmaker's campaign materials pledged to change the will of voters and to 'stick it to low-income working families.' 'If in fact that was part of your outreach in getting into this body, that's a different story,' Conrad said. Raybould was the lone Democrat to support the measure. Two Republicans, Clouse and State Sen. Dave Wordekemper of Fremont, opposed it. Raybould said Nebraska currently has the 18th highest minimum wage in the U.S., but the 10th lowest cost of living. She suggested that colleagues talk with small businesses, including local daycare centers, nonprofits, grocers or retailers who she said are 'struggling' on 'shoestring budgets.' If they did, she said, they would realize there are impacts from raising minimum wages so quickly — increased prices, decreased hours for workers and small businesses shuttering. If they don't, Raybould told them, 'You haven't done your homework.' In a reference to comedian Groucho Marx, Raybould said: 'Who are you going to believe: Me or your own eyes?' 'I ask you: Take a moment. Reach out to them,' Raybould said. 'Reach out to your local grocer who might be the next person to create a food desert in your rural community.' State Sen. Loren Lippincott of Central City agreed, cautioning against job losses, particularly for low-skilled workers, and machines replacing workers. 'Businesses might invest in automation or technology to replace low-wage workers,' he said. 'This could disproportionately affect workers in industries like retail or food service' or sectors with repetitive tasks that are easily automated. State Sen. Kathleen Kauth of Omaha, who chairs the Legislature's Business and Labor Committee that advanced Raybould's bill, said she wasn't in favor of the bill when the youth wage would have applied to older teen workers. But limiting the new, lower wage to 14 or 15 year olds, who can only work certain hours around school or during certain hours of the day and are limited in work, got her support. 'If you're not allowed by the federal government to do the full job, you should not get the full wage,' Kauth said. Kauth said bumping up and aligning the training wage for 16-, 17-, 18- and 19-year-old workers with the state minimum wage, rather than the federal minimum wage, was also a 'significant' and positive improvement. Raybould said the new wage could incentivize businesses to hire young workers. Conrad countered that customers don't care how old an employee is who puts a can on a shelf or the pepperoni on a pizza. Clouse, a key swing vote on the issue who regularly met with Raybould and Conrad during debate, and had on his desk a stack of research papers, including the ballot initiative wording, read to reporters the language that voters approved for annual increases in the 'cost of living' for the minimum wage. He said minimum wage can be a 'job killer' for some workers who, as a 'matter of economics,' might benefit while others might lose their jobs. He said a set annual increase could provide certainty but didn't have any number in mind other than to say 'it's more than one and a half, I know that.' 'I think it's right for those who voted for it, and I think it's right for the business owners,' Clouse said. 'It's certainty, and I like certainty, and I like minimizing the risk.' Clouse said he feels there is always a way to find compromise and reach a good decision. But he said calling people names or pointing fingers isn't the way to do so. 'Hopefully we get it worked out because this is no fun, everybody's sitting through this stuff all day. It's a waste of our time, but yet everybody's wanting to do what's right for their constituents, and I get that,' Clouse said. 'That's part of the process I'm not used to because that's not how we do business in Kearney.' Clouse said he will not vote for 'cloture' to end debate or to advance LB 258 unless the bill is amended first. The bill would face up to four hours of debate during the second of three rounds of debate. Raybould filed an amendment Tuesday that would let the minimum wage increase faster than her most recent proposal's 1.5% cap, a key point of contention for Clouse. But it would still include a flexible increase of between 0% and 2.5% each year, based on inflation. Raybould and others reminded colleagues that the Nebraska Constitution allows the Legislature to modify laws passed using ballot measures. Others, like State Sen. John Cavanaugh of Omaha, said that 'just because you have power doesn't mean you should exercise it,' saying Raybould sought to undermine voters. 'We're not using it to undermine the will of the people,' Raybould said. 'We're doing it to review and reflect and make sure we make a clear balance and have a clear understanding of the unintended consequences and impacts it can have on businesses, on daycare centers, on paying for referees for our youth sports. All of these costs will be passed on.' State Sen. Mike Moser of Columbus on Tuesday criticized the Raise the Wage Nebraska campaign for getting the vast majority of its funds in 2021 and 2022 from out-of-state donors, most from groups in Washington D.C., that don't disclose individual donors. State Sen. Ben Hansen of Blair echoed Moser and said curbing out-of-state donations should be a bipartisan effort. According to the Nebraska Accountability and Disclosure Commission data through January 2023, roughly 79% of funds for the campaign came from Washington D.C., while 19% came in-state from Lincoln, Omaha or Lyons. The Lyons-based Center for Rural Affairs gave $20,000. The largest in-state donor was Nebraska Appleseed, at $560,474.21. D.C.-based Sixteen Thirty Fund gave the campaign $2.49 million throughout 2022. The fund is managed by Arabella Advisors, which was founded by a former administration appointee of former President Bill Clinton. It oversees a hub of other left-leaning nonprofits that have received donations from billionaire George Soros in the past. It doesn't disclose its donors. Raise the Wage Nebraska also received $183,189.63 from The Fairness Project, a progressive labor-focused group that also helped the Nebraska campaigns to expand Medicaid (2018), curb predatory payday lending (2020) and secure a minimum level of paid sick leave (2024). Rounding out the campaign's top donors was the Service Employees International Union, which was established in 1921 and is based in Washington, D.C. The union has about 2 million members. The campaign gave Nebraskans for Paid Sick Leave in August 2023 a donation of $15,454.87. The Legislature last week voted 34-14 to advance a bill to add new carveouts to the paid sick leave before it takes effect Oct. 1. The first voter-approved minimum wage increase from the 2022 effort took effect Jan. 1, 2023. State Sen. Terrell McKinney of North Omaha was and continues to be the campaign's treasurer. — Nebraska Examiner reporter Zach Wendling SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX
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06-03-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Labor groups ring alarms over proposed changes to Nebraska minimum wage, paid sick leave laws
Anahí Salazar, policy coordinator at Voices for Children in Nebraska, spoke at the Nebraska statehouse on Mar, 6, 2025, about bills seeking to soften voter-approved ballot measures on requiring paid sick leave and increasing the minimum wage. (Juan Salinas II/Nebraska Examiner) LINCOLN — Labor activists stood in the Capitol Rotunda during Thursday morning's agenda and criticized a pair of legislative bills seeking to weaken voter-approved minimum wage and paid sick leave laws, which continue to march on in the Nebraska statehouse. Worker advocates and union leaders spoke out against the proposed changes as attempts to undermine the will of Nebraska voters, who over the past three years have approved increasing wages and paid leave for all workers via ballot measure. Nebraska voters approved a ballot measure last November to establish a minimum level of paid sick leave for all workers. The initiative mandates that Nebraska businesses provide employees up to seven days of paid sick leave for businesses with at least 20 employees and five days a year for those with fewer than 20 employees. In 2022, Nebraska voters passed a ballot measure to increase the state minimum wage to $15 per hour starting next year. The measure's design raised the minimum wage by increments to reach that point. Legislative Bill 258, by State Sen. Jane Raybould of Lincoln, would limit who can get a wage increase in 2027. The proposed change to the initiative would cap the minimum wage at $13.50 per hour for Nebraskans younger than 16 years old, except for those legally free from parental control and responsibility. LB 698, proposed by State Sen. Paul Strommen of Sidney, would raise the minimum number of employees a business must have to be obligated to provide paid sick leave from one to at least 11 employees instead of 10. His bill would make workers under age 15 and temporary and seasonal agricultural workers ineligible for the mandatory paid sick leave. It also would remove a section that allows workers to sue businesses if they violated the new paid sick leave law. LB 258 and LB 698 both advanced from the Legislature's Business and Labor Committee. Raybould proposed changes in LB 258 that also would cap the annual minimum wage increase at a lesser rate of one and one-half percent instead of being linked to the Consumer Price Index to keep up with inflation, which was what voters approved. Another change would modify the 90-day training wage for new employees under 18 to $13.50 and to '75% of the minimum wage' in 2027. The youngest someone can work in Nebraska is 14 years old, with hour restrictions. 'LB 258 does not reflect the will of Nebraska citizens who voted overwhelmingly for stepped increases to minimum wage,' said Anahí Salazar, Policy Coordinator at Voices for Children in Nebraska. Raybould, whose family owns grocery stores 'throughout the state of Nebraska' wrote in her conflict of interest form filed with the Nebraska Accountability and Disclosure Commission that 'providing a youth and training wage would benefit our company with some savings. The cap on the increases in 2027 would also keep the projected minimum wage increase to a more reasonable and predictable one. This would also benefit our company.' She explained in the form why she won't abstain from voting on LB 258 despite the conflict of interest, because, 'this legislation would impact more businesses besides our grocery stores, including, but not limited to, all retailers, restaurants, detasselers, day care facilities and other small and independent businesses in our state.' Raybould has made LB 258 her priority bill this session. Strommen described his sick leave measure during its hearing as an attempt to 'clean up' initiative language and shield workers from 'unintended consequences.' Some business owners and groups that testified for the bill referred to it as a 'lifeline' and said costs could rise and be passed along to the consumer. Others said they welcomed the initiative's original language. State Sen. Ben Hansen of Blair also said the Legislature with LB 698 must determine a balance between what voters supporting the paid sick leave initiative want and what the state can provide. Student activist Sam Washburn said both bills disappointed him as a young person in the workforce, because they aim to 'undermine protection for workers at small businesses' for young workers. 'I don't understand how democratically elected senators can so easily go against these democratically supported initiatives,' said Washburn. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE
