I think its easy to address the 'snot nosed kid' angle; workers that are minors and are claimed as a dependent of someone else's tax return have a lower minimum wage than someone who is not a dependent.
Edit: Skolor raises a good point below. Also in hindsight having a two-tiered minimum wage would just encourage employers to favor minors and dependents over others, which would undermine the whole point of increasing the minimum wage.
A comparable problem: I work as an engineer, and I'm married. Because of my status outside work, I get paid more than the guy who sits beside me. My employer ends up paying (slightly) more for my healthcare costs, due to also paying for my partner. On the other hand, I get paid a fair bit less than the guy a few offices down, because he is not only married but also has a couple kids. Its not a huge difference, compared to our total salary, but it's my understanding it gets closed $1/hour difference between a single guy and someone who has a bunch of kids. If we're all doing the same work, and performing the same, why is one person getting paid more for something they choose to do outside of work?
I see the issue of dependent workers the same. If two people do the same work, with the same level of performance and experience, they should get paid (roughly) the same. Keep in mind, at current minimum wage, a difference of $50/week is a 17% increase in pay, if full time. That's a pretty big difference if the only change is your parent's tax status.
I think its easy to address the 'snot nosed kid' angle; workers that are minors and are claimed as a dependent of someone else's tax return have a lower minimum wage than someone who is not a dependent.
Edit: Skolor raises a good point below. Also in hindsight having a two-tiered minimum wage would just encourage employers to favor minors and dependents over others, which would undermine the whole point of increasing the minimum wage.
Is that really a problem that needs to be solved?
A comparable problem: I work as an engineer, and I'm married. Because of my status outside work, I get paid more than the guy who sits beside me. My employer ends up paying (slightly) more for my healthcare costs, due to also paying for my partner. On the other hand, I get paid a fair bit less than the guy a few offices down, because he is not only married but also has a couple kids. Its not a huge difference, compared to our total salary, but it's my understanding it gets closed $1/hour difference between a single guy and someone who has a bunch of kids. If we're all doing the same work, and performing the same, why is one person getting paid more for something they choose to do outside of work?
I see the issue of dependent workers the same. If two people do the same work, with the same level of performance and experience, they should get paid (roughly) the same. Keep in mind, at current minimum wage, a difference of $50/week is a 17% increase in pay, if full time. That's a pretty big difference if the only change is your parent's tax status.