2008 Woodie Awards
National mininum wage increase
Lakeland work study wage uncertain
Mark Oldenhoff
Issue date: 2/15/07 Section: News
- Page 1 of 1
The Senate voted overwhelmingly, 94-3, to raise the current minimum wage from $5.15 an hour to $7.25 over the course of two years. An increase totaling $2.10, which has sparked much controversy. The bill that the Senate approved included tax breaks for small companies to accommodate the wage increase and helping family owned businesses.
The bill first needs to be approved by both the House of Representatives and the Senate. After being signed by both groups, the bill will move to the president to be signed. The current bill wishes to raise the wages to $5.85, just 60 days after the president signs the bill. A year after the raise to $5.85, minimum wage would jump $.70 on that date the next two years.
Lakeland College pays a sub-minimum state wage to its students. The wages the college pays are waived from state to the minimum of the current federal minimum wage. When the minimum wage goes up, the federal work study money may not be raised. This could cause issues some with the student employment.
The setup that Lakeland uses to determine the amount a student employee will make an hour is set up on a tier system. The system allows for more pay depending upon how long you've been working at Lakeland and what position you are in. "All freshmen, regardless of position, are paid sub-minimum wages," said Chelsy Cegielski, manager of student employment.
Lakeland has a budget of about $1,000,000 to spend on student employment. This amount covers the school year as well as the summer terms of employment. The budget is set at the March of every year, so the budget changes every year. Lakeland has around 425 students employed this semester.
If the minimum wage increase passes, the budget probably will not change, but the number of hours and jobs might get cut.
"Instead of having 5 hours to do your job, the budget only allows for it to be done in 2 hours," said Cegielski. Which means the net amount of your paycheck won't be affected, but the amount of hours you work will be.
While many workers are eager about the increase in the amount of dollars per hour, there are a few points not many people are taking into consideration. The rise in the minimum wage will cause businesses to take one of two courses of action. The raise in wages would force them to cut back hours and slow production, or raise the prices on everything for sale or for the services that they offer.
The bill first needs to be approved by both the House of Representatives and the Senate. After being signed by both groups, the bill will move to the president to be signed. The current bill wishes to raise the wages to $5.85, just 60 days after the president signs the bill. A year after the raise to $5.85, minimum wage would jump $.70 on that date the next two years.
Lakeland College pays a sub-minimum state wage to its students. The wages the college pays are waived from state to the minimum of the current federal minimum wage. When the minimum wage goes up, the federal work study money may not be raised. This could cause issues some with the student employment.
The setup that Lakeland uses to determine the amount a student employee will make an hour is set up on a tier system. The system allows for more pay depending upon how long you've been working at Lakeland and what position you are in. "All freshmen, regardless of position, are paid sub-minimum wages," said Chelsy Cegielski, manager of student employment.
Lakeland has a budget of about $1,000,000 to spend on student employment. This amount covers the school year as well as the summer terms of employment. The budget is set at the March of every year, so the budget changes every year. Lakeland has around 425 students employed this semester.
If the minimum wage increase passes, the budget probably will not change, but the number of hours and jobs might get cut.
"Instead of having 5 hours to do your job, the budget only allows for it to be done in 2 hours," said Cegielski. Which means the net amount of your paycheck won't be affected, but the amount of hours you work will be.
While many workers are eager about the increase in the amount of dollars per hour, there are a few points not many people are taking into consideration. The rise in the minimum wage will cause businesses to take one of two courses of action. The raise in wages would force them to cut back hours and slow production, or raise the prices on everything for sale or for the services that they offer.
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