Raising the minimum wage for teens could hurt

SPRINGFIELD -- Suburban teenagers might have trouble finding summer employment, but some businesses say they fear they'll have even fewer work opportunities next year.

If an Illinois proposal to make the teenage minimum wage equal to adults' pay becomes law, teen-friendly businesses may slice hours or give their 15- to-17-year-old workers the boot.

Gerri Chaplin, who manages a Culver's restaurant in Aurora, said her business might suffer if the teen wage were raised to match adults'. Teenagers make up about half her staff, with a few as young as 14 and 15.

"If we have to pay them $7.50 an hour, I think it would discourage us from hiring them," Chaplin said. "It's just really difficult, and we are trying every day to find ways to cut our labor hours."

State Rep. John Fritchey, a Chicago Democrat pushing the equal wage measure, said it's a matter of fundamental fairness. To assuage fears, he noted employers worried about costs still would be able to pay a cheaper 90-day training wage for teens, accounting for most of summer paychecks.

Illinois workers younger than age 18 now receive 50 cents less than the adult minimum wage, which is $7.50. On July 1, the state minimum wage bumps up to $7.75, subsequently increasing 25 cents every summer until its $8.25 mark in 2010.

Twenty-nine states, including Illinois, have some form of young workers' pay regulations that fall beneath the adult minimum wage. And child labor laws restrict the number of hours per week and shift times those under 16 can work, mostly to school holidays or weekends.

"If you have to do all that, plus pay them the same as somebody who's 18 or older, it doesn't make a lot of sense," Chaplin said. "I find out from most of the 15-year-olds, most places won't hire them."

York Theatre in Elmhurst also would be forced to downsize its 40-person staff of mostly high-schoolers if the higher wages became law.

"Being a family-run company, there's not a whole lot in the budget for payroll," said Trevor Murakami, general manager of York Theatre.

But even last year's state minimum wage spike changed the faces of businesses that rely on teens like ice cream shops and movie theaters. Culver's of Aurora was forced to reduce hours as regular worker's compensation premiums went up along with the higher minimum wage standard.

York Theatre instead saw a domino effect by scaling back hours and spiking prices, though Murakami said concession and ticket costs remain reasonable.

"Being considered the anchor of the downtown district, it kind of makes it hard when we're not getting the foot traffic," Murakami said. "People decide not to come here when we don't have the staff."

Fritchey said he understands why employers want to save money where they can but holds that two workers doing the same job deserve the same pay.

"Teen workers have inherently been a constituency without a real voice in the process," said Fritchey. "Had they tried to have that differential for minority workers or female workers or senior workers, they would have not been able to do so."

Fritchey's proposal recently passed the Illinois House 62-51. It awaits Senate consideration.

Current minimum wage in Illinois and nearby states

Illinois: $7.50 ($7 for teens, $7**)

Indiana: $5.85* ($4.25**)

Iowa: $7.25 (same for teens, but no minimum wage first 90 days regardless of age)

Michigan: $7.15 ($6.08 for teens, $4.25**)

Missouri: $6.65 ($5.75**)

Wisconsin: $6.50 ($5.90 for teens, $5.90**)

*Mirrors federal wages but does not allow any employment of those younger than 16

**90-day training wage for workers younger than 20

Sources: U.S. Department of Labor and National Employment Law Project