Bill raising minimum wage, changing overtime passes Senate

By Riley Snyder, Associated Press

Published Friday, April 3, 2015 | 3:33 p.m.

Updated Friday, April 3, 2015 | 3:57 p.m.

CARSON CITY — A Republican-backed measure increasing Nevada's minimum wage met howls of opposition from state Democrats concerned about proposed changes to how overtime is calculated.

Senators voted 11-9 on party lines to approve SB193 on Friday, and the bill now moves to the Assembly.

The bill raises minimum wage for employees without employer-offered health insurance to $9 an hour but keeps wages for workers with employer-provided health care at $7.25.

The measure repeals a law requiring employers to pay overtime after eight hours of work in a 24-hour period. It would only require overtime once an employee works more than 40 hours in a week.

Democrats offered four different amendments that would have increased the minimum wages by differing amounts and added overtime cushions for work shifts over a certain amount. All amendments were defeated on a party-line vote.

The bill initially only changed the overtime requirements, but Republican Sen. Patricia Farley surprised Democrats by amending in the wage bump before a committee vote last month. She said the majority of minimum wage job holders don't work full hours and that a wage boost would move thousands above the poverty line.

Democrats staunchly opposed the bill and said it wouldn't change the $7.25 wage for workers with employer-provided health care. Sen. Kelvin Atikinson said the overtime rules were problematic and could allow employers to schedule longer shifts without duly compensating workers.

"I think it's a slap in the face to our workers," he said. "I think it's a slap in the face to folks who are in need of reasonable wages."

Farley said increasing the wage would make it more difficult to pass in the Assembly and the current bill was supported by a number of business groups.

"My caucus is completely behind it, and we're working with the Assembly," she said.

Around 20,000 Nevadans work at or below minimum wage jobs, or around 3 percent of the state's total workforce according to a 2013 Bureau of Labor Statistic report.

Currently, 29 states and D.C. have minimum wages above the federal minimum wage, as stated by the National Conference of State Legislatures.