House panel clears bill to let family businesses employ minors at less than minimum wage
The House Business Committee has approved legislation from Rep. Ron Nate, R-Rexburg, to add an exception to Idaho’s minimum wage law for anyone under 18 who is employed by a family member or at a family business. Two committee members, Reps. Elaine Smith, D-Pocatello, and Sally Toone, D-Gooding, voted against the bill, HB 466, which now moves to the full House for debate.
https://legislature.idaho.gov/wp-content/uploads/sessioninfo/2018/legislation/H0466.pdf
Nate told the committee that he was employed by his mom as a youngster when “my mom decided to start a T-shirt business,” printing up T-shirts and jerseys for youth sports leagues. “Our basement became somewhat of a sweatshop,” Nate told the committee, “where I was working ‘til all hours of the night printing jerseys with names and numbers on the back for all the sports leagues. Frankly, I don’t remember getting paid for that. … I was happy to do the work, I got great experience. My parents no doubt were happy as well. I thought it was a beneficial experience all around.” Nate said he also worked at his family’s tire store.
Nate noted that Idaho law already exempts minors who work on family farms from minimum wage laws. “It makes sense for this exception, because there is a gray area on the farm, what are household chores and what is work on the farm,” Nate said. “And also when you’re a young kid, I’m sure your work may not create as much revenue as the minimum wage would require. So it’s a reasonable exception to have that for workers in their family farms.”
Nate said his bill would extend that to “minors who work in their family’s businesses. ... It gives kids great opportunity to get experience, gives them experience to answer to authority, to show up on time, to do good work, and to learn what it means to be a responsible employee and a responsible worker.”
There was little discussion, and no member of the public showed up to testify on the bill; Rep. Joe Palmer, R-Meridian, made the motion to approve it. To become law, it would need passage in the full House and Senate and the governor’s signature.
