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Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Eye On Boise

House backs minimum wage exemption for minors employed in family businesses

The House has voted 60-9 in favor of HB 466, Rep. Ron Nate’s bill to exempt minors employed in family businesses by immediate family members from the state’s minimum wage law; Idaho’s minimum wage is $7.25 per hour. Nate noted that there’s already a minimum wage exception for minors employed on family farms in Idaho; his bill would extend it to any family business. The bill says the new exemption would apply to “any employee under the age of 18 years who is employed by an immediate family member or such family member's business.”

The nine “no” votes all came from House Democrats; two House Dems, Reps. Ilana Rubel and Phylis King of Boise, voted in favor of the bill. It now moves to the Senate side.



Betsy Z. Russell
Betsy Z. Russell joined The Spokesman-Review in 1991. She currently is a reporter in the Boise Bureau covering Idaho state government and politics, and other news from Idaho's state capital.

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