Minimum wage vote confuses employers, workers

Alana Roberts

Tuesday, Nov. 9, 2004 | 9:33 a.m.

Some minimum-wage workers -- and their employers -- have been left confused by the Nov. 2 vote to approve an initiative to raise the state's minimum wage by $1.

About two-thirds of the state's voters approved Question 6, the initiative that would raise the minimum wage to $6.15 an hour.

State officials say they are fielding inquiries from employees and their bosses who misunderstood the vote and incorrectly thought minimum wage workers would be getting an immediate pay raise.

But the law still must be considered by Nevada lawmakers. If legislators and Gov. Kenny Guinn don't approve a law raising the minimum wage during next year's legislative session, then the issue would go back to the voters in the next general election in 2006.

Many minimum wage earners and employers aren't aware of that fact, said Michael Tanchek, Nevada's acting labor commissioner. He said his office has received three or four calls a day since last Wednesday from workers and employers asking about when the minimum wage increase will take effect.

"It doesn't surprise me," Tanchek said. "People normally think when you have an election, you vote and then that's the new law. When you're voting on a constitutional amendment it's a different process. I was expecting this kind of confusion."

The amendment could affect many people, proponents say. Danny Thompson, executive secretary-treasurer of the Nevada State AFL-CIO, has said that 51,000 people in Nevada earn the current minimum wage of $5.15 an hour, while another 50,000 earn between $5.15 and $6.15 an hour. The Nevada State AFL-CIO has been a major supporter of the initiative.

About 10 percent of the state's 1,065,220 workers or 106,522 workers make less than $6.95 an hour, according to the 2004 Occupational Employment Statistics Wage Survey, a survey of Nevada employers.

Jim Shabi, an economist with the Nevada Department of Employment, Training and Rehabilitation, said based on the survey it is difficult to determine exactly how many of Nevada's workers make minimum wage, but he said Thompson's numbers are plausible.

"That's a big range between $5.15 and $6.95 (an hour)," Shabi said. "How those people are distributed in there we really have no idea. If you assume half are at the minimum wage number, then that's 50,000."

Tanchek suggested employers make themselves aware of the process in order to answer the questions of workers.

Dawn Hathaway Thoman, vice president of Manpower of Southern Nevada Inc., said employers who have minimum wage workers should go a step further and should actively try to educate their employees.

"I think the best thing that employers should be doing is considering the most common vehicles to deliver a key message," Hathaway Thoman said. "Things like paycheck stuffers, the company news letter, handing out literature, posting signs around the building, maybe on a company billboard or in the break rooms. I think it's ethically and morally the right thing to do."

The variety of understanding about the wage increase among the general public could be seen at the Paseo Verde branch of the Henderson District Public Libraries on Monday.

Bill Bollenbacher said he voted for it but didn't know when the initiative goes into effect. Tom Scott said he knew that the minimum wage wouldn't go up immediately. He said he voted in favor of the initiative.

"It's got to go for another vote," Scott said. "I think it's been a long time in coming. I think there are enough people here that deserve it. I was glad to see it pass.

Mina Gokal, a new resident from New York, said she voted against the initiative. She was also unaware of the fact that the initiative will need to go for another vote.

"I don't know when it goes into effect," Gokal said. She said she'd rather see extra money to go toward schools instead of to a minimum wage hike.