A House committee is considering a bill that would prevent a proposed minimum wage hike from fully applying to high school students working summer jobs.
The bill, H.712, proposed by Rep. Timothy Briglin, D-Thetford, would clarify existing law so employers would no longer be required to pay high schoolers the full Vermont minimum wage during summer breaks.
The bill is being discussed in the House Committee on General, Housing and Military Affairs, which is also reviewing S.40, a proposal that would raise the minimum wage from $10.50 to $15 an hour by 2024.
State statute already exempts high school students from earning the minimum wage during the school year.
But the Department of Labor’s current interpretation of the statute is that the exemption for students doesn’t apply during summer breaks, according to Rep. Helen Head, D-South Burlington and the committee’s chair.
“There’s inconsistency there that we may need to really resolve,” she said Wednesday.
The committee is discussing whether there should be a separate minimum wage for students that’s consistent year-round, according to Head.
“I think given some of the concerns that I’ve heard from around the state that that is worth considering,” she said.
Head said she’s heard that some businesses would have a hard time employing students at a higher minimum wage.
When students aren’t making Vermont’s minimum wage, they make the federal minimum wage, $7.25 an hour.
The minimum wage exemption would not apply to high school dropouts, or those who graduate high school early, Head said.
The House Committee on General, Housing and Military Affairs recently took up S.40, which the Senate passed in February, and will continue to take testimony on the proposal this week.
