Approved February 8, 2022

RESOLUTION OF THE GREATER UTICA CHAMBER OF COMMERCE SUPPORTING A04829 CREATING A TEMPORARY TRAINING WAGE

WHEREAS,  entry-level wages have increased significantly during the past several years; and

WHEREAS, younger people attempting to enter the workforce for the first time often have trouble finding employment due to the inability to display a history of job skills and steady employment; and

WHEREAS,  some businesses are reluctant to hire young people with no working history and may not feel they are worth the minimum wage mandated by law and therefore do not open up job opportunities at that level; and

WHEREAS,  some businesses are seasonal in nature and rely on youth employment that may need training; and

WHEREAS,  Assemblyman Will Barclay has introduced bill number A04829 to address these concerns by creating a temporary training wage set at 85% of the NYS minimum wage or 100% of the federal minimum wage, whichever is higher;  and

WHEREAS,  the training wage would not exceed a total cumulative time of 180 days which can be spread out over multiple employment periods and/or multiple employers;

WHEREAS, the training wage can only be used to hire people under the age of 18 and may entice employers to hire youth employees they may not otherwise hire;

NOW THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that the Greater Utica Chamber of Commerce supports the adoption of Assembly bill A04829 to create a temporary training wage for youth workers under the age of 18 who are entering the workforce for the first time.