Minimum Wage online casino Iowa Lawmakers Effect Wage Increase For Casino Workers
Lawmakers in Iowa have had their say in the minimum wage requirements for commercial casino workers. The new appropriations measure set by the lawmakers will alter the minimum wage requirements for workers at the 19 commercial casinos across the state.
The current law stipulates that casino workers paid hourly must get 25 percent more than the current federal minimum wage. The current federal minimum wage is set at $7.25 per hour, which means casino workers in Iowa must get a minimum of $9.06 per hour.
However, a billed passed the Iowa Legislature unanimously made changes to that mandate last week. The new amendment under the Senate File sets the $9.06 as the permanent pay for gaming industry employees. The bill also has different odds and ends that didn’t find its way into other pieces of legislation.
“It is the intent of the general assembly that employees be paid at least twenty-five percent above the federal minimum wage level in effect on December 31, 2020,” SF 615 reads.
The recent amendment changes “Division VII — Gambling” of the Iowa Code.
Minimum Wage On Its Way To Hit $15
At the start of the year, Democrats in Congress set the motion for House Resolution 603, to boost the federal minimum wage to $15 in the next five years. This move could see a wide scale increase of more than 30 million Americans.
The US Department of Labor states that if a worker is employed in a state with a lower minimum wage, a worker is entitled to the higher federal minimum wage.
While the Iowa’s minimum wage is currently $7.25, the recent appropriations, means employees in Iowa cannot get the higher federal minimum wage should it increase.
“Maintaining a low base of wages for a significant number of people in the employment of casinos is sending the wrong signal,” Rep. Chris Hall said while expressing concerns regarding the minimum pay cap. “The customer base that casinos attract and the challenges that these workers need to address at work on a daily basis can be pretty complex. It is also the only environment that workers have to go in the state of Iowa in which they’re subjected to a workplace with tobacco smoke.”
If the appropriations measures had not come into the picture, casino workers in Iowa would attracted a 125 percent of the federal minimum wage. If the federal government moved with their plans to increase minimum wage to $15, it means Iowa casino workers would have attracted a high as $18.75 per hour.
Supporters of the amendment insists such increase would be disastrous for casinos who are already paying excessive wages for close to 10,000 staffs.
