Del. House Approves Bill To Repeal Youth / Training Wage

A special youth and training wage, 50-cents lower than Delaware’s minimum wage, would discontinue under a bill that has passed in the state House of Representatives.

The program was negotiated as part of a last-minute agreement in 2018 to get the bond bill and grants-in-aid bill passed.

“The youth and training wage discriminates against people because of their age or when they were hired. It creates a second class of workers, with some potentially earning less simply because they’re a minor, or because they’re new to the job, regardless of prior experience,” Representative Kim Williams, D- Newport said. “That’s less money for gas, bus fare, groceries or bills. This was a bad policy when it was enacted, and we’ve taken an important step toward unraveling it.”

Williams is sponsor of HB 88.

The vote in the house was 26-15 along party lines, with Democrats in favor. The measure goes to the State Senate.

“Delaware’s minimum wage should be just that – the absolute minimum employers are legally allowed to pay a worker for their labor here in the First State,” Senate Labor Committee Chair Jack Walsh, D- Stanton said. “The hard-working men and women of this state don’t pay different rents based on their age. A price of gallon of milk doesn’t change depending on how long they’ve been employed. Yet, we allow employers to pay workers less than the minimum based solely on their age and their hire date. The youth and training wages are immoral, border-line illegal, and I look forward to ending them as quickly as possible so all workers in Delaware are equally once again.”