Nebraska wants to lower minimum wage for high school workers

ALMA, NE -- The state of Nebraska is raising its minimum wage to $9 an hour next year, but maybe not for everyone.

Republican State Senator Laura Ebke doesn't believe high schoolers should make the same minimum wage as other workers. She has introduced a measure to make the minimum wage $7.25 an hour for students 18 and younger.

Ebke says the bill is in response to claims by a grocery group who claims it can't afford to pay its mostly high school staff $9 an hour.

"For kids of a certain age, it doesn't make a lot of sense," Ebke told the Washington Times. "They really don't need to have a higher minimum wage because it's not a living wage. What they need is the opportunity to learn how to work, to show up for a job on time. It's about the learning experience."

She also points out that in some jobs, kids under than the age of 18 are not allowed to do things adults are in the workplace.

"Because they can't do the full scope of work required they don't feel as comfortable hiring them for the same amount as someone who is 20, who can do everything," Ebke told ABC affiliate KHGI-TV.

Students who graduate or drop out of high school would be eligible to receive the state's full minimum wage.